Match Preview: Ottawa Fury FC vs Hartford Athletic
September 21, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release
OTTAWA - Coming off a crucial 1-0 win against a very tough opponent in the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Ottawa Fury FC will look to build off of that momentum and go for their second straight win, when they take on 17th place in the East Hartford Athletic on Sunday afternoon at TD Place.
Looking to take another step forward in eventually securing an Eastern Conference playoff berth, Fury FC will be going up against a team that has allowed a total of 69 goals so far this season, so look out for Ottawa's attacking style and how they will look to take advantage of a Hartford side that has lacked organization on the defensive style of the football. A win on Sunday would mean a lot for Fury, who are currently in a stretch where each and every game counts until the end of the season.
STORYLINES
8th-place Fury is nine points out of a top five spot, but are six points ahead of the tenth-place Birmingham Legion FC, who are in the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Fury FC has the same amount of games played as all of the other teams they are currently competing against in this standings race. All teams between seventh and twelfth in the standings have 28 games played.
This will be the second encounter between the two teams this season. The first match ended in a 1-1 draw on the road back in May. Mour Samb was Fury FC's lone goal scorer in Hartford.
Hartford's record on the road this season is of 2W-1D-12L
Ottawa Fury FC has a record of 8W-4D-2L at home this season.
Fury FC's Wal Fall and Carl Haworth are both out suspended for this game (red card and card accumulation). Fall and Haworth are Fury FC's top two goal scorers.
Leading the way offensively for Hartford Athletic is a trio of forwards, who are all tied at five goals each as Hartford's top goal scorers. The three players are Alexander Dixon, Sebastian Dalgaard and Wojciech Wojcik.
SCOUTING HARTFORD ATHLETIC
There's a familiar look to Head Coach Jimmy Nielsen's squad at Hartford Athletic, which saw the former OKC Energy FC sideline boss bring a number of his former players in to lead the way for the expansion side as it has entered the league this season at historic Dillon Stadium. The attacking duo of Jose Angulo and Alex Dixon is joined by Sebastian Dalgaard, Phil Rasmussen and Wojciech Wojcik in joining Nielsen with the Athletic, a foundation that could mean early success for the side.
In a tough Eastern Conference, though, there will be some questions as to how quickly this will come together. Nielsen fell short of the postseason in his first year at Energy FC before the side took a jump forward to the Western Conference Final in Year 2. There could be a similar learning curve here, familiarity or not.
(via USL Championship).
HOW TO WATCH
LIVE STREAM: OttawaFuryFC.com
TWITTER: Follow @OTTAWAFURYFC for LIVE updates #OTTvHFD #ForTheFury
TICKETS: Get your tickets at OttawaFuryFC.com
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