Ottawa Fury FC was defeated once again on the road, as they lost 2-1 at Minnesota this Saturday. Despite the defeat, Ottawa created their share of good chances, as they reverted back to their favoured 4-3-3 formation.



There were strong performances from Carl Haworth, who returned to the starting lineup on the left wing, and Sinisa Ubiparipovic, who broke the team’s goalless draught of over 4 league matches. However, it was two players who were starting for the first time for the Fury, keeper Romuald Peiser and DM Mauro Eustaquio, who grabbed the spotlight with their strong respective debuts in the Ottawa starting XI.



Ottawa had been looking to bounce back after a tough showing away at Carolina the previous week, while Minnesota was focused on another good result in front of their home crowd, including some fans who were watching the club play for the first time. The match took place directly after the Manchester City vs. Olympiacos friendly, a match which attracted 34,000+ to the University of Minnesota, but the league did not count this figure as the league single-game attendance record, as it was unclear how many of the spectators remained to take in both games.



The Opening 45



Manager Marc Dos Santos reverted back to the squad’s usual 4-3-3 formation, with Peiser named to the starting XI over Devala Gorrick, and Eustaquio getting a last-minute call into defensive midfield for captain Richie Ryan, after he picked up an injury in the warm-up session. With CB Omar Jarun being ruled out for 3-4 weeks and CM Tony Donatelli day-to-day, Drew Beckie and Nicki Paterson came in to the lineup, while Haworth came in for LB/LM Maykon.



Minnesota started the game with frightening speed, catching Ottawa off-guard as they played a beautiful long ball down Ottawa’s left flank behind LB Ramon Soria and quickly crossed it into the box, where NASL leading goal-scorer Christian Ramirez found the net only 4 minutes into the game. However, instead of piling on greater pressure, Minnesota sat back and allowed Ottawa to slowly get back into the game as the half progressed. Minnesota nearly scored a follow-up goal 15 minutes later, but the shot from the cross hit the corner of the frame, allowing Ottawa to escape. Haworth showed the most urgency among the Fury players, attempting to create some chances for Ottawa with his aggressive play, while Minnesota’s AM Miguel Ibarra kept the Ottawa defense honest with his clever passing.



The Second Half



Ottawa came away with a goal in the opening minutes of the half, as Ubiparipovic ended Ottawa’s 4-game goalless streak to an end, with a measured far-post finish from the left side of the penalty area. The goal came after a sublime diagonal ball from Eustaquio near the halfway line found Haworth on the left wing, who then exchanged passes with Ubiparipovic and eventually freed up the playmaker. Eustaquio then had a very positive sequence just a few minutes later, with a great tackle in midfield to stop a counter, and then lashing a 30-yard shot that the Minnesota keeper had to save at full stretch.



Shortly after, however, Beckie clipped Vicentini, who was chasing a ball into the box, at the edge of the penalty area, and United were given a penalty. There was some heated discussion amongst the players and referees about whether or not it should have been a penalty, as although Vicentini was taken down, Peiser would probably have gotten to the ball first regardless of the foul, while the contact looked to be right at the edge of the area. After the proceedings, Ramirez converted the penalty to tally his second of the match and give Minnesota a 2-1 lead.



Ottawa pressed for another equalizer, and Haworth, Oliver and Dantas all fashioned good chances within the penalty area, with a Haworth header from a long ball over the defense that was caught by Minnesota keeper Hildebrandt, and then Oliver grazing the post with a clever flick from a right-flank cross from ST Vini Dantas. The burly striker had the best chance to tie up the game, getting on to the end of a right-flank cross but shooting straight at the keeper.



Ottawa’s push for the equalizer, however, opened up large gaps in their midfield, and Minnesota got a number of late chances on the counter to kill off the game. The last 15 minutes of the game became the Romuald Peiser show, as he came up with numerous smart stops and acrobatic saves to prevent the lead from becoming bigger. Ottawa would finish with their 3rd loss of the fall campaign and find themselves at the bottom of the fall table with a solitary point. The Fury FC will look for their first win of the fall season next Saturday as they play host to Fort Lauderdale Strikers.



RNO Ottawa Fury FC Man of the Match: GK Romuald Peiser



Starting XI’s



Ottawa (4-3-3) – Peiser; Soria, Trafford, Beckie, Richter; Ubiparipovic, Eustaquio (Mayard 87’), Paterson; Haworth, Heinemann (Dantas 69’), Davies (Oliver 64’)



Minnesota (4-2-3-1) – Hildebrandt; Pitchkolan, Calvano, Dias, Venegas; Vicentini, Franks (Jordan 76′), Daley (Watson 71′), Ibarra, Mendes (Kallman 87′); Ramirez