NO GOALS FOR EDDIES
Draw ends winning streak at home
In a season where everything has seemingly bounced in FC Edmonton’s direction, it was expected they would somehow manage to pull out another victory at home Sunday.
But playing against Puerto Rico FC, whose sole intent was survival, FC Edmonton was unable to find their usual moment of inspiration and were held to a 0-0 tie in front of 2,007 at Clarke Stadium.
It was Edmonton’s first scoreless draw since the opening game of the Spring Season and brought an end to their nine-game home winning streak, one shy of a North American Soccer League record.
“It’s frustrating, it’s the first time I’ve seen a team that has gone up a man sit back and defend,” said FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller.
“It showed you what their game plan was and they stuck to it and were good at it. We were not good enough in the attacking third. That was the disappointing thing. We got into great crossing areas and our crosses were horrendous and that’s the big disappointment, we just didn’t have that cutting edge.”
FC Edmonton goalkeeper Matt VanOekel collected his 11th shutout of the year, which was likely the easiest of his career. VanOekel has not conceded a goal in 534 minutes of play and had but one save to make in the contest as the majority of the game was played in the Puerto Rico half.
“We never looked under any pressure, Matt VanOekel could have been reading the paper in the second half,” Miller said. “The disappointing thing for me is not the effort from the players, it’s just the final ball. But it’s very, very difficult to break down a team that is hell bent on coming out of here with a draw.”
The tie marked the first time since April FC Edmonton has not won a league game at Clarke Stadium. The point, however, did allow them to keep a share of first place in the Fall Season standings with the New York Cosmos.
Edmonton had their chances to take the lead in the first half. Jake Keegan got to the end of a cross whipped into the box by Adam Eckersley, but his glancing header in the 24th minute whistled just wide.
Later in the half, a crunching tackle by midfielder Nik Ledgerwood sent Edmonton off on a counterattack, which saw the ball eventually played to Dustin Corea at the top of the penalty area. Corea’s shot, heading towards the bottom corner of the net, was batted away by an excellent diving save from Puerto Rico goalkeeper Trevor Spangenberg.
“It’s frustrating, but I thought we played really well at times,” said Ledgerwood, who is heading off to play a pair of crucial World Cup qualifiers with Canada. “During the season we’ve definitely played worse and won games. I just think now it’s about keeping positive and moving forward. It’s definitely frustrating not to keep the win streak going.”
In the second half, Puerto Rico had little interest in venturing beyond centre looking for a goal. The expansion club, who have one win in their first 11 games, sat back and were content to defend.
Even after Edmonton midfielder Sainey Nyassi was sent off in the 86th minute for an off-the-ball incident, Puerto Rico maintained their defensive approach.
“I think a lot of teams have come here trying to get a result and we’ve been able to hit them on the counter attack and things like that,” Ledgerwood said. “Puerto Rico just came here and sat back. They came here looking for a point and that’s what they got, they weren’t in it to try and win the game.
“But we have to find ways around that now, since teams are going to be doing that against us more often. At the end of the day, we had more than enough chances, but that’s how soccer is.”
Puerto Rico fended off a wave of attacks in the second half, helped by Edmonton’s inability to finish.
Before being sent off for stomping on an opponent away from the ball, Nyassi completely missed the target on a setup at the top of the penalty area.
Ledgerwood had an excellent opportunity on a one-time attempt in the box off a cross from Keegan, but skied his shot high over the crossbar.
Substitute Ben Fisk had the ball fall to him inside the area, but also missed the target.
“Overall, it was a performance where I can’t fault the players on effort,” Miller said. “The little bit of quality that we needed was lacking.”