FURY’S OFFENCE NEEDS TO RAMP UP
High-scoring Charlotte adds to pressure to score more goals, make playoffs
Not that he checks the United Soccer League standings around the clock, but Paul Dalglish has done some number crunching on what it will take his Ottawa Fury FC to secure a playoff spot.
The Fury FC head coach thinks if the club can average 1.3 to 1.35 points per game over the final 13 regular season matches, they should be one of the final eight teams still playing into late October.
In a league which hands out three points for a win and one for a tie, that kind of pace would give the 10th-place Fury FC something like 40 points.
It’s not a lot to ask, except when you consider that 1.3 or so points a game is slightly higher than the offensively challenged Fury FC muster per game in goals at 1.26.
That last number is not something to bank on when you consider Fury FC will play host to the top offensive team in the Eastern Conference on Saturday night at TD Place.
The Charlotte Independence have scored 16 more goals than Fury FC, which might explain why they sit comfortably atop the table, and with games in hand on teams chasing them.
Oh, and the Independence have played one more game than Ottawa, though that is inconsequential when a team can barely score a goal a game like the home side.
“We’re not intimidated by Charlotte,” said Dalglish. “We know they are a tough team. They are good.
“But every team is tough. Nobody is that much better than any other team in this league and we feel on any given day we can be the best team in the league.
“We certainly respect (Charlotte). But there’s no fear.” Okay, no fear. But Charlotte will land in Ottawa on an unbeaten streak of 12 games, with eight wins and four draws after a 2-2 type Wednesday night in Toronto.
During that string, the Independence have outscored the opposition 28-10, a remarkable goal differential considering Fury FC’s goal-differential is all of a plus-1.
And Charlotte has not lost a game since June 7, that being a 1-0 defeat to the also playoffbound Louisville City FC who sit fourth in the standings.
“We need five or six wins the rest of the way and maybe a few ties,” said Dalglish. “In this league, I know you can’t look at teams and say ‘there’s three points’ …
“We need five or six wins between now and the end of the season to play playoff football.”
Fury FC are trying to rebound from a frustrating 2-1 loss to Bethlehem Steel FC last Saturday, when the club suffered it’s first ever USL loss after leading at halftime.
It’s a game Fury FC should have put away after 45 minutes, but couldn’t.
But a positive is that they have created 25 scoring chances in their last two games — though only three goals — while generating 49 shots.
Facing Charlotte, the scoring possibilities may not be so frequent.
Charlotte’s goal differential is plus-18 on the season and having allowed just 22 goals against, their team defence is among the best in the conference.
That outstanding differential is due in large part to Enzo Martinez and Jorge Herrera, who have both scored 12 goals to rank tied for fourth in league-wide scoring.
That’s in sharp contrast to Fury FC’s top goal-scorer, Sito Seoane, who sits in a tie for 28th in league scoring.
“You either have to have the best defence or goal scorers,” said Dalglish.