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But the Fury hardly missed a step. And now the team will go into San Antonio, Texas on Saturday rested and ready to take on one of the league’s best teams.

“It’s good to win, good to win when you rotate,” Dos Santos said. “We were able to take the three points and now we can go into San Antonio with guys who are fresh.”

Wednesday night’s win was seldom in doubt. Atlanta just couldn’t match the intensity of the Fury.

The first goal came after 21 minutes. Vini Dantas took down an Oliver cross, pulled it wide of two defenders and slid the ball confidently past Atlanta goalkeeper Eric Ati.

The pressure continued and 13 minutes later the second goal was even better. This time Dantas flicked a pass over his shoulder to Oliver who hit a low cross to Nicki Paterson who raced across the six-yard box and fired the ball home.

It was the first goal in a Fury shirt for the Scotsman, who has been fighting his way back from injury. His man-of-the-match reward was well deserved.

Atlanta had lost four straight games and had been outscored 9-3 in the process. One of those defeats was a crushing 3-0 home defeat to the Fury 12 days ago.

As the second half began, the Fury’s advantage became more evident. The Fury stifled whatever Atlanta tried.

The win kept the Fury’s slim hopes of making the NASL playoffs alive. But they almost certainly need to win their five remaining games starting in Texas.