OCB vs. Ottawa Fury FC: Match Preview and How to Watch

After a 1-0 loss in Toronto, Orlando City B (4-5-4, 16 points) plays the second of two matches in the Canadian “School Day Games,” as it takes on Ottawa (4-4-4, 16 points) this morning. Both teams are currently below the playoff line through goal differential. A win for either team will push it up the table to at least sixth place.

“[Ottawa Fury] is very direct, very athletic, they’re very powerful,” OCB Head Coach Anthony Pulis said. “They get the ball forward early and they cause you problems if you don’t defend long balls well so it’s important that we’re going to have to defend those long balls and direct play well, be organized and hopefully we can cause them some problems in the counter attack.”

OCB will get some key players back, after Jason Kreis called up some loanees to take part in Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup match. While that match was highly disappointing, it was good for Pierre Da Silva and Hadji Barry, the only players called up to see the field, to spend time with the first team.

Both Da Silva and Barry have done well in the USL in 2017, and a call-up seemed a logical move. Da Silva is second in the league in assists, while Barry has three goals and one assist through five games.

Additionally, Earl Edwards Jr. will return to the net after missing the past two games for the young Lions. Last week he was called up to back up Saunders, while the game before Saunders started in place of Edwards so that the MLS veteran could get game minutes before his USOC start.

Coming into today’s match, both OCB and Ottawa are coming off 1-0 away losses. The Fury went into Rochester looking to extended its four-game unbeaten run, but a 19th-minute Rochester goal was enough to pull the Rhinos ahead.

OCB has just one win in the past four games, but has kept each of them close. After a poor first half in Toronto, Pulis got his squad revamped for the second half. However, with much of the attacking firepower away from the team, his players were still unable to find the back of the net.

This is Ottawa’s first season in the USL, joining from the NASL, and will be the first meeting with OCB.

Most Recent Lineups:

OCB (June 14 at Toronto): Jake Fenlason; Zach Ellis-Hayden, Seb Hines, Zach Carroll, Scott Thomsen; Austin Martz, Jordan Schweitzer, Ryley Kraft, Danny Deakin, Michael Cox, David Loera.

Ottawa (June 17 at Rochester): Callum Irving; Kyle Venter, Shane McEleney, Eddie Edward; Jamar Dixon, Andrae Campbell, Lance Rozeboom, Onua Obasi; Steevan Dos Santos, Ryan Williams, Sito Seoane

The match has an 11 a.m. ET kickoff time, due to the above mentioned “School Day Games,” and can be viewed on YouTube. This is also the first match that the young Lions will play in the a.m.