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Ottawa Fury defeated Minnesota United in the NASL Championship Semi Final on Sunday afternoon, booking them a spot in the NASL Soccer Bowl in New York on November 15th. A Tom Heinemann double was enough to overcome an early Christian Ramirez penalty and earn Ottawa and extra time win. Fury will face the New York Cosmos in the final, as the Spring and Fall Season champions will battle it out to hoist the Soccer Bowl trophy.
Dos Santos had a full selection of players to choose from for his starting eleven, with long term absentee Nicki Paterson being the only injury on the roster. The back four remained the same as it has since May, while Richie Ryan returned to the midfield alongside Julian De Guzman and Sinisa Ubiparipovic. Tom Heinemann earned the starting spot up front, while Andrew Wiedeman and Paulo Jr started on the wings.
The Opening 45
The match started off fast, with Ottawa getting the first real scoring chance of the match in the 4th minute as Tom Heinemann headed on a Ryan Richter cross that was pushed just past the post by Ndjock. Minnesota would run the ball down the pitch and Mendes would get sandwiched between Falvey and Richter in the box, earning a penalty kick. Christian Ramirez would convert from the spot giving the visitors an early seventh minute lead.
Fury took control off the half as they created chance after chance, with Andrew Wiedeman and Tom Heinemann both missing quality scoring opportunities. In the thirtieth minute Richie Ryan would take a quick free kick by passing it to Julian De Guzman who would take a fantastic long range effort on goal, nearly catching Ndjock off guard and drawing Fury level. The match would enter the half with Minnesota leading 1-0 despite Ottawa leading in scoring chances and possession.
The Second Half
Fury would waste no time putting pressure on United, with Paulo Jr putting in a cross to Tom Heinemann, who would knock the ball down and slot it home for an equalizer in the 47th minute. United created several scoring chances just after Fury drew level, testing Peiser, however as the half progressed it was Fury who would once again take control of the match.
Andrew Wiedeman put a shot off the post, while also having a close range shot saved and another put into the side netting. As the match approached the final ten minutes Minnesota started to lay the pressure on. They would test Peiser several times, forcing the NASL Golden Glove winner to make several key saves. United has half a dozen chances during injury time, however the ninety would finish 1-1.
Extra Time
Fury controlled much of the play in the opening 15 minutes of extra time, with Oliver putting a shot just past the far post. In the second half of extra time Ubiparipovic would pick the ball at the half way line and play a perfectly weighted pass over the United midfield and defense to find a running Tom Heinemann who would take one touch before slotting home his second goal of the match.
The game would finish 2-1 after 120 minutes, earning the Canadian club a trip to New York for the NASL Championship Final. They will face the storied New York Cosmos on Sunday November 15th at 5pm in Raul’s last professional match. It will also be Marc Dos Santo’s last match in charge of Ottawa Fury, as the Canadian gaffer will be moving to the MLS in 2016.
Man Of The Match
Tom Heinemann
No doubt that Tom Heinemann was the man of the match, with the American striker slotting away both of Ottawa’s goals and securing the extra time win.
Honorable Mentions
Romuald Peiser has a fantastic match in goal and showed the league why he was this year’s top goal keeper. His saves in the 120th+ minute went a long way in helping keep the match at 2-1 in favour of Ottawa.
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