PREVIEW | Fury FC Aims To Continue Strong Form On The Road Against The Scorpions

Ten games remain in the NASL regular season, and halfway through the Fall Season, Fury FC sit atop the Fall Standings holding a two-point edge on Spring Season Champion New York Cosmos.

Heading into the stretch run, Marc Dos Santos and his staff are preparing the players to play in ten very important ‘finals’ and facing them one at a time.

“The next 10 games will all be important ‘finals’ and will require the very best out of us. We need to stay focused, organized and committed if we want to succeed,” Dos Santos said.

“The road that will lead us towards the postseason will be very difficult. We know there are still many points to be won and many challenges ahead. San Antonio is not an easy place to play, and they are also looking for a spot in the top four.”

The road that Ottawa must take to the postseason will see them log ample air miles with seven of their remaining ten games coming away from TD Place starting on Saturday night in San Antonio with their final game of the regular season on October 31 in Atlanta.

While the defending NASL Champions find themselves sitting in the bottom of the Combined Standings with just one win in their last seven fixtures (1W-3D-3L) only six points separate the Scorpions from the fourth-place Fort Lauderdale Strikers who, if the post-season began today, hold the final spot.

Struggling to find consistency on defense, the Scorpions have conceded the second most goals in the NASL this season, but forwards Omar Cummings and Billy Forbes, along with midfielder Rafael Castillo, have scored for 18 of San Antonio’s 26 goals with Cummings sitting second in league scoring (10 goals) and Forbes among the NASL assists leaders (6 assists).

While Ottawa earned a pair of crucial points last week in their quest for the postseason – with draws against both New York and Tampa Bay – players know that it is going to take much more from each of them in these final ten games.

“We have worked very hard to achieve our goal of making the postseason. We're not there yet, but we’ve proved to the teams in our league who the Ottawa Fury are,” captain Richie Ryan said. “These remaining ten matches are massive for the club, but we must approach it one game at a time starting with Saturday night against a good Scorpions side. Each player on this team has played a role in our success this season and each of us needs to continue bringing the best of ourselves each day.”

Dos Santos stressed prior to the start of the season that two keys to the club reaching the post-season were making TD Place a fortress, which they have done with an impressive 6-4-2 record at home, and earning points on the road that has also been achieved and highlighted by a five-game road unbeaten streak (2-3-0) that stretches back to the Spring Season. In fact, Ottawa has not lost on the road since May 2 in New York.

Midfielder Julian De Guzman will miss the club’s next two matches as he helps Canada past Belize in a pair of FIFA World Cup qualifiers (September 4 and 11). Fury FC will also be without striker Ugur Albayrak and defender Drew Beckie, both expected to be out for at least the next two weeks.