Match Preview: Ottawa Fury FC vs Charleston Battery
October 22, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release
OTTAWA - TD Place Stadium is ready to host the most important match of Ottawa Fury FC since joining the United Soccer League in 2016, as Charleston Battery will be the visitors for the Play-In-Round stage of the USL Championship on Wednesday, October 23rd, at 7 p.m.
Wednesday's game is bound to be an entertaining one and definitely not one to miss. Ottawa Fury FC will face a very experienced group, but a group who struggled on the road this season and only qualified for the playoffs in their last game of the season. Charleston Battery clinched a playoff spot for the 9th year in a row and they are the only ones who reached the postseason in every year of the league's history. However, Ottawa had one of the best record at home this year and definitely proved to their fans that TD Place is a real fortress for the club.
Despite last Saturday's loss, Fury FC's head coach Nikola Popovic's message after the match was positive and he explained his management of the roster during the last game of the season. " It was a game where we were able to rest some players in order to come out strong on Wednesday. We managed the roster in a way that we can now come back at home and perform at our full potential for our first playoff match."
With a win on Wednesday, Ottawa could face two possible scenarios. If they go through as the lowest seed in the east, they will travel to Highmark Stadium to play against No. 1 seed, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, in the Eastern Conference Quaterfinals on Saturday, October 26 at 7 p.m. However, if they go through as the highest seed, they will face No. 2 seed, Nashville SC, at First Tennessee Park on Saturday, October 26 at 8 p.m.
Storylines
Fury FC, 8th in the Eastern Conference, just finished their best season since joining the USL Championship in 2016. Ottawa will play against 9th place Charleston Battery, who clinched a playoff spot in their last game of the regular season against Bethlehem Steel.
This will be the first playoff match at TD Place stadium since 2015 and the first one since the Ottawa Fury FC joined the USL Championship in 2016.
This will be the third encounter between the two teams this season. The first match ended in a 1-1 draw in Charleston back in March on the first day of the regular season. Oliveira scored for the Fury FC at the 5th minute of play and Svantesson answered back for Charleston at the 65th. The second match ended in a 3-2 win for the Fury FC at TD Place Stadium. Fury FC's captain Carl Haworth scored twice and Mour Samb scored the winning goal at the 85th minute.
Charleston Battery's record on the road this season is of 3W-7D-7L
Ottawa Fury FC has a record of 10W-5D-2L at home this season.
Scoring depth for the Fury FC- Last season the club lead for goals was 5. This season 6 players have 6 or more goals. Leading the way offensively for Ottawa are Carl Haworth and Wal Fall, who both finished the season with 10 goals to their accounts.
Leading the way offensively this season for Charleston Battery is attacking duo Zeiko Lewis (7) and Arthur Bosua (6).
HOW TO WATCH
LIVE STREAM: OttawaFuryFC.com
TWITTER: Follow @OTTAWAFURYFC for LIVE updates #OTTvCHS #ForTheFury
BUY TICKETS: OttawaFuryFC.com
• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...
United Soccer League Championship Stories from October 22, 2019
- Trey Muse Named to USL Championship Team of the Week - Tacoma Defiance
- The Playoff DNA: Experienced Boys in Gold Ready to Lead the Charge in USL Championship Playoffs - Nashville SC
- Ottawa Fury FC Playoff Flag Raising Wednesday - Ottawa Fury FC
- 5 Reasons Why Nashville SC's USL Championship Run Has Been Historic - Nashville SC
- Eastern Conference Quarterfinal: Scouting Louisville City - Tampa Bay Rowdies
- Match Preview: Ottawa Fury FC vs Charleston Battery - Ottawa Fury FC
- Joe Greenspan Named to Team of the Week - Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
- Akinyode Garners Team of the Week Honors for First Time in 2019 - Nashville SC
- Lacroix and Hertzog Earn Team of the Week Honors - Reno 1868 FC
- Charleston's Lewis Voted Championship Player of the Week - USL
- 1868 Playoff Breakdown - Reno 1868 FC
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
