July 13, 2014 – FC Edmonton vs Ottawa Fury FC – 0-0 D – Review

Ottawa (4-3-3) – Gorrick 7; Maykon 6, Trafford 6, Richter 4, Beckie 7; Ubiparipovic 7, Ryan (c) 7, Donatelli 6; Oliver 5, Heinemann 7, Davies 6

Subs – Jarun (Ubiparipovic) 6, Haworth (Oliver) 6, Dantas (Heinemann) N/A

Goal – N/A; Assist – N/A; Red card – Richter

Injuries and suspensions: Paterson (injury, out), Peiser (match fitness, out)

Intro: Ottawa Fury FC hanged on for a hard-fought draw at FC Edmonton in extremely hot conditions, with the on-field weather reaching 40C. The Fury went down to 10 men after debutant CB Ryan Richter received his second yellow card at the 55′ mark for a grab on Eddies ST Frank Jonke.

Summary: The Fury were fortunate to hang on for the draw as the Eddies hit the bar twice in the last ten minutes, including a wonderful curler from the edge of the penalty area from winger Hanson Boakai, who took one touch to set himself up past CB Mason Trafford and then curled a Messi-esque shot against the corner frame. The Eddies nearly snatched the game at the end off of a set piece but the bar saved OFFC again. RW Horace James looked dangerous for the Eddies, particularly in the second half, as he burned past LB Maykon on two occasions to whip up dangerous crosses.

The Fury did make their own luck, as manager Marc Dos Santos praised the players’ collective efforts after they has gone down to ten men, with the players shifting to a 4-4-1 formation, with the two wingers dropping back and AM Sinisa Ubiparipovic being sacrificed for CB Omar Jarun.

First Half: The Fury dominated possession and fashioned better chances in the first half, with CM Tony Donatelli in particular continuing his fine spring season form with calm composure on the ball and intelligent passing. The Fury’s best chance in the first half came off of a set piece, with RW Phil Davies whipping in his dangerous crosses as he had done in the spring season. Trafford got on the end of one of the crosses and beat the keeper but found the post.

Second Half: The Fury’s best chance in the second half came off of a nice run from Ubiparipovic through the middle, finding Davies alone on the right side of the penalty area, but the shot was lashed wide. Winger Carl Haworth came on for LW Oliver and ST Vini Dantas came on for Tom Heinemann, who worked hard throughout the game. Captain and DM Richie Ryan led the shielding efforts in the midfield.

A big talking point of the game is the performance of Richter, who was making his debut on loan from Toronto FC. He received two yellows, both near the start of the two halves, with Jonke the recipient of both fouls after Richter was dispossessed near the corner flag in the first half after getting to the ball first off of a hopeful long ball, and caught out after attempting to make a backpass with his weaker left foot in the second half. In between those two yellows, Richter displayed a physical presence and good distribution of the ball, but the second yellow especially was the result of two errors compounding each other. He will have to improve his play with the ball on the ground to make his way back into the team after this performance, with Jarun performing capably after he came in.

Conclusion: Overall, a point away with one man down for nearly half of the match, to a fellow Canadian opponent that has the makings of a rivalry for years to come, can only be seen as a positive result, particularly for the hard-working performances from midfield and defense.

NASL: http://www.nasl.com/article/uuid/1ia9311sutq3b1jgmm2jngp73o/halftime-recap-fc-edmonton-0-ottawa-fury-fc-0#.U8SXwCm9Kc0

OFFC: http://www.ottawafuryfc.com/news/detail/uuid/18anhlnouysk018wljcb2vnaql/shorthanded-fury-fc-earn-critical-road-draw-in-edmonton#.U8SYRim9Kc0

FCE: http://www.fcedmonton.com/news/detail/uuid/1ndf07nteasj31l52fh0wsqoyd/eddies-and-fury-scoreless-in-nasl-fall-season-opener#.U8SYxim9Kc0

Ottawa Sun: http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/07/13/shorthanded-ottawa-fury-steals-point-in-edmonton

Ottawa Citizen: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/soccer/fury-women-pound-toronto-squad-8-0-in-regular-season-finale

Metro News Ottawa:

Edmonton Sun:

RNO: http://www.rednationonline.ca/Articles2014/FuryandEdmontonplaytostalemate.aspx

CSN:

Soccer Newsday:

Flashes of Fury:

Blog Fury FC:

OFFC Review: https://offcreview.wordpress.com/2014/07/14/nasl-2014-matchday-10-at-edmonton-review

Ours is the Fury:

Stony Monday Riot:

Bytown Boys SC:

TSN 1200 Corner Kicks: http://autopod.ca/chum/28/podcasts/

RNO SMR Ours is the Fury:

BBSC The Banter: