FC Edmonton winless, but they’re in ‘good place’
Head coach Miller says there’s ‘no need to panic’ after pair of losses to Armada
FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller knows there is still a lot of soccer to be played this season, so he’s not going to fret over two losses to start the year.
So even though his club is at the bottom of the North American Soccer League standings, Miller is not putting any added pressure on his squad heading into their game Saturday (5:30 p.m., NASL. com) on the road against North Carolina FC.
“There would be pressure if we hadn’t played well,” said Miller. “We have a healthy squad, the guys are in a good place and they know themselves that we should have four points rather than zero points at this stage of the season.”
FC Edmonton began the 2017 campaign with a pair of 1-0 losses to the Jacksonville Armada FC.
They opened the year in Florida and then hosted the same club at Clarke Stadium on April 8.
In the season opener, FC Edmonton was on the defensive for most of the contest and conceded the winning goal with 13 minutes left in the game. The following week, they gave up a goal seven minutes in and were forced to chase the contest.
Edmonton had plenty of scoring opportunities in its home opener, but the closest it came to scoring was when defender Adam Straith rattled the crossbar with a header late in the contest.
“The guys have been very positive and there are still 30 games to go, so there is no need to panic,” Miller said. “We want to win the whole thing, but we just need to finish fourth in the league to get into the playoffs.
“But that’s a long way away and right now it’s about trying to get a result as quickly as we can.”
In order to pull out a victory in North Carolina, FC Edmonton is going to have to break out of its scoring drought.
They could have scored two or three goals in the second loss to the Armada, but squandered numerous opportunities.
Striker Tomi Ameobi had a glorious chance in front of the net, but he was unable to direct the ball past the goalkeeper.
“There were so many positives with how he played on Saturday night,” Miller said. “I want Tomi to stay more central, I don’t want him to drift into wide areas, I want him to be the focal point (of attack) and he did that for the most part on Saturday night.
“He had two or three chances to score and that’s really the most touches he’s had in a long time. He’s going to continue to work along those lines. Of course a goal would be fantastic for the big fella, it would be fantastic for the team, but I’m very pleased to a lot of what he’s contributing at the moment and I want to stay loyal with him.”
At the other end, Edmonton has continued to play solid defensively, which is the foundation of the team under Miller. They gave up just a handful of scoring opportunities in both losses to the Armada despite having a number of new players in the lineup.
Chris Konopka has taken over for Matt VanOekel, who was the league’s best goaltender last season.
Konopka had little chance on the winning goal he gave up in Jacksonville, but would probably like to have the goal he gave up at home back. Konopka was beaten at the near post on a shot he should have stopped.
“I think Chris is another one that is going to take some time as Matt VanOekel did,” Miller said. “You remember Matt’s first spring season was almost a disastrous season a couple of years ago.
“Chris needs a bit of a break and to keep a clean sheet (a shutout) would do him a world of good. I don’t think he’s far away from it. But the great thing for me is the type of pressure (backups) Nathan Ingham and Tyson Farago are putting Chris under, because they’re training so well. It’s exciting to see two young, hungry Canadian goalkeepers that are hungry to play on the first team.”
We want to win the whole thing, but we just need to finish fourth in the league to get into the playoffs.