Report: Fury U-17 0, Royals 2

Royals Outclass Fury Junior Side
May 6, 2007

Ottawa Royals continued its run of impressive pre-season showings with a comfortable 2-0 victory over the Ottawa Fury’s U-17 side in Kemptville yesterday.

In stifling conditions on a difficult and bumpy pitch, the Royals dominated their opponents from the start, rarely having to move out of second gear in the entire encounter.

Using a 3-5-2 formation, the Royals moved the ball about confidently, maintaining possession well and trying to use the width of the field to its advantage. Richard Boyle and Alan Farant provided good flank outlets, with Jeff Dennis and Ryan Devereaux moving well in attack. The Royals struggled to make their possession count though, despite several good chances falling to Devereaux (5th and 10th minute) and Dennis (16th minute), and need to be much more clinical in front of goal.

The Fury was unable to gain or keep possession for very long – and the Royals spent the first 45 minutes playing neat patterns and trying to release the front two or the wide men. The Fury packed its defence, playing two stoppers deep with a defensive midfielder sitting just in front of them. With such a deep line, the Royals tried to use the width – and when the passing was crisp and aggressive, it managed to unlock the home side’s defence consistently.

The Fury was becoming frustrated with the lack of possession and Alic Edgar was the victim of an appalling studs-up challenge on 30 minutes, which saw him being helped from the field and unable to take any further part in the game. He was replaced by Dan Deganutti and the back three was shuffled to accommodate the primarily left-sided player.

The Royals injected a little more urgency into the game and it almost brought quick results. On 35 minutes, Boyle hit a vicious strike from the right, which Fury keeper Heembrock did well to parry over. Four minutes later, following a Farant corner on the right, the ball fell for Dominic Rochon on the left-hand side of the penalty box. Checking inside, Rochon saw Heembrock off his line, but curled his shot just over the bar.

The best chance of the half came on 44 minutes, when Steve Kowlessar smashed a shot from 35 yards, which would have dipped under the bar had Heembrock not got a hand to it. Devereaux was following up at pace and reacted well to reach the bouncing ball and hit it on the half volley. Unfortunately for him, his shot skewed high over the bar.

At half time, the talk was of injecting more urgency into the game and of making the domination count. Michael Adams replaced a number of players, with Peter Mapendere coming on as a right midfielder, Ewan Lyttle replacing Steve Kowlessar and Marc Labrom taking Alan Morgan’s place. Thierry Ntwari also came on up front for Jeff Dennis.

The changes had the desired effect, as Ottawa’s movement was quicker and the passing crisper. Mapendere in particular showed a great appetite for the game, harrying and harassing his opposite number and charging forward at every opportunity. With the solidity afforded by an experienced and settled defence, well marshalled by goalkeeper Steve Paiano, the Royals consistently built from the back, with James MacMillan, Deganutti and Frank Zegers all providing good launching pads for the attacking play. On 58 minutes, Dimitri Koutras replaced Alan Farant on the left.

The Royals finally opened their account on 65 minutes, and it came following an excellent move on the right-hand side.

Peter Mapendere marauded down the flank, before combining well with Ryan Devereaux and Thierry Ntwari. The ball was played back out to Mapendere, who crossed for Dom Rochon at the far post. Rochon distanced himself from his defender before looping an excellent header over the stranded goalkeeper and off the opposite post.

Despite being a goal up, the Royals maintained possession and kept the home side penned into its own half. Probably as a result of its over-cautious approach, the Fury was unable to build anything and was restricted to trying to release their speedy striker with big hoofs from the back.

On 81 minutes, the Royals’ patience and diligence led to their second game. Rochon, who was much more convincing throughout the second half, dispossessed the Fury defenders as they were trying to clear their lines, blocking a clearance and outpacing Ryan Devereaux to the ball on the edge of the ‘D’. As the keeper raced out, Rochon chipped the ball deftly into the net to round off the scoring.

The Royals could – and probably should – have increased the score by the end, but was satisfied with a good work out and a comfortable win in difficult conditions.

Royals Man of the Match was James MacMillan, whose solidity and calmness at the back was the basis of many an attack and enabled the Royals to build with confidence. Peter Mapendere injected an extra spark into the proceedings when he came on, and Ewan Lyttle’s snarls and accomplished distribution anchored central midfield.

Statistics

Man of the Match: MacMillan – 3 points; Mapendere – 2 points; Lyttle – 1 point.

Ottawa Royals
Paiano; MacMillan, Edgar (Deganutti, 30), Zegers; Boyle (Mapendere, 46), Kowlessar (Lyttle, 46), Rochon, Morgan (Labrom, 46, Kowlessar, 82), Farant (Koutras, 58); Devereaux, Dennis (Ntwari, 46)

Goals: Rochon, 65 (Mapendere, Devereaux, Ntwari assist); 81 (unassisted)

Pre-season Tally:
Goals: Rochon, 4; Devereaux, 2; Dennis, MacMillan, Viscosi 1
Assists: Mapendere 3; Deganutti, Devereaux 2, Koutras, Ntwari 1