Red Hot Fury FC Wins 4-0 on a Steamy Night at TD Place
July 20, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release
OTTAWA - On the fifth anniversary of its first match at TD Place, Ottawa Fury FC hosted Head Coach Nikola Popovic's former club, Swope Park Rangers, Saturday evening. With the temperatures reaching mid-thirties at kickoff, the thermometer wasn't the only thing hot on the night, as Fury FC's attack caught fire on its way to a 4-0 win.
Former Swope Park Rangers turned Fury FC forward Kevin Oliveira opened the score for the hometown team in the 39th minute with a speedy breakaway on the left and a clinical strike. Only three minutes later, Carl Haworth set up Christiano François on the right flank to give Fury FC a 2-0 lead going into halftime. Ottawa didn't let up to start the second half, adding one more on a dangerous run by Haworth that led to a converted shot from the penalty mark by Wal Fall in the 48th minute. And Haworth was not done, dribbling his way through the entire Swope Park defence to kick it with the outside of his right foot, past the hands of Rangers' keeper Pulskamp, and giving his side a comfortable 4-0 lead with 30 minutes to play. The score would hold to close out the night.
STORYLINES
With his 16th start of the 2019 season, Canadian midfielder Chris Mannella also played in his 50th match with Fury FC, his 87th in career.
Chelsea resident and recent addition to the Fury FC roster, 15year-old Antoine Coupland made his professional debuts on Saturday, coming on as a substitute in the 85th minute. He became the youngest Ottawa Fury FC player to see the field in a regular league game.
With this win, Head Coach Nikola Popovic becomes Fury FC's winningest coach, surpassing Marc Dos Santos with 24 total cumulative wins (league and Canadian Championship, 2018-2019). He now has a win percentage of 41% over since joining Ottawa.
Ottawa had 4 different goal scorers propelled the club to the win, with Oliveira scoring 1 (now 4G 2A), Fall collecting 1 goal and 1 assist (now 7G 3A), Haworth scoring 1 and getting a decisive pass on another one (now 6G 5A) and Francois grabbing his 6th goal of the season.
This brings Fury FC total goal scoring for the first half or so of the season to 32 goals with 4 players having 6 or more goals each.
Now sitting with a record of 8W-8D-3L and 32 points, Fury FC is only 2 points out of a top 4 ranking as it continues its fight for a spot in the USL Championship playoffs.
POST-GAME COMMENTS
Head Coach Nikola Popovic
"The players were fantastic. It's not easy to play these games where you are under pressure because everyone expects you to win. A lot of people don't understand that it is a very even league. The team we played today is a very good team. And sometimes a few details tell the story of the game. And that's why I think we have to be very proud of our players."
Midfielder Antoine Coupland
"Honestly, it's great. I have no words to describe it. At first, I was a bit nervous, but when I got on the field it was amazing. Such a great moment. Everything went away, I was so zoned in... I was just playing soccer!"
Forward Kevin Oliveira
"It was a special moment (to play and win against his former club). And I'm happy to have scored too. I had a great time in Swope Park, I won two titles there, but that's the past, now I'm here, I'm a Fury. I wanted to beat them and we needed these three points today so bad. This is good for us, for the table, and we'll go from here."
MATCH REPORT
Download match photos (credit: Steve Kingsman / Freestyle Photography)
Watch match highlights | Review match statistics
Starting XI
Ottawa Fury FC (4-3-3): Irving; Obasi, Meilleur-Giguère, Attakora, Haworth ©; Fall (85' Coupland), Ward, Mannella (58' De Freitas); Oliveira (63' Tissot), Gagnon-Laparé, François
Swope Park Rangers (4-1-4-1): Pulskamp; Andrade, Riley, Smith ©, Colombie (73' Rad); Allach, Freeman (53' Karani), Kuzain, Hernandez, Mbekeli (83' Lepley); Harris
Scoring Summary
39' - OTT Oliveira (Fall)
42' - OTT François (Haworth)
48' - OTT Fall (PK)
57' - OTT Haworth (Ward)
Caution Summary
31' - OTT Mannella
74' - SPR Allach
78' - OTT Fall
79' - OTT Haworth
89' - OTT Gagnon-Laparé
Attendance
4,636
Next home match: Wednesday, July 24 v Halifax Wanderers in Canadian Championship
Next USL Championship match: Saturday, July 27 @ Memphis 901 FC
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