OTTAWA – Thursday night’s 3-3 draw between the New York Red Bulls II and Toronto FC II provided a prime example of the sort of result Ottawa Fury FC is going to need elsewhere if the side is to earn a place in the 2018 USL Cup Playoffs, with New York missing out on two points at home in the entertaining draw at MSU Soccer Park.

But while that result provided a small boost to the side from Canada’s capital, Fury FC’s players also know that unless the side adds to its victory last week against Toronto then results that happen elsewhere aren’t going to matter much down the stretch.

“We don’t need motivation anymore, we just need to be better in what we’re doing, because the motivation is there,” said Fury FC defender Thomas Meiller-Giguere. “We know we have to win to be in the playoffs, so it’s just a question of working hard together, stay strong and after that, our qualities will do the rest.”

Ottawa snapped a three-game losing streak in its 4-3 victory against TFC II last Thursday night at Lamport Stadium and is hoping for another three points on Saturday night as it visits another side that has struggled in the Eastern Conference this season in the Richmond Kickers (7 p.m. ET | Match Center | ESPN+).

Sitting in ninth place going into the weekend’s action, one point back of Nashville SC, the question is whether Fury FC can push on to string consecutive victories together. Ottawa has recorded back-to-back wins three times this season but has been unable to run a winning streak further than that, something that will likely have to change over its final five games of the regular season.

“I think mentally the win against Toronto was very good,” said Fury FC Head Coach Nikola Popovic. “Now we had a full week of training, and we are looking forward to our next game that we hope is going to be a very good performance from our team.”

Ottawa’s 2-0 victory against Richmond at TD Place when the sides met on August 15 when Carl Haworth and Tony Taylor found the net should at least inspire some confidence for the return fixture in Virginia. Popovic is confident the side will be able to try and play a similar game to the first meeting when the Kickers held a 68-32 percent advantage in possession, but Fury FC ended with a 6-4 edge in shots.

“If we are able to be very compact and aggressive, I think from that moment, we are going to have a little bit more possession, and automatically we’re going to have more chances to score goals,” said Popovic. “I believe we are going to be able to create a lot [of chances] so the key will be to finish the chances that we are going to create.”

With a handful of key games in the Eastern Conference set to be played after Fury FC’s Saturday night outing concludes, the side is certainly hoping it will have put pressure on its postseason rivals to match its result against the Kickers as it watches the scoreboard around the rest of the league.

“We are really confident that we will get in the playoffs so we’re working for that,” said Fury FC midfielder Cristian Portilla. “We are ready for everything, and we start on Saturday against Richmond.”