OTTAWA – Since their last outing on September 30, it’s been Ottawa Fury FC that has had to watch the rest of the Eastern Conference’s playoff contenders from the sidelines hoping that by the time their next outing arrived they would still have a path to reach the USL Cup Playoffs.

But on Saturday afternoon when the side hosts the Charleston Battery at TD Place (2 p.m. ET | Match Center | ESPN+) it will be those other contenders that are paying close attention to how Fury FC fares as one of four teams vying for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern bracket.

“I think first of all it’s fantastic that we’re going to be in the playoffs [race] until the final moments,” said Fury FC Head Coach Nikola Popovic. “To be able to fight for that, we have to be very proud about that. I think the mindset, it’s very, very good. We are focused on our game, we cannot be thinking of any other things.”

The fact that Ottawa’s game kicks off well in advance of the rest of the weekend’s slate should help the side’s focus as it takes on a Battery side that is locked into the No. 4 seed but is coming off back-to-back defeats to Toronto FC II and ATL UTD 2. Fury FC knows it must win against the Battery, a result that would both eliminate North Carolina FC from playoff contention and then put pressure on Nashville SC and Bethlehem Steel FC to get results in their final games to move back ahead of Ottawa.

And while Fury FC’s home form has been up and down all season – the side has recorded only one more win on home turf at TD Place than away from home in 2018 – the fact that the side has kept itself in with a chance going to the final weekend of the season is reason for optimism for the side.

“We’ve put ourselves into a much more difficult situation that we would have hoped, but at the end of the day if we can take care of business here at home in the last game of the season and put ourselves into a playoff spot going into the evening games and into Sunday,” said Fury FC’s Carl Haworth. “At that point anything can happen and it’s completely out of our control so our only focus is two o’clock here and Charleston and getting the three points.”

NASHVILLE AIMING TO MANAGE OUTCOME: One of the teams that will have a keen eye on Ottawa Fury FC’s contest is Nashville SC, which missed out on a place in the postseason on Tuesday night after being held to a 2-2 draw against Toronto FC II at First Tennessee Park. The side will play host to FC Cincinnati on Saturday night (8:30 p.m. ET | Match Center | ESPN+) knowing in advance whether it has clinched a playoff berth or if Ottawa has taken victory which would necessitate a positive result against the 2018 USL Regular Season champion.

Should Fury FC have failed to take all three points, it could offer the chance for Nashville to be more aggressive and look to push for a higher seed knowing that its place in the postseason is already secure. If his side needs to pick up a point to regain its edge over Ottawa, however, NSC Head Coach Gary Smith says the approach would be more cautious.

“If we need points, the mentality will to be selective,” said NSC Head Coach Gary Smith. “We need to be selective and professional in understanding how to manage the game well. When moments come, we can take advantage of great, but as the game unfolds we need to think about our opponent and where we are in the game.”