There are many adjectives which could be used to describe the first two matches of Ottawa Fury FC’s sophomore campaign in the North American Soccer League. While Marc Dos Santos’ side has just one point of a possible six to start the season, Ottawa has played fluid, attractive football at different points in the first 180 minutes of its season.
Crucial Weeks Ahead for Fury FC
The road to the playoffs, however, does not reward attractive football. What is rewarded by the NASL’s “Championship” playoff structure is victories out of the gate. With the league’s Spring Season champion being crowned after a tiny ten-game sprint, it is vital a team gets off to a good start if they are to compete for the coveted postseason berth awarded to the first-place team come the end of the Spring Season.
Luckily for Ottawa, which sits tied for 8th in the eleven-team circuit after a loss and a draw in weeks one and two, nobody has really taken the initiative around the league. At most, four teams (Carolina, New York, Tampa Bay, and potentially Minnesota) will start the year with four of a possible six points, while all other teams have dropped significant points. This means that Fury FC, currently two points behind Jacksonville, which occupies what is essentially the fourth and final playoff spot, are still well within reach of a run at the Spring Season title. All they have to do is navigate the choppy waters of the next two weeks.
And oh, what difficult waters the next two weeks present.
This Saturday will see Ottawa entertain Minnesota United, recently approved for MLS expansion in a few years’ time, in its home opener. The visitors from Minnesota boast what is hands-down the finest attack in the NASL, with the likes of US international Miguel Ibarra, 2014 NASL Golden Boot winner Chris Ramirez, 2013 NASL Golden Boot winner Pablo Campos, and former New York Red Bull Jonny Steele. Thus, Fury FC will not only have to find some offence, but find a way to shut down the NASL’s highest-powered offence.
The games will then come fast and furiously, as Ottawa will host Canadian rivals FC Edmonton in the first leg of their pivotal Amway Canadian Championship series. The winner of the matchup will move onto a second round date with MLS side Whitecaps FC, and Fury FC will be looking to avenge a painful first round exit from last year. The Eddies have had a middling start to their spring campaign, also sitting at one draw and one loss, though expectations for Colin Miller’s side were high entering 2015. Expect youngster Hanson Boakai to feature for FC Edmonton, while the Eddies’ former starting goalkeeper, John Smits, should see some time between the sticks. Smits has been replaced at the top of the FCE depth chart by offseason acquisition Matt VanOekel, who arrived from Minnesota.
Fury FC will then play its third home match in seven days on Saturday, April 25th, as the Fort Lauderdale Strikers will pay a visit the nation’s capital. The Strikers’ visit last season saw them escape with three points courtesy of the now-departed Fafa Picault. Also long gone is their bench boss from 2014, as affable Austrian manager Günter Kronsteiner was replaced by local product Marcelo Neveleff on the Strikers’ bench. Brazilian imports PC and Leo Moura are the stars of the new-look Fort Lauderdale outfit, who were written off by many after a tumultuous offseason.
Ottawa will hit the road for the reverse fixture in their Canadian Championship on Wednesday the 29th in Edmonton, looking to advance to the second round of the domestic cup for the first time in club history.
The end of the hectic two-week period will see Ottawa travel to the Big Apple for a date with Raul and the New York Cosmos on Saturday, May 2nd. Playing their fifth match in fourteen days, three points on the road against one of the league’s top, and certainly its richest, club is a big ask. Beyond Raul, the likes of Sebastian Guenzatti, Andres Flores, and Walter Restrepo all pose creative threats in the attacking third.
With captain and midfield general Richie Ryan yet to see competitive action due to a nagging knock, and manager Marc Dos Santos limited heavily in his selections the past two weeks due to various suspensions and injuries, it remains to be seen what a full-strength Fury FC can do.
That being said, the next two weeks will be critical regardless for the second-year club in the nation’s capital. A prospective home-and-away against MLS opposition looms, potentially just 180 minutes of solid football away, but the three league matches against top opposition will also need to be productive if Ottawa wants to stay relevant in the Spring Season discussion.
With one of the league’s most talented teams headed north for Saturday’s home opener, it promises to be an exciting kick-off to the crucial two weeks of Fury FC football ahead.
