Eddies in ‘better frame of mind’ as date with free-spending Miami looms large
Win over Puerto Rico ‘good for everyone’ ahead of current three-game road trip
FC Edmonton was in good spirits as they hit the road for a threegame excursion starting Saturday against big-spending Miami FC.
A 2-1 victory against Puerto Rico FC at Clarke Stadium April 22 got Edmonton’s North American Soccer League campaign off the ground after three consecutive losses to start the year.
“I think the win was good for everyone because the group itself has been a hardworking group from the start of the pre-season,” said FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller. “We let ourselves down against Carolina (a 3-1 loss), but we really bounced back with a solid performance, a solid 90-minute performance on Saturday night. It’s given everybody a lift. You saw it in training this week, the guys were in a better frame of mind.”
Edmonton has an Amway Canadian Championship game on the road against Ottawa Fury FC Wednesday sandwiched in between their two NASL road games.
FC Edmonton concludes its road trip at the Indy Eleven on May 5 and then returns to Clarke Stadium to host the second leg of the national championship on May 10. The winner of the twogame, total-goal series moves on to face MLS side Toronto FC in the next round.
“It’s going to be a very difficult road trip,” Miller said. “It’s about 90 degrees in Miami at the moment, so you’re up against it right away. They are easily the most expensively assembled team in the NASL. They’ve spent millions of dollars just on transfer fees alone, so it shows you what you’re up against from there.”
Miami FC is currently third in the NASL standings with a win, two ties and a loss through their first four games of the season. The team is coached by Italian legend Alessandro Nesta and is in its second year of operation.
“Even though we won Saturday, we still have to improve, because if we don’t improve, we won’t beat Miami and that’s the ultimate goal,” said FC Edmonton defender Albert Watson. “We have to go there thinking we can get a win. They’ve put a great side together and they’ve spent a lot of money, as everybody knows in the league.
“It’ll be very important our transition from defending to keeping the ball. That’s going to be very, very important in the game. If we win the ball and give it away again, it’s going to be very tough for us.”
Boosting Edmonton’s back line in Miami will be the return of central defender Papé Diakité, who had been unable to get into Canada due to visa issues, which have since been resolved. Diakité has been staying in the United States and joining the team for road games. He’ll be available for the game in Ottawa on Wednesday.
Through their first four games of the year, Edmonton has only managed to score three goals. They have conceded a league-high six goals, which is perhaps a bigger concern to the best defensive club in the league from last year.
FC Edmonton is still adjusting to new defensive personnel and a new goalkeeper as well in Chris Konopka.
“It’s tough when you get a new keeper and you get a new left back and stuff like that,” Watson said. “They’re good players, but it’s tough with the communication and things like that. It happened with Matt (Van Oekel) when he was here and when Adam Eckersley first came in last year, we kind of took a wee bit to adjust. But I think we’re adjusting brilliantly now and we just have to take that forward.”
Offensively, FC Edmonton is heading in the right direction. After being shut out in its first two games, the club scored a goal in its third and two April 22 in the win over Puerto Rico.
“I think it’s great to score twice and we’ve created chances as well, which is very important,” Miller said. “We’ve been a bit more lethal around the goal. We have created chances, which is very pleasing, and to score two is excellent, it gives everybody a lift.”