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Players ventured onto the field for warmup around 8:30 p.m. but more bolts lit up the sky and sent them scurrying back to the dressing rooms while the crowd was rapidly escorted out of the stadium.

The opening whistle went at close to 10 p.m. And midnight was beckoning by the time goals from Tom Heinemann and Sinisa Ubiparipovic clinched the Ottawa victory.

Coach Dos Santos, punching the air and hugging those nearest on the touchline, was clearly thrilled and not a little relieved. He admitted afterwards that the buildup to the game was almost as bad at it could get for his men and he had decided that tying the game would be a victory. His players thought otherwise.

Maybe they wanted to burn off some of the frustration from what had gone before, but there was no doubting their determination. Quick into the tackle and eager to break fast from defence, they pegged Indy back.

The early pressure had the Indy defence struggling and with 12 minutes gone, Ubiparipovic was brought down in the penalty area. Nicki Paterson stepped up but couldn’t beat Indy goalkeeper and captain Kristian Nicht who dived to his left to save.

The Fury pressed on, organized and eager even when Indy Eleven dominated possession.

Then another blow, one that might have repercussions in the coming weeks, Central defender Drew Beckie was yards from anyone when he went down in a heap five minutes before half time. A stretcher was dispatched and he was wheeled of only to return to the sidelines in a wheelchair. Early indications suggest ankle trouble. How severe depends on further examination back in Ottawa.