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First thoughts
Ottawa Fury FC returns home after a difficult road trip to Indy, where they picked up a hugely morale-boosting 1-2 away victory last Saturday, in which Tom Heinemann converted a penalty kick and Sinisa Ubiparipovic scored a late game-winner to energize all those following the club. Tampa Bay comes in to Ottawa with numerous strong performances in their Fall Season, but with a crushing 0-1 home loss last week vs. Carolina in a match in which the Rowdies had over 70% possession and dominated most of the game, only to concede an injury-time winner.
Despite the win last week, Ottawa remains at the bottom of the Fall Season standings in 10th place, with 5 points from 7 matches. Tampa Bay, despite their own last-minute loss last week, sits at 3rd place, with 12 points from the same number of fixtures. Ottawa has compiled a home record of 2-2-4 for the 2014 NASL season, while Tampa Bay boasts a solid away record of 3-2-2 this year.
The Rowdies have visited Ottawa once already this season, where they earned a 1-1 draw in May, in a match where winger Carl Haworth and Ubiparipovic shined for the Fury FC. Rowdies ST Georgi Hristov converted a first-half penalty on a soft foul by CB Omar Jarun, but CM Tony Donatelli equalized Ottawa ten minutes later, getting on the end of a corner kick from DM Richie Ryan. Tampa Bay lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, which they have used throughout the season.
Keep Thinking
This week has seen a large amount of turnover in the squad, with two significant movements happening on Thursday. The club announced in the morning that LB Maykon had mutually terminated his contract with Ottawa to move back to Brazil to be with his family. The Fury FC announced later at the end of the day that RB Ryan Richter has been recalled by Toronto FC, his parent club, for a minimum of 3 matches while they are going through an injury crisis of their own.
With CB Drew Beckie picking up an ankle injury ruling him out for 2 to 4 weeks, and with CB Omar Jarun and RB Andres Fresenga just returning to the matchday squad this week after about a month out, the Fury backline has become as thin as it ever has been. It is currently expected that DM Mauro Eustaquio, who had a great debut in the starting XI a few weeks ago in Minnesota, is expected to shift into centre-back next to Mason Trafford. At right-back, it looks likely that Fresenga may return to the starting XI straight back from injury or that versatile winger Phil Davies may shift back to the position, while Ramon Soria will continue at LB. Winger Oliver also makes his return to the matchday squad, and may fill in for Davies’s spot at RW.
Tampa Bay has had a strong start to the Fall Season after finishing 7th, level on points with Ottawa, in the Spring Season. After starting the Fall Season with 2 straight wins, the Rowdies have been competitive throughout with its settled lineup, with the starting lineup having remained consistent throughout the past month, as they have picked up 4 wins and 3 losses so far. Their matches have been quite high-scoring throughout the past few months, with a wild 3-4 away win in Carolina a good example of this trend.
The Rowdies are led by the NASL Golden Ball winner from last season, Hristov, who has been leading their goalscoring this season as well with 5 goals, while target man Amani Walker plays next to him and has chipped in 3 goals. Their midfield is quite settled, with width provided by Brian Shriver, who won the NASL Golden Boot from 2013 with Carolina, and Keith Savage, while the centre midfield is patrolled by ex-TFC player Darel Russell and Shane Hill.
Tampa Bay’s defense is marshalled by GK Matt Pickens, who played for numerous seasons in Colorado, and captain Frank Sanfilippo, who was recently honoured by Rowdies supporters for his contribution to the club. LB Anthony Wallace is an American international, while CB J.P. Rodrigues is a Guyanese regular. CB Tamika Mkandawire boasts significant experience from the English Championship, as the club boasts a significant English influence thanks to manager and former England international Ricky Hill, who won NASL Manager of the Year and the NASL Soccer Bowl with Tampa Bay in 2012.
Final Thoughts
Ottawa has significant momentum going at the moment, with the late draw vs. San Antonio and the equally win vs. Indy giving a significant psychological boost to the club, as well as catching up to other clubs in the standings. However, with the depletion of the Fury FC backline, Ottawa will have to be wary of the dangerous talents in the Tampa Bay lineup, though they will be well served to take advantage of a Rowdies defense that has only kept one shutout this entire season. The match will most likely be an entertaining and high-scoring affair for the Fury FC supporters, do expect goals.
Injuries and Suspensions
CB Drew Beckie (out)
TV (Ottawa)
NASLLive.com, Saturday 7:00pm EDT
Prediction
Ottawa Fury FC 2-2 Tampa Bay Rowdies
RNO Ours is the Fury Podcast Match Preview
http://www.rednationonline.ca/Podcasts2014/OursistheFuryFurycelebratefirstwinofFall.aspx
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