Home victories key to FC Edmonton’s hopes for title
Still in the hunt for the Canadian Premier League Fall Competition title, every home game is vital for FC Edmonton.
The professional soccer squad needs victories to try to make up a two-point deficit on Forge FC of Hamilton and will get an opportunity Saturday (4 p.m.) when Pacific FC pays a visit to Clarke Field.
Three points for a win could lift FC Edmonton into top spot depending on what happens elsewhere in the league and considering it’s the last of four consecutive home games for the club, a victory is imperative to its quest for a second-half title and berth in the championship series.
“Every time we play at home, we have to get three points down the stretch,” said FC Edmonton head coach Jeff Paulus. “It’ll be the difference whether or not we’re able to go into that championship series versus Calgary (Cavalry FC).
“Pacific is coming in and they’re a good, young team. I love what they’re doing in that organization. They’re energetic, they’re quick and if there is a team that’s going to be able to match the pace that we have in our squad, it’ll be them.”
FC Edmonton goes into the contest on a three-game unbeaten streak. It tied the first two games of the homestand with a scoreless draw against Valour FC of Winnipeg and 1-1 tie against Forge before defeating the HFX Wanderers of Halifax last week.
Pacific is sixth out of seven teams in the Fall campaign with just a win and a tie from its first five matches. Edmonton has two wins, a loss and two ties through its first five games of the 18-game Fall Competition.
“We’ve been having some good performances and I think we control our destiny a little bit,” Paulus said. “I think we’ve manage to stay with the lead group (in standings). We’re seven points behind Forge for the overall, but that’s achievable to catch them; we play them one more time here as well. In the Fall season, we’re two points out and that’s achievable. However, nothing but wins at this moment are really acceptable for the group.”
FC Edmonton finished in a tie for third in the 10-game Spring Competition and has played well in the second portion of the split-season format.
The team had struggled to score, however, until netting two in the win against the Wanderers, who were running on fumes on an extended road trip by the time they got to Edmonton.
“I think that we’ve done some good things in the past and not scored goals from it, but I think we’re seeing the enthusiasm of (striker) Easton Ongaro. He’s had a bit of a spark there and he’s just a difficult player to have to deal with, he combines a little bit of everything,” Paulus said. “Things will start to come for (striker) Tomi (Ameobi) as well. I think, overall, the whole team is committed to getting forward.”
FC Edmonton has six goals through its first five games and has only conceded four. Two of those goals came in a 2-1 loss at York9 in the second game of the Fall Competition. The only goal it has conceded since came off a mistake in the tie to Forge, a game the team otherwise dominated.
“I think we’re playing our best right now, we’re finding our rhythm, we’ve found a good system and we’ve kind of stuck with it and worked on that and made it our own,” said FC Edmonton centre-back Amer Didic. “It’s hard for teams to break us down and I think you saw against Halifax. It’s just a matter of getting that offensive spark going and be able to capitalize from keeping teams off the scoreboard.”
In reality, the 2-0 score flattered Halifax last week as the Wanderers easily could have conceded two or three more goals if Edmonton had been more ruthless in front of the net. Scoring two goals, however, gives FC Edmonton belief its string of bad luck around the net is over.
FC Edmonton feels as if it is a team that can challenge for the championship in the league’s inaugural season, particularly with the way it is playing defensively.
“I think it’s about coming in and knowing your roles and responsibilities,” Didic said. “I think the biggest thing that I’ve seen as an improvement is the communication between the back line. The back line communication is a big thing.”