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Fury FC began the match with a roster shortened not only by injuries, but also by the callups of captain Julian de Guzman and fellow midfielder Marcel de Jong for international duty with the Canadian men’s squad. On this night, however, they weren’t missed.

“There was absolutely no fear,” Ottawa head coach Paul Dalglish said. “We have good players. The players know they’re good. This is what they live for. They try very hard to showcase themselves on the big occasion, and (Wednesday night) they did.”

Photo by Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen

Fury FC keeper Romuald Peiser was rarely tested in the first half, but he came up big on a couple of occasions in the second.

In the 64th minute, Nicolas Mezquida forced the NASL keeper of the year for 2015 to tip one ball over the ball over the crossbar. Octavio Rivero whistled a header wide of the goal in the 88th and he delivered a strike from close range in extra time only to have Peiser stand firm to the delight of the crowd of 9,057.

That was the third largest turnout ever to see Fury FC in Ottawa, trailing only the 2014 NASL fall season home opener against the New York Cosmos (14,593) and last year’s league semifinal against Minnesota United FC (9,346).

The Whitecaps subbed in 15-year-old Alphonso Davies in the 72nd minute. Born in Liberia, but raised in Edmonton, Davies had become the youngest player in USL when he signed with Vancouver in February, and he made history as the youngest scorer in USL with a goal against L.A. Galaxy II in mid-May.

Davies didn’t look out of place on the pitch, but neither he nor his teammates applied enough pressure on the Fury FC defence to break through.

Now the Fury FC players must come down from their understandably emotional high and regroup for a regular-season away contest against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday before gearing up for the rematch with the Whitecaps four days later.

gholder@postmedia.com

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