OTTAWA – The Charlotte Independence grabbed a late winner to claim their fourth consecutive victory in a 1-0 win against Ottawa Fury FC before a crowd of 5,693 at TD Place on Saturday night. Charlotte carried the play early in the game, but Ottawa created the first two good looks on goal as first Chris Mannella forced a low save from Independence goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra from just outside the penalty area, and then Nana Attakora put a header on target from a corner that Dykstra handled comfortably. Ottawa went close again in the 35th minute as Carl Haworth’s finish was blocked to safety by Independence defender Je-Vaughn Watson, and again 20 minutes into the second half as Steevan Dos Santos sent his finish high from just outside the six-yard area after the ball had pinballed in the penalty area after a free kick. Ottawa’s Jamar Dixon also forced a good save by Dykstra with 19 minutes to go on a good counterattack, but with the Independence’s first shot on goal of the game the visitors took the lead with seven minutes to go as Yann Ekra’s shot from the top of the penalty area took a deflection that carried it out of the reach of Ottawa goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau and into the left corner of the net. Charlotte then saw out its victory, which saw the club’s move up the Eastern Conference continue apace.

Scoring:
83’ – CLT – Yann Ekra

• #OTTvCLT: Highlights and Opta Box Score

Three Things That Matter:

• 1. The Independence had possessed the ball well, and even got into good positions throughout the game, but the visitors needed a nice slice of luck to emerge with a fourth consecutive victory after Ottawa’s defense had proven difficult to unlock for most of the night. Veteran midfielder Yann Ekra was the man in the right place at the right time to take advantage of a deflected cross as it came to the top of the Fury FC penalty area as he quickly got a shot off, and the deflection that saw it loop into the left corner of the net left Fury FC goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau little chance to save.

• 2. Ottawa saw its shutout streak come to an end at 636 minutes, a little more than 100 minutes short of the USL record set by Rio Grande Valley FC in the 2016 season, and that it came in such cruel fashion after what had been another strong home performance will be disappointing to the hosts. Fury FC again did a lot right as it tested Independence goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra regularly throughout the contest, but simply couldn’t find the breakthrough that would have potentially seen the game end differently.

• 3. Charlotte’s fourth consecutive victory may have been fortuitous, but in moving the side into the top four of the Eastern Conference at the end of the night that won’t matter very much to a side that continues to look like it will be among the contenders at the end of the regular season. Finding ways to win in difficult environments, which TD Place is certainly emerging as in the Eastern Conference, is key to a strong finish in the standings, and the Independence just managed to do so on their only shot on goal of the night.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match

Lee Jung-Soo, Charlotte Independence – Jung-Soo put in a solid shift at the back for the Independence, recording three tackles and seven clearances while also completing 74 of 82 passes out of the back.

Upcoming Games:

Ottawa Fury FC at North Carolina FC – June 13, 7 p.m. ET, Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park

Charlotte Independence at New York Red Bulls II – June 9, 7 p.m. ET, MSU Soccer Park