Fury fans can now exclaim it without reservation: “Top of the league!”.
A crowd of 5,175 fans braved the oppressive heat and humidity to see their club take three points against the Carolina Railhawks and climb to the summit of the NASL combined table. The winning goal came deep into six minutes of stoppage time off the foot of Carl Haworth, who netted his second goal in as many matches.
Ottawa opened the scoring in the 20th minute as Aly Hassan scored his first goal as a member of the Fury in his first start. Paulo Junior collected a pass from Mason Trafford down the left wing and seemed to instinctively know where Hassan would angle his run to goal, sending a perfectly weighted cross onto the striker’s head. Hassan deftly redirected the ball to where Carolina keeper Akira Fitzgerald was not, and it was 1-0 for the Fury.
The goal came against the run of play, as the Railhawks spent most of the first half in the Fury’s half of the field. Although they had their opportunities during that spell, they were denied time and again by Fury keeper Romuald Peiser. One such denial came late in the half as Peiser parried a rocket-powered Nacho Novo free kick over the bar.
Fury fans could have been excused for feeling confident about witnessing a win shortly into the second half, as Railhawks midfielder Wells Thompson picked up successive yellow cards in the 56th and 60th minute to get himself ejected. Not conceding has become the Fury’s specialty, so a numerical disadvantage could have easily been lights out for Carolina.
It’s to this Carolina team’s credit that they kept fighting and found some daylight in the 81st minute. In what could be seen as Colin Falvey and Rafael Alves holding too high a defensive line, a long, searching pass cut through the two Fury defenders and fell to former Rangers man Nacho Novo. Novo collected the ball at full speed with Alves trailing him and Peiser rushing out to meet him. You could clearly see the decision-making process Alves went through: bring Nono down, collect a red card and a one-match suspension, or hope Peiser can make the save? Alves released Novo, who calmly slotted the ball under an onrushing Peiser, to the delight of the dozen or so Rangers fans in attendance.
In 2014, the Fury would have deflated and settled for the draw. This is 2015, however, and this team never quits. Thanks to six minutes of stoppage time (Carl Howarth suffered a head injury in the second half), the Fury kept pressing, sending a constant barrage of quality crosses resulting in hurried clearances and near-misses. The Fury would not be denied on this day, and in the 95th minute the goal came.
The play began on the left side near the corner flag, as Julian de Guzman was under siege from from two Carolina defenders. He somehow squeezed a pass towards the top of the 18-yard box to Richie Ryan, who picked out a galloping Ryan Richter on the right wing. The right back sent in a perfect cross to an oncoming Carl Haworth, who appeared to direct the ball into goal with his shin. There would be no comeback from this for Carolina.
The victory means the Fury are top of the combined table in NASL, and are looking unbeatable at the moment. Streaks like the Fury are currently on is the stuff of champions. Once the defence got settled in this year, the Fury were waiting for the offence to get going. It has. At the moment, no one wants to play Ottawa, and for the Fury it will be a matter of maintaining their current form.
Man of the Match: Romuald Peiser. His stellar goalkeeping denied Carolina at least two goals. Different match without him.
Next match: Ottawa head to Fort McMurray, Alberta, to take on FC Edmonton. Carolina return home to host the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
