READY TO HEAD OVERSEAS
FC Edmonton going on 2-week tour
A year ago, FC Edmonton went on a pre-season tour of Scotland, which led to their best North American Soccer League finish in franchise history.
This year, the club is heading out on a tour of Manchester, England, hoping for a similar outcome.
“We went to Scotland last year because it was what I knew,” said FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller. “This year, we’re going to England, where the intensity of the games won’t be any different, but you would think the quality of the opposition should be far better. Our guys know already that they will have to be at their very best.”
FC Edmonton departs Thursday for a two-week tour where they’ll play Newcastle United Under-23, Wigan Reserves, Burnley Under-23 and Stoke Under-23. FC Edmonton will be based at the Armitage Sports Centre at the University of Manchester, where they will practise between games.
“I don’t think we should be fearful, we should be very respectful of the opposition,” Miller said. “But the whole exercise is to bring the group together — it’s a team bonding situation — and we get four quality games.”
FC Edmonton has been training indoors at the Commonwealth Stadium Field House for the past four weeks. On Tuesday, they played an exhibition game against the University of Alberta under the winter bubble installed over Foote Field this year.
Edmonton begins the NASL season on the road against the Jacksonville Armada on April 2. They’ll then host the Armada on April 8 at Clarke Stadium in their home opener.
“It’ll be nice just to get away from the weather here and get out of the training facility and I think everyone is pumped just to get over there,” said FC Edmonton captain Nik Ledgerwood. “I think, more than anything, it’s a great bond with the team. You have all your meals together, you’re all walking over to training together, you’re doing your training together and I think that’s where you build that team bond for the whole year, so it’ll be good.”
Last season, FC Edmonton returned from their trip and got off to a strong start in the NASL Spring Season. Edmonton finished a point off the Spring Season title and followed up with a solid Fall Season campaign, which put them third in the overall standings.
By finishing third, FC Edmonton qualified for the playoffs for the first time since the league went to a split-season format in 2013. They went on to lose 1-0 on the road to the Indy Eleven in the semifinal. Indy then lost to the New York Cosmos in the final, which went to a shootout after a scoreless tie.
“This is going to be a good trip, we have four good games and on the schedule is to go watch a Premier League game as well, so that will be great for the guys that haven’t been over to Europe,” said Ledgerwood. “And for the guys that have been over, it’s a great experience to go do it again. This is the last three weeks before the season starts, so it’ll be about picking everything up and sharpening everything up before that first (NASL) game.”
FC Edmonton has the core of their playoff team back this season and have made a number of key additions to their club. The team is relatively healthy heading over to England, where the entire squad is travelling as opposed to league games, where only a limited amount of players make the trip.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for the guys to be together, you get to know each other a bit better,” said midfielder Ben Fisk. “I’m sure we’ll have some good laughs as a team and we’ll get some hard work done on the field as well.”