On a rain-soaked night in Ottawa, the Ottawa Fury escaped the clutches of the Tampa Bay Rowdies by the skin of their teeth with a 2-2 draw. It was also a night where the unsightly gridiron lines were present for, we are told, the only time in 2015. Fury fans will hope that the type of display put on by the home squad will also be a one-off.
The Fury got off to a good enough start on the score-sheet, staking a 2-0 lead by the 33rd minute through goals by Brazilians Paulo Jr. and Oliver. That two-goal lead was not well-earned, as Tampa seemed hungrier than the Fury in winning possession, attacking the ball and pressing Fury players into mistakes. Unsurprisingly, the two-goal advantage would be short-lived as Tampa answered back only two minutes later with a goal from Tamika Mkandawire.
That’s not to say the Rowdies were playing well. The team lacked any shape in the first half, perhaps the symptom of playing only its second match under new head coach Stuart Campbell. The back four were particular awful in holding their line, making Fury through-balls more dangerous than they should have been.
In the second half, the Rowdies seemed to have addressed these problems and were subsequently much more effective. Fury goalkeeper Romuald Peiser was called upon time and again to keep the ball out of the net, making spectacular saves and coming out to intercept quality crosses.
As the light rain continued to come down, and as the Rowdies grew stronger, it became apparent that the Fury were on their heels. Fury fans were witness to ineffective clearances, stray passes and an inability to take the ball from Rowdies attackers. Fury defenders would often guess the direction of a dribbling Rowdie player one way, only to be left in the dust. A Rowdies equalizer soon felt like an inevitability, and sure enough in the 87th minute the Fury were punished for their lackluster play with a goal by Honduran Darwin Espinal.
The goal won’t make the list for Goals of the Year, but was indicative of the way the match went. As the ball was sent this way and that in and out of the Fury 18-yard box, the ball eventually came to Darwin’s foot. As the Fury screamed for an offside call (he wasn’t), Darwin calmly slotted the ball under a challenging Peiser’s legs to tie the game at two.
The final minutes drastically reduced the need for nail clippers in the city in the coming week, as the Rowdies continued to lay siege to the Ottawa goal even as the Fury attempted to claw away to get a winner. The sound of the final whistle was a welcome one from the 6,081 fans who braved the elements to see the game to its end.
Head coach Marc Dos Santos was blunt in his assessment of the result in his post-match scrum, stating: “I think we didn’t deserve to win, we didn’t deserve the three points, and actually we have to be happy and (feel) lucky we got a point out of this.” He added: “We weren’t sharp, we weren’t focused.”
The draw allows the Fury to pick up a point, but it also makes securing a playoff spot that much more of a challenge after picking up only two out of a possible nine points in this three-match home-stand. The difficulty of the task at hand was not lost on Dos Santos: “Whoever thought our walk towards the playoffs was going to be easy – media, fans, players – all delusional. It’s going to be very, very difficult.”
Dos Santos isn’t exaggerating. Of the Fury’s 10 remaining matches, only three will be played at home. In order to secure that place in The Championship, the Fury will need to regain the swagger they possessed during their 12-match unbeaten run.
Man of the Match: Romuald Peiser. An ugly match for both clubs, it must be said, was kept to a draw by Frenchman’s heroics, who is also making a strong claim to become the club’s 2015 MVP.
Injury notes: Uğur Albayrak got the start up top for the Fury, but had to be subbed out in the 17th minute due to a hamstring issue.
Next match: The Fury head to San Antonio to take on the last place Scorpions on Saturday night. Also on Saturday night, the Rowdies will host the league-leading New York Cosmos.
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