Ottawa Fury FC proved Saturday that controlling most of the possession game does not guarantee a good result when playing a sound defensive team like FC Edmonton.

While Ottawa had the ball a whopping 61% of the time against Edmonton at TD Place, the Eddies converted their minimal chances to hand Fury the 2-0 home loss.

Fury's problem Saturday wasn't holding onto the ball but rather trying and failing to find that last connection in and around the Edmonton penalty box to generate any serious scoring chances.

It wasn't until late in the game that Ottawa had its first close chance to score as Pierre-Rudolph Mayard sent a ball just wide of the left post.

Eddies keeper John Smits was called on to make a good save in the dying seconds of the game, but the game was all but over already at that point.

After going down 1-0 in the ninth minute on a goal from Chad Burt, Edmonton extended its lead just over 10 minutes later on a bizarre corner kick by Lance Laing that found its way by Ottawa goalkeeper Romuald Peiser without touching anyone. There was an argument to be made that there should not have been a corner awarded on the play.

Fury FC head coach Marc Dos Santos, who was forced to field a lineup without striker Tommy Heinemann (suspension) and forward Oliver (injury), called it a "one direction" game.

"(They) scored on our mistakes," said Dos Santos.

While Dos Santos acknowledged not having two six-goal scorers in the lineup was difficult, that wasn't the only problem facing Fury Saturday.

"I also think, at the end of the day, it's lack of quality," said the coach. "When you're so many times around the 18 (yard box) and close to the 18 and you don't get a lost shot, a lost pass, it's a lack of quality."

Fury captain Richie Ryan brushed off the suggestion missing two key pieces was to blame for this loss.

"It's our own fault," said Ryan, adding Dos Santos and his assistant had prepared the team for the kind of game Edmonton plays.

"We were told how to stop them and we didn't, so that's disappointing.

"We can't blame missing Tommy or Oliver today "¦ We're grown men, we create chances and we've got to be responsible. Throwing our hands up when we don't create chances isn't good enough."

Fury has now lost two in a row for the first time since early August, when Ottawa dropped decisions to Minnesota and Fort Lauderdale.

Saturday's loss also snapped a streak in which Ottawa had scored at least once in each of its last seven game.

Striker Vini Dantas picked up the match's first yellow card in the 74th after accidentally booting Edmonton defender Albert Watson in the nose while going for the ball. Watson briefly left the game to get his nose packed but returned shortly after. Edmonton keeper John Smits was cautioned late in the game for delay of game.

While Edmonton continues to fight for a playoff spot, Fury, who were eliminated from contention last weekend, ended any chance they had of catching the Eddies and finishing as the league's top Canadian team.

Fury now trails Edmonton by eight points with just two games remaining, including a final home contest against Indy Eleven next weekend.

Impressively, Edmonton's Ritchie Jones played a full 90 minutes despite dealing with a nasty bout of what was believed to be food poisoning earlier in the day Saturday.

Heinemann will be back in the Fury lineup next weekend while it's still unknown how long Oliver will be on the shelf for. He's recovering after being elbowed in the face by New York Cosmos' Danny Szetela last weekend.

Twitter: @chrishofley