Ottawa Fury extend their league lead

NASL club now five points up on struggling New York Cosmos

Just when things were getting a bit tight for the Ottawa Fury atop the fall season standings, they found a way to gain some breathing room.

The Fury marched into the big state of Texas on Saturday night and walked away with three points after a 1-0 North American Soccer League victory over the San Antonio Scorpions in front of 6,473 at Toyota Field. The second-place New York Cosmos were also on the road, but couldn’t keep pace, getting blanked 2-0 by the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

The Fury now enjoy a five-point cushion on second place through 11 games. Minnesota United FC moved into a tie for second on Sunday with a 1-1 draw in Edmonton.

“This is a very important win in our run towards the post-season and I am very proud of this group,” coach Marc Dos Santos said.

On Saturday night in San Antonio, Ottawa made do with a single goal from Oliver in the 50th minute.

The goal came 12 minutes after the San Antonio side had lost Zourab Tsiskaridze, who was shown a red card after taking a second yellow.

Romuald Peiser recorded his 10th shutout of the season in Ottawa’s first win over the Scorpions.

“It’s a game that we controlled from start to finish,” Dos Santos said. “Our guys never got away from our game plan, and even with the red card and playing against 10 players we stayed calm and under control.”

The Fury now move on to a homeand-home series against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, with the first game next Saturday (3 p.m.) at TD Place stadium.

The following contest in Fort Lauderdale will kick off a three-game, eight-day road trip. The Fury are unbeaten in their past six on the road (three wins, three draws).