Ottawa Fury FC got some revenge in Florida Saturday night and kept its slim playoff hopes alive with a 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Oliver scored a beautiful goal in the first half that would stand up as the winner, heading in a perfect cross into the box from Ramon Soria. Sinisa Ubiparipovic, sent in all alone on Tampa Bay keeper Matt Pickens thanks to a great ball from striker Vini Dantas, added some insurance in the final minute of injury time.

It was the same scoreline as when the two teams met two weekends ago in Ottawa, only reversed, with the Rowdies picking up the road win in that one.

Though Fury still sits in ninth on the NASL full season table, losing Saturday would have all but mathematically eliminated them from post-season contention.

The three points were huge, said Fury coach Marc Dos Santos.

"We keep believing," he said. "If we (lost) today, we would probably be dead for a playoff spot but we're still alive."

While Ottawa has been on the wrong end of some heartbreaking last-minute finishes, the expansion club seemed determined not to let that happen in Tampa. While Fury was content to sit on its 1-0 lead through nearly all of the second half, the team appeared confident in the way it handled the size and speed of the Rowdies.

Fury appeared equally confident in the play of goalkeeper Romuald Peiser, who turned in another standout performance, stopping six shots -- most of them quality scoring chances -- to pick up the clean sheet, his first with Fury.

"I think we were a team today," said Dos Santos. "The (club) has been working so hard to build this team and to bring these guys together."

That was the case Saturday in a match where everyone on the visiting side were on the same page. The same couldn't be said for a Rowdies side that lost its compsure after the opening goal and, despite having a number of quality opportunities -- including a shot that clanked off the post beyond the fingers of a diving Peiser -- were given fits by Ottawa's defenders. That was particularly apparent throught he first 45 minutes as Fury's high back line forced the Rowdies offside repeatedly.

"If we can't (finish) our chances, we don't deserve to win," said Tampa Bay coach Ricky Hill. "One goal changes the game and we couldn't score any of them."

Hill said he wasn't happy "with the discipline" of his team, whom he said tried to do too much at times "instead of doing the simple things well."

"This is a game that we should not have lost," said Hill, whose side has now dropped two straight games at home.

Ottawa, winless through its first six games of the fall season, now have points in four of the team's last five contests with two wins, two draws and a single loss.

Fury FC travels to Carolina next weekend to take on the RailHawks Saturday night.

SIDELINES

The Rowdies may have tweet-jinxed themselves Saturday. After Fury's official feed tweeted an innocent crack about playing "soccer baseball" in the Rowdies stadium (which was, and still looks very much like, a baseball stadium), the Rowdies got their backs up, tweeting: "We could play wherever you want and you'd still be dead last." Ouch ... Say what you will about some of the acting that goes in soccer, but Peiser's ability to work the clock and control the pace of the game is unmatched in the NASL. He's proving to be one of the most skilled, too ... Sinisa Ubiparipovic, who has been bothered by a sore back, didn't start the match but accomplished a lot in a short time, picking up a yellow card and a goal in about 20 minutes of action. "

chris.hofley@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @chrishofley