Match Preview | Ottawa Fury FC vs. Atlanta United 2
June 15, 2018 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release
OTTAWA - It will be a charged-up Ottawa Fury FC side that faces Atlanta United 2 this weekend as they look to bounce back after a couple of disappointing results. It'll be only four days since they played against North Carolina and it offers the Fury FC players a good chance to quickly put these results behind them.
It is only the second time this season that Fury FC have lost two back-to-back games and they will feel that they should have returned with a positive result on both these occasions. Fury FC were the dominant attacking side in both these games but it didn't reflect on the scoreboard. In their last game, against North Carolina FC, they had 15 shots on goal with six of those on target. In the game against Charlotte Independence, Fury FC had 14 shots on goal with four on target. In comparison the Independence had seven shots on goal with just one on target.
These two losses will not have dented the confidence in the dressing room. The team has been playing well and will be confident going into this game. This is a crucial game for the Ottawa side though. After North Carolina, Atlanta United 2 is the second team that they will be playing who are ranked below them in the standings. After this game, the three remaining encounters on this five-game road trip will be against teams higher up in the standings. Fury FC will be looking for a good performance in this game to set them up for the tougher challenges ahead.
The Ottawa side will take confidence from the fact that the last time these two sides met, it resulted in a 2-0 victory for them. They will look to take advantage of the shaky Atlanta United 2 defence that has conceded 28 goals in their 14 games so far. Only Toronto FC II has let in more goals (30) than Atlanta United 2 in the USL this season.
Fury FC will also be buoyed by the recent recognition the team has received: on Wednesday, Ottawa's Head Coach Nikola Popovic was announced as USL Coach of the Month, and then on Thursday, Canadian International goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau was voted USL Player of the Month, but selections a reflection of the club's strong performances in May, performances they will look to get back into against Atlanta.
Atlanta United 2 had a solid start to the season, going on a four-game undefeated run but have suffered a dip in form since then. They have a 1W-2D-7L record since then. They have also lost three out of their last five games. They have the attacking nous though. They have scored 16 goals so far and the player to watch out for is Jon Gallagher who has notched up five strikes so far. They have had a total of 153 shots at goal this season - an average of around 11 shots per game.
This game promises to be a free-flowing and attacking one and Fury FC will look to convert their chances and get those three valuable points.
Fans can follow Fury FC on their road trip by watching live on OttawaFuryFC.com/Fury-Live or by following the team's official Twitter account @OTTAWAFURYFC.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
Head Coach Nikola Popovic
On the last game... "We are very proud of our players who fought until the end and who believed that it was possible to come back and get the three points."
On the strategy for the next game... "There's not much to turn around. We produced so many chances in our last game. I think we are on the right path. However, we have to be more balanced on the defence. We have to be to more aggressive and we have to win our duels - during corners and free kicks. We also need to be better when we have the ball and not lose it in dangerous zones."
Forward Carl Haworth
On the takeaways from the last game... "We need to tighten things up, not give away such great opportunities on the counter-attack, but apart from that, we can take some positives from the last game and move on."
"When teams attack against us they tend to sit back a little bit, put players behind the ball and allow the team to possess the ball a little bit. We need to be a little bit better in possession."
Preparation for the game against Atlanta... "We have to forget about our last game. We need to take the positives from that one, regroup and go to Atlanta with the same game plan that we had. Nothing changes in terms of that. We need to focus on that game, put things right and get thing back on track."
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Eric TATTERSALL
Assistants: Walter HEATHERLY and Benjamin THEISEN
Fourth Official: Richonne CLARK
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