“The end of a melody is not its goal: but nonetheless, had the melody not reached its end it would not have reached its goal either. A parable.”
The problem with streaks is that they end. And so ends the Ottawa Fury’s 12-match unbeaten, 5-match winning streak. The loss came in heartbreaking fashion in front of 6,899 fans at Lansdowne Park Stadium to a feisty Minnesota United FC side that gave as good as they got in a heated affair. In the end, the Loons came away with a 2-1 win, albeit it in controversial circumstances.
The flashpoint came in the third minute of added time with the score 1-1. The Loons’ Juliano Vincentini played a ball to Pablo Campos at the top of the Fury’s 18-yard box. Campos collected and turned, and was immediately surrounded by Colin Falvey and Richie Ryan. Ryan ran past to cover for Falvey in case the ball got through his Irish comrade, but it didn’t. Falvey then initiated a tackle on Campos and seemed to collect the ball cleanly, but Mauro Eustaquio then entered the frame at high speed and charged into Campos. Campos made a meal of it, but there was enough contact to draw a foul from the referee. Yes, he could have not issued a call, but then the grievances would simply have shifted to the team in blue. Quite simply, the referee made a call in a tight match in a dangerous area that happened to go against the home team. The fact that second half substitute Daniel Mendes buried the free kick for the winning goal just amplified the importance of the call. A call which, in my opinion, he got right.
The Fury did not see it that way. Some of the players were apoplectic at the final whistle, having to be corralled away from referee Lyes Arfa and his crew by head coach Marc Dos Santos. In his postgame comments, Dos Santos did not mince words: “It wasn’t a foul. It’s disappointing that the referee had a direct influence in the decision he took, and that decision led to a goal.” Later, when given the opportunity to do so in French, he elaborated. “It was a non-existent foul. Our guy (Eustaquio) positions himself in front of Campos, and Campos heads for the turf. I respect the referee, but this was a big match with two of the top clubs in the league going head to head. Perhaps you don’t select a referee with so little experience to officiate a match like that.” Such comments could attract the unwanted attention of the league front office.
Fury goalscorer Andrew Wiedeman echoed his coach’s sentiments: “I haven’t seen the replay, but my initial reaction was that it was not even close to being a foul. But having said that they made the call and we have to adjust.”
There was clearly a carry-over of ill feeling between the clubs from their previous match in Minnesota on July 11th. Players from both teams lashed out at their counterparts throughout Saturday’s match, beginning with an elbow from Tiago Calvano to Tom Heinemann’s mouth. From there, a number of kicks and shoves were exchanged by a list of players too long to list. As it usually does in such circumstances, things came to a head when Mendes scored his winner and ran to the supporters section with a Loon posse in tow, whom repeatedly invited the supporters to “bring it”. The supporters obliged them by pelting the players with objects. Mendes was booked for removing his shirt, a consequence he seemed to deem worth the hassle.
Earlier in the match, Minnesota United striker Christian Ramirez was able to extend his goal-scoring streak to seven matches with a pinpoint strike following a blunder in which the Fury’s Raphael Alves coughed up the ball. When Colin Falvey failed to make up the ground necessary to bail out his defensive partner, Ramirez slid the ball past Romuald Peiser to open the scoring. Ottawa drew level with Andrew Wiedeman’s third goal in two matches. Wiedeman also forced a save from keeper Mitch Hildebrandt that is sure to be a candidate for NASL Save of the Week. Fury supporters will be overjoyed if this is a sign that Wiedeman has found the NASL’s rhythm and continues this run of form.
Dos Santos’ challenge now is to ensure there is no let-down from losing first place in the Combined Table (the New York Cosmos beat San Antonio on Saturday). The Fury head straight back into training on Monday despite the fact they have a bye week. It would have been preferable to have a quick turnaround match to wash out the bad taste left in the Fury’s collective palette, but instead they get to use their anger as a motivating factor towards the top of the league clash.
Man of the Match: Ryan Richter. When the Fury needed a spark, Richter kept bombing up the right side and feeding quality crosses into the box, while continuing his stellar defensive play.
Next match: The Fury have a week and a half off as they prepare to welcome the league-leading New York Cosmos to Lansdowne Park Stadium on Wednesday, August 26th. Minnesota will seek to turn this victory into a good run of form starting with a match away to the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday night.
