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First Thoughts
Ottawa Fury FC will finish their 2014 NASL Season on the road this weekend as they hope to spoil Fort Lauderdale’s playoff hopes. Although Ottawa are out of the playoff picture, a road win in Florida and Carolina being able to defeat Minnesota United would mean Fort Lauderdale would miss out on the playoffs this year.
Fury FC are coming off of back to back home losses against FC Edmonton and Indy Eleven, both games that coach Marc Dos Santos feels Ottawa should have been able to win. Fury FC had a brief period midway through the Fall Season where it looked as though they would be able to battle for a playoff berth, however their heart and character wasn’t able to trump the skill and quality of the opponents over course of the season. Dos Santos is keen to bring in some new faces over the winter and help ensure that Ottawa are in the playoff picture next year, while keeping the core set of players he has established this season. The game in Florida will be a final chance for some players to showcase their talent to Dos Santos before cuts are made.
Keep Thinking
Dos Santos could change up the starting eleven following back to back loses, opting to give some of the younger more fringe players an opportunity to fight for a spot next year. Fury captain Richie Ryan will not travel to Florida following his straight red card last week vs Indy Eleven. Mauro is likely to play in the defensive midfield position for the third time this year, with the young midfielder having impressed in his previous outings.
Dos Santos chose to go with both Heinemann and Dantas last week as he looked to spark something up front; however Heinemann is expected to miss road game through injury. However, Oliver, Davies, Haworth and Mayard will all available upfront. The backline will likely remain unchanged this weekend, with Jarun being favoured over Beckie in recent weeks.
This will be a good opportunity for Ottawa to show that although they are in the bottom half of the table, they can still compete with clubs above them. Ottawa have been able to compete against teams like Minnesota and New York this season; however they have failed to close these games out. The squad has grown quite a bit since their first NASL game in Fort Lauderdale in the Spring Season, and they will be looking for a road win to finish out the year.
In The End
Ottawa have had trouble getting ahead early on in games and need to focus on being strong mentally. Ending the season on a high will be important for the team moral as they look to forget their last two performances at home. As the first year comes to a close for Ottawa Fury, there are a lot of things to be proud of and a ton of room for improvement. Marc Dos Santos is expected to spend much of the off season scouring the world for talent to bring into the nation’s capital, hoping to help grow soccer in Ottawa.
Prediction
Fort Lauderdale 2-2 Ottawa Fury
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