Ottawa Fury FC in good hands with 3-0 series lead

Ottawa Fury FC recorded their first victory in the 2016 Amway Canadian Championship, taking a 3-0 lead in the two-match, total goals series against FC Edmonton. All three goals were scored away from home, so Ottawa will have an added advantage when they host FC Edmonton in the return leg next 18 May at TD Place in the nation’s capital.

Ottawa’s Wednesday night victory kicked off the ninth edition of the Amway Canadian Championship, the all-Canadian five-team competition that will crown a national champion at the end of June. This marks the third head-to-head series between Ottawa and Edmonton, with Edmonton winning the preliminary series in both 2014 and 2015.

The 18 May 2016 match will again be broadcast live on migmultidev-canada-soccer.pantheonsite.io/championship. The winner of the two-match series will advance to the semi finals to face Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Both semi finals – with the other series featuring Toronto FC and Impact Montréal FC – will be broadcast live on TSN (1 and 8 June).

Fernando Timbó (13′), Carl Haworth (69′), and Idan Vered (74′) were the goal scorers on 11 May, while Ottawa goalkeeper Marcel DeBellis made a pair of key saves in the first half (35′ and 43′). Ottawa’s three goals were scored on a free kick (from James Bailey), an Edmonton defensive misplay (and Lance Rozeboom assist), and a fine cross on the run of play (by Marcel de Jong). 

Haworth was selected the Star of the Match for Ottawa while Dustin Corea was selected Star of the Match for FC Edmonton.

“It’s a very pleasing performance tonight,” said Ottawa Fury FC head coach Paul Dalglish. “It takes time to change a team’s mentality as the club had more of a defensive approach last year. We are still working on changing that into a more offensive-minded team and I hope that tonight’s performance will help do that. We probably won’t get many points for style tonight, but our performance was effective and at the end of the day that’s what matters.”

The Amway Canadian Championship is Canada Soccer’s professional competition featuring clubs from Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montréal. The national champion lifts the Voyageurs Cup and wins Canada’s lone spot in CONCACAF Champions League on the road to the FIFA Club World Cup. The competition starts with FC Edmonton and Ottawa Fury FC in the preliminary round, with the winner joining Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Toronto FC, and Impact Montréal FC in the semi-final phase on 1 June.