Futty Danso Standing Tall In Rayo OKC's Back Line

Photo credit: Indy Eleven/Trevor Ruszkowski

Rayo OKC went on a thrilling 10-game unbeaten streak, which included winning the last five games, to play on in November in The Championship, the NASL’s four-team postseason tournament. One constant during the inaugural campaign has been stalwart defender Futty Danso.

Save for missing the Fall Season finale, he played in every minute of 31 league games for Rayo OKC as the club prepares for Saturday’s semifinal against the New York Cosmos.

With Rayo OKC’s form to close out the campaign, the contest at Shuart Stadium brings together perhaps the two hottest teams in the NASL – New York finished the regular season with five wins in its final six games (the other was a draw), including three wins in a row.

“I’m really not surprised by our run,” Danso said. “When I signed I looked at the roster and didn’t have any doubt of what we’re capable of. In some way, we’ve exceeded expectations. The thing is we clicked at the right time.”

The club made a coaching change early in August and the new man, Gerard Nus, met up with the players on the road when Rayo OKC traveled to New York and came away with a 1-1 draw at Shuart Stadium.

“He could barely tell who was who and he just let us play at that point,” he said.

But after that game, the club dropped four straight games as contending for a berth in The Championship appeared to be slipping away.

“I have to give Gerard a ton of credit for the way he turned around things,” Danso said. “It’s tough for coaches to turn things around, especially after losing four of five games. But we have experienced players in this locker room. Even after we lost four we kept playing the same style we are playing now. It’s just a matter of believing in ourselves.”

Over the course of the season, Danso, who is 6-feet-3-inches tall, has scored three goals for Rayo OKC, all coming when he went forward for either a set piece (usually engineered by Michel) or a corner (see previous comment). That role mirrors what transpired when he scored 35 goals in his U.S. collegiate career at North Carolina Wesleyan College and Southern Polytechnic State University (where he was an All-America selection in 2008 after scoring 19 goals).

“Now I’m doing pretty much what I did in college when the coach pressed me forward for corners and set pieces,” he said.

Danso expects a dogfight at Shuart Stadium on Saturday night against the defending NASL Champion Cosmos.

“I have a good feeling, we know we’re going to play the champions at their home,” he said. “They have a 19-game unbeaten streak at home, we’re 10 games unbeaten, which I didn’t even realize until I saw something on Twitter. There’s nothing for us to worry about. Now it’s one and done, everything is on the line. One of us will have to give up their streak and I hope it’s not us. We just have to keep doing the same thing we’ve been doing.”