FURY FC HAS EYES ON SHOWDOWN VS. TORONTO
Team hopes to defeat Edmonton in two-game series for shot at MLS squad
While Wednesday’s (7:30 p.m.) home game against FC Edmonton means diddly-squat in the United Soccer League standings, it means a lot to the guys who wear Ottawa Fury FC colours, plus their GM/coach.
Fury FC will try to prevail over Edmonton in a two-game series to see who moves to the next level of the Canadian Championship to face Toronto FC. That would be a big deal to Ottawa, which won the first round over Edmonton a year ago, then upset MLS’s Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 before a heartbreaking 3-0 defeat knocked Fury FC out.
Beating Edmonton (the second game is next Wednesday) and earning the right to then play a strong MLS side is a big deal.
“The rewards for everybody are so great,” said Fury FC GM/ coach Paul Dalglish on Tuesday. “Talking as the GM, it was our biggest attendance of the year (in 2016), bringing Vancouver to TD Place. The reward this year is bringing TFC (Toronto) here. That’s ultimately what we want to do.
“From a coaching point of view, you want to test yourself against the best whenever you can. We want to test ourselves against MLS opposition.
“From a players’ point of view, you never know, if you play well against an MLS team, you could get an offer. So there are a lot of layers why you want to do well. It’s a huge game for us and we’ll do everything in our power to win the series.”
Like Ottawa in the USL, Edmonton got off to a slow start in the NASL, with just one win.
“They’re a team a bit like ourselves,” said Dalglish. “They’re not in mid-season form yet. They’ve got really, really good players. It’s only a matter of time before they start putting it together like they did last year. They’re suffering a bit like us, with the challenges of being a Canadian team playing in North America.”
Ottawa is coming off a very good effort, a 2-2 draw on the road against Charleston, the USL East Division’s first-place team. While Charleston controlled the ball the majority of the time, it was Ottawa, which got goals from Ryan Williams and Ramon Del Campo, with a golden opportunity to win. Williams, Rozeboom and Tucker Hume all had close calls that could have made the difference.
“When you’re in front, it gives you the option to contain and counter,” said Dalglish. “We didn’t have the better of the pressure, but we had the better chances.
“It could have been a victory. That’s the best offence we’ve faced since I’ve been with Ottawa Fury. They scored five against Rochester, then three against Tampa, in Tampa. Their offence is awesome. It’s really difficult to come up against. For us to go there, short in numbers, not a great travel experience, the point is a point gained for sure.
“We had five players missing, unavailable for the game — we didn’t have enough for the bench. We didn’t get in until 2:30 in the morning. When you consider everything, I was really pleased with the way the players dug in.” ATTACKER ADDED: Fury FC has acquired Belizean international Michael Salazar on loan from the
Montreal Impact. Drafted in the second round (24th overall) of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, Salazar has featured in 19 MLS games over two seasons. The New York born midfielder/forward scored a pair of goals in his first MLS start on July 2, 2016. The 24-year-old has represented his native Belize on 12 occasions, including three in the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup and five in the recent 2017 Copa Centroamericana. Salazar will not be available Wednesday in order to remain eligible to play for the Impact, but will be available for selection in Saturday’s home game against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The reward this year is bringing TFC (Toronto) here. That’s ultimately what we want to do.