President John Pugh Soccer Bowl Did Not Qualify | Head Coach Marc Dos Santos Canadian Championship Preliminary Round | |
Stadium Keith Harris Stadium
TD Place Stadium NASL Spring: 6th
Fall: 9th
Combined: 8th | ||
The 2014 Ottawa Fury FC season was the club's first season in the North American Soccer League.
Contents
Background
Marc Dos Santos became the first head coach of the club on July 1, 2013.
Squad
As of match played 1 November 2014Spring season review
The Spring season saw Fury FC give a sturdy account of themselves on their NASL debut, as the club went 3-1-5 while never losing a match by more than two goals. Vini Dantas scored the first goal in club history on April 19th, 2014, in a 2-1 defeat against Minnesota United. The first victory in club history came the following weekend, as Ottawa blew out the visiting Carolina RailHawks 4-0 on April 26th. Fury FC also picked up victories against expansion brethren Indy Eleven (4-2) and established Canadian rivals FC Edmonton (1-0), while picking up a draw at home against Tampa Bay Rowdies. While Fury FC lost a pair of matches on home turf at the final minute, the club still sat in a respectable sixth place out of ten at the culmination of the Spring season, just four points behind the final playoff spot.
Standings
Source: [1]
(C) = Season Champion; (H) = Will host the Soccer Bowl; (SB) = Qualified for the Soccer Bowl; (WC) = Woosnam Cup Winner
(ES) = Eliminated from the Season Championship; (EB) = Eliminated from Soccer Bowl Contention; (EW) = Eliminated from Woosnam Cup Contention
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
Standings updated as of June 8, 2014
Results Summary
Last updated: August 22, 2015.
Source: Match reports
Results by Round
Last updated: August 22, 2015.
Source: Match reports
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.
Fall season review
The Fall season saw plenty of ups and downs for Fury FC. French goalkeeper Romuald Peiser joined the club in early July, and turned in multiple Man-of-the-Match performances during the Fall campaign. Opening day of the Fall season saw Ottawa draw 0-0 in Edmonton against their Canadian rivals on a sweltering day, and the ruing of missed opportunities was a foreshadowing of things to come. Fury FC christened their new home, TD Place Stadium, the following weekend, and despite setting a modern-day NASL record in attendance, Ottawa fell 1-0 to the defending Soccer Bowl champion New York Cosmos on a Sebastián Guenzatti goal. Ottawa stumbled out of the gate, opening the second portion of the NASL schedule with a six-game winless skid which saw them tumble out of the playoff picture. The team's second trip to Indianapolis, where they'd won already in the spring, was just what the doctor ordered, as Fury FC picked up their first win of the fall campaign on August 23rd, edging the Eleven 2-1. That victory over Indy would kickstart a good run of form for Dos Santos' side, as Ottawa went on a 4-2-2 run which saw them somewhat claw their way back into the playoff picture. Unfortunately for Fury FC the workhorses in the side gave out in the final weeks of the campaign, and the club ended the season on a disappointing 0-1-3 slide which saw them slide to a disappointing ninth-place finish in the fall table. The fall season saw certain players emerge as cornerstones for the inaugural iteration of the squad; young Mauro Eustaquio emerged from the reserves to make a few starts towards the end of the season, while captain Richie Ryan solidified his role in the heart of the Fury FC midfield. Oliver Minatel battled back from multiple injuries to become a creative force on the flank of what was, in certain matches, a very potent Fury FC attack, while Romuald Peiser proved to be one of the best signings of the club's debut season, providing veteran leadership and timely stops in goal.
Standings
Source: [2]
(C) = Season Champion; (H) = Will host the Soccer Bowl; (SB) = Qualified for the Soccer Bowl; (WC) = Woosnam Cup Winner
(ES) = Eliminated from the Season Championship; (EB) = Eliminated from Soccer Bowl Contention; (EW) = Eliminated from Woosnam Cup Contention
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
Standings updated as of November 2, 2014
Results Summary
Last updated: August 22, 2015.
Source: Match reports
Results by Round
Last updated: August 22, 2015.
Source: Match reports
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.
Standings
Source: [3]
(C) = Season Champion; (H) = Will host the Soccer Bowl; (SB) = Qualified for the Soccer Bowl; (WC) = Woosnam Cup Winner
(ES) = Eliminated from the Season Championship; (EB) = Eliminated from Soccer Bowl Contention; (EW) = Eliminated from Woosnam Cup Contention
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
Standings updated as of November 2, 2014
Results Summary
Last updated: August 22, 2015.
Source: Match reports
Results by Round
Last updated: August 22, 2015.
Source: Match reports
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.
Canadian Championship review
Fury FC's debut in the Canadian Championship was short-lived, as the club was bounced from the competition in the first round by fellow NASL side FC Edmonton, losing 3-1 to the Eddies on aggregate.
The first leg saw the two sides play to a 0-0 draw in the nation's capital, though both managers felt their sides had ample opportunities to win.
The second leg, a week later in Edmonton, saw the Eddies bully a visibly tired Fury FC all over the pitch. Daryl Fordyce opened the scoring for the hosts with a clean finish in the 30th minute, and a Hanson Boakai goal just three minutes into the second half effectively put the match to bed. Fordyce put the proverbial nail in Fury FC's coffin in the 64th, while Vini Dantas scored a consolation goal in injury time for Ottawa.
All things considered, it wasn't a disastrous or entirely unexpected result for Marc Dos Santos' expansion side, but the club's early exit from the competition left the club hungry for another crack at the domestic cup in 2015.