Quality finishing and steadfast defending were the keys on Saturday afternoon as the Fort Lauderdale Strikers claimed all three points against a plucky Ottawa Fury FC in the Canadian capital. A brace from Jose Angulo and an absolute dazzler from Marlon Freitas led the way for the Ft. Lauderdale, while former Striker Rafael Alves headed home the lone Fury FC marker.
“We started off shaky,” admitted Strikers manager Marcelo Neveleff. “Then we started to dominate the match, and we got the first goal just before the half ended – overall, we were well-organized, and earned the three points.”
Strikers Triumph Over Fury FC in Canadian Capital
The match picked up steam quickly, as Ottawa winger Paulo Júnior rattled the crossbar in just the second minute with a shot from distance, beating Strikers goalkeeper Joe Nasco cleanly.
Nasco was then lifted from the match in the 12th minute with an ankle injury suffered while making a save on Ottawa striker Tom Heinemann. Nasco was forced to go to the hospital for further evaluation, and seems likely to miss a healthy chunk of time.
His replacement, UConn graduate Lionel Brown, was tested immediately as Fury FC controlled the opening half hour. Brown was forced into action with a pair of saves on Paulo Júnior, easily Ottawa’s best player on the afternoon, and looked comfortable after entering the match.
Fort Lauderdale began to find their attractive passing game in the later stages of the first half, and the Strikers were rewarded with a goal in the 41st minute. PC’s corner was battered around inside the Ottawa 6-yard box before falling to Jose Angulo at the back post, and the former Pittsburgh Riverhound made no mistake, slotting home from close range.
Ottawa began the second half on the front foot, but failed to turn their possession into quality opportunities.
Fort Lauderdale would double its lead in the 64th minute, as midfielder Marlon Freitas curled a beauty into the top corner of the Ottawa net, beating fully-stretched Ottawa goalkeeper Romuald Peiser from twenty-five yards out.
Fury FC began to press in the final twenty minutes, and Ottawa was rewarded for its efforts in the 78th minute. Sinisa Ubiparipovic lofted a high corner into the Strikers penalty area, and Rafael Alves headed past Brown to cut the Fort Lauderdale lead in half.
Ottawa was then burned in injury time as, with nine players committed forward, Jose Angulo raced in on a counterattack breakaway. While Peiser made an excellent save on Angulo’s initial effort, the Colombian was able to essentially jog the ball into the Ottawa net on the rebound.
The victory sees Fort Lauderdale improve to 2-0-2 on the young NASL season, and Strikers boss Marcelo Neveleff was thrilled with his side’s performance. “We came off of a loss in the last fifteen minutes against Edmonton, and this win shows that our group is very solid and very committed to succeeding.”
Meanwhile, Ottawa falls to 1-1-2, losers of their last two matches and outscored 6-2 in the last 180 minutes of soccer.
“Missed opportunities have been hurting us all year,” said Fury FC assistant manager Martin Nash, who had the reigns on Ottawa’s bench on Saturday with manager Marc Dos Santos’ absence due to personal reasons. “We created a ton of chances but couldn’t get one in early, and then they scored off a corner, which is something we talked about: winning the set-piece battle. They’re a small team, they had four guys back, and for us not to clear that corner, it was heartbreaking to go into half down one-nothing.”
Fury FC will be back in action in domestic cup play on Wednesday night in Edmonton, looking to reverse a 3-1 defeat suffered in the first leg last week, while the Strikers will have a full week to prepare for a date with the Atlanta Silverbacks next weekend.
