Indy Eleven vs Ottawa Fury - 06.31

- Opponent: Ottawa Fury
- Location: Ottawa
- Attendance: 3,145
- Final Score: 1-0 L
- Starting XI: Newton, Hackshaw, Osmond, Ouimette, Gibson, Walker, Conner, Watson (C), Pasher, Diakhate, Starikov
- Substitutions: Perea 78' (Walker); Kelly 78' (Starikov); Farr 82' (Newton - injury)
- Unused: Barrett, Ilic, Novoa, Rodrigues
- Goals: None
- Bookings: Watson 60' (RED); Ouimette 60' (Yellow)
- Referee: Serge Topalian
- Adage goals: None

Three RED CARDS in four games. Four LOSSES in four games. Outscored 7 to 1 in four games. Indy has only had one other time when they lost 4 straight games (in league play) in the team's history. I'll give you one guess what season.

Did you guess the start of 2014? That's how bad this streak ranks in the club's history. When it is being compared to that first season, which has never been held up as a beacon of success, things have reached historic lows.

Indy managed just one shot on target and that didn't happen until stoppage time of the second half. Regardless of the opinions of the red card on Watson in the 60th minute, which I feel was incorrect and too harsh, particularly when Watson was dragged down by Gagnon-Lapare like they were playing in the Canadian Football League like the other games that are also played on the field, Indy was never on the front foot of this game. Indy, again, held the possession advantage, but Ottawa was much more effective with their possession.

Nothing is working for this team right now and it wouldn't surprise me to see Memphis come into Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday and eek out a win in a place that has been a fortress for Indy this year. They look gassed right now, with both the offense and the defense struggling to find a consistent 90 minutes. Newton made a less than typical mistake on the game-winning free kick, but seemed to not trust his wall to do their part of the job and was caught leaning the wrong way, allowing Haworth's shot to go right where Newton should have been protecting.

Everything is a struggle right now.

Last year's squad finished the season in much the same way that Indy is finishing this season. With a string of losses and limping into the playoffs at a time when fans want to see them peaking. Indy secured a playoff spot with 5 weeks remaining in the season and have looked ineffective since they achieved that goal. A top four finish may still be possible, but it's starting to look less likely with their current run of results. Given Indy's struggles on the road this season (6W-9L-1D), a playoff road trip seems daunting right now.

Indy has lost all of their "games in hand" on the teams around them and are now staring at a potential playoff road game. A win on Saturday against Memphis might put some much needed confidence back into the squad before getting a much needed full-week's rest and heading to Tampa Bay. If Indy struggles against Memphis, fans may be once again looking at a short playoff run.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

I think Farr deserves this one even for his limited time on the field. It's never easy to be thrown into a game as a keeper, with no preparation, no warm-up (in fact, he might have been cooling-down at that point in the game), down a man, chasing a goal opening themselves up to counter-attacks and still do a good job. Farr did exactly what he needed to do in a tough situation.