

Posted by

Stuart Mactaggart ,

May 8, 2015 Email

Stuart Mactaggart

On Twitter:

@FuryFanatic

Ottawa Fury will host the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday afternoon as they look to bounce back from a run of poor results. Fury were shaken up after allowing three goals in the last fifteen minutes during the first leg of the Voyageurs Cup and had failed to regroup themselves. With a week off since their match in Brooklyn, spirits are high at TD Place and Fury look read for this weekend’s match.



Tampa Bay has nearly rebuilt their squad during the offseason, with Rowdies head coach Thomas Rongen calling it “basically an expansion squad” in terms of new signings. They have got off to a strong start this season and are expected to be one of the teams competing for a playoff spot later this year.



Keep Thinking



Ottawa Fury will be without some key players, including Richie Ryan, Tom Heinemann and Mike Randolph, who are all out injured. Brazilian pair Paulo Jr and Oliver are also questionable for the match after picking up knocks in New York last weekend. This means that Wiedeman will likely get that start up front for Ottawa as he is the only fit centre forward, while Poltronieri will also get some playing time.



Fury will need a win against the Rowdies if they are going to keep off the bottom of the table. With Minnesota and Scorpions struggling so far this year Ottawa have managed to sit just above the bottom of the table, however with a by-week coming up after the Rowdies match, Fury will need to get all three points this weekend if they wish to recover from s shaky start to the season.



In The End



Marc Dos Santos seems confident heading into the weekend, saying “Mentally, this is a very strong group, nobody hides from defeat. We came off a very hard week, kind of like a boxing match where you get punched and can’t put your hands up, and the opponent punches you a lot. That’s what happened with Edmonton and Fort Lauderdale.” However with a full week off between matches Dos Santos believes his squad has regrouped and is ready for the match this weekend.



It will be important for Ottawa to take advantage of the home crowd this weekend and earn a big three points. With an upcoming by-week and several players returning from injury in the coming weeks, it will be important for the squad to head into the short break with a winning mentality and lots of confidence.



Prediction

Ottawa Fury 2-1 Tampa Bay Rowdies