The buzz in Ottawa is starting to pick up.
People heretofore unfazed by the existence of a professional soccer club in Ottawa are suddenly perking their ears up. How could you not? The team is currently riding a 12-match unbeaten string, which includes victories in their last five. They are the best team in NASL. They have charismatic players who seem to genuinely enjoy playing together and in this city. They have the best coach in the entire league, a man who eschews the sports clichés and gives honest answers to the questions before him. He is football culture, to borrow one of his dictums.
If you’re a soccer fan but haven’t been to Lansdowne Park Stadium for a match, what exactly are you waiting for?
Evening matches for the Fury are usually confined to mid-week, a time when Ottawans are much more likely to catch up on TV viewing than going out. It’s no surprise, then, that tickets sales have accelerated for this match, as it is being played on a Saturday night when the CFL team is out of town. The Fury have a summer weekend to themselves at the stadium, and it looks like they’re having a party while mom & dad are away. We all know those are the best kinds of parties!
The Fury undertake a three-match homestand which sees the three teams that currently trail them in the Combined table attempt to come to Ottawa and knock the Fury off their perch. Saturday night’s match is against fourth place Minnesota United FC, with 2nd place New York Cosmos coming through mid-week on the 26th and the 3rd place Tampa Bay Rowdies making the trip to the capital in two weeks. How the Fury perform in the next three weeks could go a long way in securing how we think back on this season. Do well, and the Fury will cement themselves as the dominant team of 2015; stumble, and we may look back on what might have been.
Minnesota haven’t been the powerhouse in 2015 that saw them win the Woosnam Cup last season as the top points getter in NASL. Selling US Men’s National Team midfielder Miguel Ibarra to Club Léon of Liga MX did them no favours, but they are still dangerous with the likes of striker Cristian Ramirez and former Spartak Moscow midfielder Ibson.
As a road team, the Loons have earned a third of the points on offer, which is about where good teams want to be. On the other hand, the Fury have earned 74% of the available points at Lansdowne Park Stadium, which is a rate only great teams achieve. Only the Cosmos have been better at home in 2015, with two draws the only blemish on their record. The Fury are 6-2-1 (W-D-L) at home.
So far in 2015, the Loons have one loss and one draw against the Fury, yet dominate the all-time series with 3 wins, one loss and one draw. In their last match against the Fury, they put an end to Romuald Peiser’s 648-minute shutout streak through a Ramirez goal. It was also the last match the Fury didn’t win, the match ending in a 1-1 draw on July 11th in Minnesota. The Fury will surely be out for revenge.
If you’re in Ottawa, don’t miss out on this three-match homestand. Watch it either in stadium, on TV on Rogers 22, or online at the Fury website. Be a part of this phenomenon taking shape as it becomes one of the go-to events in the city.
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