FC Edmonton looking to get back on track against surging Forge
Fourth-place FC Edmonton will take to Clarke Field Saturday against league-leading Forge FC in a bid to crack a top-two spot in the Canadian Premier League’s fall competition.
Since the last time the two teams met on June 26 — with Edmonton winning 1-0 — Edmonton has dropped to fourth in the rankings and Forge has gone on to win three games in a row to earn the top spot.
It’s been tricky going since Edmonton beat Forge, its only win so far in the fall. Edmonton has lost one game and tied another, scoring as many goals as it has conceded.
“We had got ourselves within two points of Hamilton when we beat them in Game 1, but since that point, we’ve dropped five points and they picked up nine, so they’ve created that gap again,” said FC Edmonton head coach Jeff Paulus. “With a game like this, it gets us within reach of that second-place overall finish, which is going to become very important.”
The home team’s last game against Winnipeg ’s Valour FC ended in a scoreless draw, but Paulus said losing isn’t an option this time around.
“We’ve had a week to prepare, and we see them as just the team we have to beat,” said Paulus on Friday.
In the spring competition, Edmonton finished one spot below Forge in third place.
Last week’s home game against Valour FC got off on the wrong foot, kicking off 45 minutes late at Clarke Field due to inclement weather.
Paulus said he was proud of how his team played, but added they should have won based on performance.
“We created 11 opportunities inside the 18-yard box to score,” said Paulus of last week’s game. “I thought we deserved at least one (goal).”
Now, 10 days later, the team has had ample time to recalibrate for Saturday’s match that starts at 4 p.m.
“We just want to get going again,” said Paulus. “You’re anxious to get onto the pitch to prove yourself and obviously show that you’re a better side than what’s displayed.”
To win again against the topranked Forge — who have scored nine goals to Edmonton’s three — Paulus said his team is going to focus on generating its own scoring opportunities.
On average, Forge has taken 17 shots per game, though it often struggles to place them on target. Attacker Tristan Borges has been hot recently, scoring three goals in the last three games and seven so far this season.
“We’re a very strong defensive team ... we’re hard to break down in the moments we’re playing,” said Paulus. “The team just struggles to get good opportunities inside the 18 (yard box) ... but we now need to take that a step further here and be better at getting ourselves going.”
Even though the score against Valour didn’t show it, Edmonton dominated possession and the passing game. Paulus said winning now is a matter of doing what they’ve been doing in practice during game play.
Playing at home hasn’t always been an advantage for Edmonton this season, but Paulus said it helps build momentum, regardless of the score.
“It’s good pressure to be at home,” said Paulus. “The supporters invest themselves and are emotionally attached to the team, and so the pressure is that you do feel responsibility to give back, you want to put on a good performance for them, you want to go out and you want to work hard.”
Paulus said the enthusiasm of fans more than makes up for the chilly, rainy weather this season.
Fans who come out Saturday can expect some rain.