North Carolina FC 3 – 1 Ottawa Fury FC
Cary, NC—There’s no sugarcoating it. September was a terrible, no good, very bad month for North Carolina FC. After vying for a spot at the top of the table in August, they had just one point in their last four matches. That their losses came against teams the Dead Whales are fully capable of beating was particularly vexing. Coming off of a frustrating stoppage time loss at Charleston last Saturday, North Carolina was looking to end September on a positive note.
North Carolina FC midfielder Nazmi Albadawi is hitting his stride as NCFC makes its playoff run.
“We’ve had a tough stretch. September’s been a rough month, there’s no hiding that fact,” said North Carolina head coach Dave Sarachan following the game. “I think our guys, despite the results over the last few weeks…the message and the work has been, ‘just keep grinding, keep pushing.’ So now we come to this game knowing it’s a huge game for us. We concede three minutes in on a set piece, which I think kind of shocked and stunned a lot of people on the field.
The game got off to a rocky start for North Carolina. Ottawa came out of the gate hot and earned an early corner kick. Carl Haworth chipped the corner kick into NCFC’s 18-yard box and found Thiago near post. Thiago’s flick header sailed over traffic and into the top corner of the net to give the Fury a 1-0 lead in the game’s fourth minute.
North Carolina found themselves playing from behind once more. But conceding an early goal at home lit the fire under them and they fought through the first half to find the equalizer. However, Ottawa mostly held the run of play and set up an effective block preventing NCFC from breaking through. Alex Tambakis came up big in the 33rd minute to keep Ottawa’s Hadji Barry from doubling the visitors’ lead. Barry’s rocket from the top of the 18-yard box was ticketed for the right corner but a diving Tambakis got his fingertips on it to guide it safely out of bounds.
The two sides returned to the field after the halftime break and mostly picked up where they left off. NCFC made a couple of tactical adjustments and started finding pockets allowing them to break through the Fury defense.
NCFC defender Sam Brotherton leaps over the Ottawa defense to level the game 1-1.
North Carolina earned a corner kick in the 53rd minute. Midfielder Graham Smith sent a lofting ball in looking for forward Donovan Ewolo at the far post. It was a little too high for Ewolo to get his head on it, but defender Sam Brotherton outleaped his defender to nod the ball past Callum Irving and NCFC was on the board.
Once they scored the equalizer, North Carolina head coach Dave Sarachan pushed for a game-winner. He tapped Manny Perez to replace Dre Fortune in the 70th minute and Robert Kristo came on for Ewolo five minutes later. Their impact on the game was swift and substantial.
“I was really happy with the energy we showed in the second half,” Sarachan said. He had high praise for his reserve players and the spark they generated for the club. “When you’re a reserve, you have to come in and make a difference. And our reserves came in and made a big difference tonight.”
In the 82nd minute, North Carolina sent a long ball out of their defensive third to their big target, Kristo. He used his head to direct the ball to the feet of Perez who took the pass to the edge of the penalty area and cut inside. Kristo followed his pass with a run toward the box and Perez tapped the ball back to him at the top of the 18. Kristo turned around to clear a space and put a hard right-footed shot in the top left corner to put the Dead Whales in front 2-1.
“I knew I needed to come on and do my job”Kristo said in his post-game remarks. “Like I’ve said before, as a forward, you do one thing: score goals.”
North Carolina FC forward Robert Kristo celebrates his goal with the Renegados.
The pair combined to create NCFC’s third goal late in the game when Kristo outmuscled Jeremy Gagnon-Laparé for the ball and hit Perez on the flank with a short pass. The versatile rookie cut the ball inside, using his agility and upper body strength to carry the ball into the six-yard box. Just as he was running out of room, he chipped the ball back to an on-rushing Nazmi Albadawi. Perez drew Irving out of position with his run, allowing Albadawi to settle the ball and fire it into the wide-open net.
With a minute, plus stoppage time, remaining after the goal, North Carolina FC saw out the game and collected all three points. How huge are those points? The win put seventh place NCFC five points clear of eighth place Ottawa in the Eastern Conference.
Ottawa head coach Nikola Popovic was pleased with his club’s overall performance at North Carolina. “I am very proud of my players. I think they fought until the end. I think they made a good game today. It was a very good game: I think we had more shots than North Carolina—at their place. I think that shows that we came here to try to fight for the points.”
Kristo reflected on what his takeaway was from his team’s bumpy month. “It shows what kind of team we are,” he said. “Every team has its lumps. It can all go downhill and from there do you pick it back up and get it together, or do you fall apart more? I think we’re on our way back up.
Sarachan was pleased with the way his team saw the game through to the end “I think our guys were mentally in [the game]for a good amount of minutes tonight, which is important going down the stretch as we wind the season down.”
Final Notes
- Forward Marios Lomis has returned to training with North Carolina after recovering from ankle surgery earlier this season. Sarachan doesn’t have an exact timeline for Lomis’ return but is hopeful he will see action before the end of the regular season.
- Veteran midfielder Ben Speas returned to the lineup after recovering from a concussion. His leadership and ability to direct traffic in midfield will play an important role in NCFC’s post-season aspirations.
- Next up for North Carolina is a visit from the New York Red Bulls II on October 5th followed by a trip to Nashville on the 12th before closing out the 2019 regular season at home against St. Louis FC on October 19th.
Lineups
North Carolina FC: A. Tambakis; A. Guillen, S. Brotherton, A. Comsia, DJ Taylor; G. Smith, S. Miller ©, D. Fortune (M. Perez, 70’), N. Albadawi, B. Speas (A. da Luz, 83’), D. Ewolo (R. Kristo 75’)
Ottawa Fury FC: C. Irving; D. Barnathan, T. Meilleur, C. Haworth ©; T. Freitas (C. Mnnella, 69’) M. Tissot, C. Was, J. Gagnon-Laparé; H. Barry, W. Fall (K. Oliveira, 74’), C. François (M. Samb, 75’)
Score:
North Carolina FC: 3
Ottawa Fury FC: 1
Goals:
NCFC: S. Brotherton (53’ G. Smith), R. Kristo (82’ M. Perez), N. Albadawi (90’ M. Perez)
Ottawa Fury FC: T. Freitas (4’ C. Haworth)
Discipline
North Carolina FC: N. Albadawi, YC 10’; A. Guillen, YC 26’; D. Fortune, YC 63’; R. Kristo, YC 83’
Ottawa Fury FC: W. Fall, YC, 44’; J. Gagnon-Laparé, YC 45+2; M. Tissot, YC 90+4
Attendance: 3,233
Photo Gallery: North Carolina FC v Ottawa Fury FC
All photos by Victoria Klum.
