FC Edmonton heads east to Halifax for third game in just eight days
Already handicapped by going through an ownership transition and forced to field a team of borrowed players, the Canadian Premier League did not do FC Edmonton any favours with its scheduling this week.
FC Edmonton will play its third game in eight days, having traversed the country again when they take on HFX Wanderers FC in Halifax (noon, Onesoccer) on Saturday.
FC Edmonton heads into the game having held defending champions and league leaders Pacific FC to a scoreless tie at home Wednesday, which was preceded with a trip to Hamilton and a 3-0 loss to Forge FC last Saturday.
“Normally after a draw, you're not back in the locker-room celebrating; you're somewhat content to get a point,” said FC Edmonton head coach Alan Koch on Friday. “But the players are fully aware of what our club has gone through, so for us to get points at this stage, those are little milestones that we're going to celebrate.
“To play against the top team in the league that are the defending champions and to get a point against them, we take a lot out of that game. But we have to have very, very short memories in this business. That was Wednesday and now it's Friday and we're in a different world, so we have to move on very quickly.”
Run by the league, FC Edmonton's roster is made up mainly of players signed by other teams and loaned back to the club.
Through the first four games of the season, it is evident FC Edmonton has been loaned talented players, though short on experience.
Koch has done an admirable job of getting the most out his young squad, which has earned a point in three of its first four games. Defensively, FC Edmonton has been solid and is starting to develop an offensive identity.
In the scoreless tie against Pacific, Edmonton created more scoring chances than it had in its previous three games. Now, it's just a matter of converting on more of those chances, which is the next step in the evolution of the club.
“I'm a firm believer that scoring goals takes two things — individual brilliance and then a team cohesiveness and an understanding of how to play properly,”
Koch said. “We've seen individual brilliance in one of our goals with Toby (Warschewski) in the first game and a team goal in the second game (Masta Kacher).
“We need to build into getting more offensive output. It's great to get it from great world-class goals like we've had one already this season, but it takes a bit of time for our players to figure out how to play together, get on the same page, understand their movement and their runs. It's something we've worked on, and hopefully, we'll start to see some positive outcomes in the next few weeks.”
Considering the squad was put together without the benefit of a pre-season schedule, FC Edmonton is learning on the fly. The players are starting to get to know each other better and are becoming a more cohesive unit.
“I like all of our players, they all have a chip on their shoulder,” Koch said. “They're all willing to learn, they all want to get better and they all want to prove something.”
Early on, FC Edmonton's success has come from defending well and counterattacking with speed down the wings. Their back line is being anchored by Marcus Simmons, Cale Loughrey and Luke Singh, three players on loan.
“Marcus was a player that nobody thought would be playing professional football,” Koch said. “Even in this sign-and-loan mechanism we have, he was offered to every club before we got him, so it's no wonder he has a chip on his shoulder. He's come in and he's started for us right out of the gate. We'll gladly take players like that, who want to prove something.
“The same could be said for Cale. In many respects he's another player that nobody else wanted, and because of who we are and what we're going through, he gets this opportunity. So we're excited about players like that, who come in and work hard every day and that's the mentality you have to have to be able to put together a very cohesive group.”