A hard-fought first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship saw Ottawa Fury FC and FC Edmonton battle to a scoreless draw in front of a loud — albeit chilly — crowd of more than 2,400 at Keith Harris Stadium Wednesday night.

But despite the lack of scoring, the match proved an entertaining one as both teams had even possession in a contest that was a physical battle from the first kick-off. The up-tempo match was expected, as the aggregate winner of both legs between the two teams goes on to play MLS side Montreal Impact in the next round of the championship.

Fury head coach Marc Dos Santos said he was impressed with the way his team came out to open the match and, despite some issues for the first part of the second half, thought it was a good fight.

"Especially in the first 25 minutes, we came in very well and created opportunities early," he said. "We created situations, they created situations."

Ottawa goalkeeper Devala Gorrick saved the game late for the Fury, stretching out to make an outstanding stop in the waning seconds of stoppage time.

"It's one of the those saves that I live for," said Gorrick, who seemed to see any ball that came near him Wednesday night.

Other than a few breakdowns in the second half, Gorrick liked what he saw from his squad.

"What I see a lot is that each game we're showing more and more and building as a team," he said. "(Wednesday) we had so many chances. We get one of those goals and the game is different. I'm excited to see what happens next."

As expected, the game showed plenty of physicality.

Tempers boiled over in the 70th minute after Ottawa forward Carl Haworth got shoved while on the ground in the Edmonton penalty box. Teammate Philippe Davies was shown a yellow card in the fracas after coming to Haworth’s defence and several players began pushing and shoving.

The melee followed a great chance for Ottawa to take the lead after Fury defender Mason Trafford sent a strike just high of the Edmonton goal.

The Fury had another chance to take the lead in the 79th minute, but Davies had his shot blocked on a great tackle from Edmonton’s Michael Nonni. That was followed by a great defensive play from Drew Beckie in the 85th minute on a dangerous attack by Edmonton’s Frank Jonke at the top of the Ottawa penalty box.

The first half was just as entertaining as Davies — a native of Longueuil, Que. — led the offensive charge for his squad.

While Davies couldn’t find the back of the net in the first half, he easily had the most scoring opportunities after heading the ball inches over the FC Edmonton cross bar and two other shots that went either just high or just wide.

The possession game was about as even as it could get, with Ottawa controlling the ball 49% of the time to Edmonton’s 51%. Edmonton, as expected, was a fan of the long pass across the middle third to start its attacks.

Even with 6-foot-5 central defender Omar Jarun out with an eye injury suffered last week’s match against Minnesota, Beckie shifted seamlessly into Jarun’s role next to Trafford. The duo continued the strong defensive play that made Beckie Ottawa’s man of the match against Minnesota and Trafford getting the honours for the season-opener against Fort Lauderdale in Florida.

Beckie, originally drafted by MLS side New York Red Bulls, but never played for the team, received great praise from his coach following the match.

"He could get back in MLS if he continues like that," Dos Santos said. "He was drafted by Columbus for a reason. It wasn't by fluke or luck."

​In addition to a cheering section that was apparently 30 people strong, Ottawa native-turned FC Edmonton right back Eddie Edward turned in a strong match for the opposition, obviously fired up to play in his hometown after coming up through the Fury youth system.

Edward said there were a few butterflies before the kick off.

"I was a little bit nervous," he said. "But once you get out there and the ball starts rolling you forget about that."

There were a few concerning moments for the injury ravaged Fury. Captain Richie Ryan stayed down on the pitch for a while after being landed on by an Edmonton opponent, while Pierre-Rudolph Mayard was shaken up after getting clipped by Edward, earning the defender a yellow card.

Beckie was also shown a yellow card late in the first half for a rough tackle off a free kick, while Ottawa striker Vini Dantas was also shown a yellow for an ill-timed tackle attempt to start the second half. He was subbed out of the game shortly after and replaced by forward Carl Haworth.

Ottawa’s Zakaria Messoudi, on loan from the Montreal Impact, made his competitive debut in the second half when he replaced Oliver on the pitch.

Ryan was named man of the match in turning another solid game in the midfield.

Ottawa plays the second leg of the Canadian Championship next Wednesday in Edmonton. ​

chris.hofley@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @chrishofley