

Posted by

Steve Bottjer ,

April 24, 2014 Email

Steve Bottjer

On Twitter:

@BottjerRNO

Hometown side Ottawa Fury FC made history for the second consecutive match on Wednesday, making their Amway Canadian Championship debut against fellow NASL club FC Edmonton. Both teams were looking to bounce back in Canada’s premier club tournament after dropping their respective NASL home openers on Saturday.



While both sides had plenty of chances in what was a frenetic and physically intense match neither side would ultimately be able to open the two-leg opening round of the 2014 Amway Canadian Championship with a goal.



Edmonton came close to game winner deep into extra time courtesy of forward Frank Jonke, but Fury keeper Devala Gorrick came up big on the blistering shot from the Canadian International.



The scoreless first leg sets the stage for an entertaining second match in Edmonton, as both teams had chances to win the first leg and tempers boiled over at times.



For Colin Miller's FC Edmonton side, a scoreless draw is not a poor result away from home. There were plenty of positives for the visitors, including forward Tomi Ameobi's energetic performance and John Smits' quality performance in goal for the Eddies. The visitors outshot Fury FC 11-7 on the evening, and outpossessed Fury FC 56-44, coming on stronger as the match progressed.



"Very pleased with the performance, it was as well as we've played all season. I thought overall we were the better side, and I can't fault the lads' work rate," FC Edmonton manager Colin Miller said after the match.



As for Fury FC, Marc Dos Santos will be happy with the fact that his side did not give up a crucial away goal. Wednesday's match marks the first competitive points gained in the club's short history. There were positives aplenty for Fury FC as well, with P.R. Mayard, Drew Beckie , and Philippe Davies all excelling for the hosts in their Amway Canadian Championship debut.



"We created a lot of chances early on, but FC Edmonton certainly came on and we had a lot of trouble especially in the first twenty-five minutes of the second half. Our goalkeeper made a huge save, and it would have been unfair if Edmonton won," Fury FC manager Marc Dos Santos added. "We have a lot of guys on this team that can play, when other guys are injured. We showed that today, Drew (Beckie) had an excellent game at centre back, Andres (Fresenga) was very good as well."