The first half was arguably their worst of their inaugural NASL Spring Season, but Ottawa Fury FC came on strong towards the end of their date with the defending-champion New York Cosmos, squandering multiple late opportunities while sinking to a one-nil defeat.

The first forty-five were an admitted embarrassment for Marc Dos Santos’ side. The Fury FC manager was quoted at describing the first half as a ‘show’ that his squad ‘watched…New York play in front of them.’ I couldn’t agree more- it was quite possible the worst half of technique from Ottawa’s expansion team thus far. The team couldn’t string more than two passes together, and looked disorganized in the midfield.

A defensive breakdown allowed Alessandro Noselli (above) to slice through the heart of the Fury defence before depositing a great ball from Mads Stokkelien into the back of the net, and the hosts led after just six minutes.

Things didn’t improve much for Fury FC in the first half, as they managed just one shot off-target which didn’t trouble Cosmos ‘keeper Jimmy Maurer. Dos Santos’ side were completely overrun by the likes of Noselli, Guenzatti, and Joseph Nané in the midfield, and were extremely lucky to trail by the single goal at half-time.

An initially bright start to the second half for Fury FC quickly fizzled, as a few semi-chances just after the fifty minute mark went unused before the Cosmos regained control of the midfield and created multiple chances.

Luckily for Ottawa, Gio Savarese’s side couldn’t take advantage of two quality chances in the second half which could’ve put the game to bed- Mads Stokkelien missed a wide-open net after skirting around charging Fury ‘keeper Devala Gorrick, while standout defender Jimmy Ockford couldn’t get a foot to a well-delivered free kick from Ayozé.

Fury FC would finally get their first true chance of the match in the 73rd minute, as Tom Heinemann‘s half-chance was headed well wide of the Cosmos net.

It took the Fury until the 88th minute to actually force Maurer into making a save- but boy did he have to be sharp when called upon. A Maykon free kick sailed into the Cosmos’ penalty area, where Tony Donatelli headed cross-goal for Drew Beckie. The Fury FC centreback was unable to beat Maurer from close range, and the Fury’s only true chance of the match was squandered.

Despite multiple corners/free kicks in injury time, Ottawa didn’t come close to scoring again, and deservingly fell one-nil to a distinctly average Cosmos team. Carl Haworth and substitute P.R. Mayard both had excellent shooting opportunities late-on blocked because they took too long to shoot.

New York didn’t beat Fury FC on Sunday afternoon- Fury FC beat themselves. The Cosmos did not play an especially good game, and the three points were there for the taking had Ottawa played even marginally better in the midfield. Poor passing throughout, combined with an overall terrible first half, sunk the Fury on Sunday at Shuart Stadium.

Match Ratings

(Average Rating = 6.0)

Gorrick, GK – 7.5 – Another quality performance from, in my opinion, the Spring Season MVP for Fury FC. Made two or three quality stops, commanded the defenders well, and was the reason it wasn’t 2- or 3-0 New York by halftime.

Maykon, LB – 5.0 – Another mediocre/poor performance from one of the team’s ‘marquee’ signings, Maykon made some decent runs up the left flank, but to make a run you need pace- something he has sorely lacked this season (be it due to match fitness or injury). Turned the ball over, by my count, eleven times on Sunday. Eleven.

Trafford, CB – 5.5 – Noselli sprinted right past him on the NY goal, and he made multiple ‘gaping mouth’ defensive mistakes- two in his own penalty area! One of many Fury players who just…wasn’t up to par on Sunday.

Beckie, CB – 6.0 – A poor game by Beckie compared to the rest of his body of work this season, the former Columbus Crew draft pick failed to bury Ottawa’s best chance of the match, and was partially to blame along with Trafford for NY’s goal.

Davies, RB – 6.5 – Davies performed admirably yet again at right back, coming up with two crucial tackles in the defensive third while joining the attack when appropriate. Best Ottawa defender on the day, in my opinion.

Oliver, LM/LCM – 5.5 – After a promising start to his Spring Season, Oliver’s form dipped substantially towards the end of the season- culminating in today’s invisible performance. The only times he was noticeable this afternoon were when he was stomping, elbowing, or chirping Cosmos players.

Ryan, CM – 6.0 – The captain, dependable as ever, did suffer a slight dip in form Sunday along with the rest of his team. Some of his passes were uncharacteristically poor, and he lost out on multiple physical battles against the more physical Guenzatti. Still one of the better Fury players outside of Gorrick.

Donatelli, RCM – 5.5 – The team’s surprise leading scorer did little against the Cosmos, only touching the ball ~10-12 times. Did head Maykon’s free kick perfectly to Drew Beckie late in the game, but other than that- invisible.

Vini Dantas, LW – 5.5 – Playing in a different position with a different role, Dantas was fairly invisible. Had a handful of decent touches on the ball, but didn’t have the pace to create chances off the wing. Was substituted on 72 minutes, after picking up a yellow card for a pretty clumsy tackle.

Heinemann, ST – 6.0 – Heinemann is a striker. To perform, strikers need service. Heinemann had no service, therefore had no chances to affect his rating. Actually did well on the only half-chance he received to get a head to an air ball.

Haworth, RW – 6.5 – Haworth was energetic, but lacked the opportunity to create because, well, the Fury saw none of the ball in the offensive third until ~85 minutes. Took too long on an injury time opportunity, but other than that was at least noticeable- more than most of the squad can say.

All things considered, it was a disappointing performance from Fury FC. They had a chance to knock off the defending (and out of form) league champions, to put an exclamation mark on their first NASL Spring Season- but they didn’t. They slumped to an uninspired one-nil defeat.

Some pundits, media members, and fans highlighted the absence of Sinisa Ubiparipovic as the reason for the midfield’s poor play. The fact is, Ubiparipovic did very little in the team’s 1-0 win over FC Edmonton last week, and the midfield still performed well.

Tonight’s game highlighted the fact that this team does need to improve in certain areas, and Marc Dos Santos has promised they will (here).

Coming up later this week will be a full Spring Season recap, with overall ratings for every player who saw the pitch, as well as a separate post for my Fury Spring Season M.V.P designation.

As always, keep your eyes peeled on the Fury FC website for more of my W-League articles.

Have a great off-season!