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FC Edmonton

Eddies Earn Point in 1-1 Draw with Playoff-Chasing Jacksonville Armada FC

October 19, 2017 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
FC Edmonton News Release


JACKSONVILLE - FC Edmonton striker Jake Keegan's 62nd minute equalizer earned the Eddies a point on the road against playoff-chasing Jacksonville Armada FC at Hodges Stadium on Wednesday, October 21.

Down at the break from Jack Blake's 39th minute go-ahead goal, the Eddies stormed back with a positive second half; eventually finding their equalizer after Keegan finished off a good passing play between midfielder Ben McKendry and second-half substitute Daryl Fordyce on 62 minutes.

The draw extends Jackonville's winless streak at home to seven games (0W-4D-3L) as they fight with the New York Cosmos for the fourth and final spot in the Championship, the North American Soccer League's (NASL) four-team postseason tournament.

"We brought in [Abe Dukuly] and [Daryl Fordyce] off the bench and they both had good impacts on the game, and with any luck at all we win the game," FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller said. "It's never easy coming down to Florida and earning a point with the travel and humidity, but we put all those things aside and put together a great effort against a good Jacksonville side."

The Eddies opened up the match with early pressure, quickly earning a corner in the sixth minute after Nyassi's low cross was put out by the Armada defender. Centre-back Albert Watson got his head to winger Ben Fisk's cross, but the ball was pushed over the bar well by goalkeeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell.

Goalkeeper Nathan Ingham's first action for the Eddies in over two months came five minutes later when the Keswick, ON. product had to be sharp to control a redirected header from Zach Steinberger.

Six minutes before the break, the hosts had the lead. J.C. Banks laid off a pass across the box to Blake, who hit the ball first-time past Ingham and into the bottom corner for the 1-0 lead on a well-timed strike in the 39th minute.

Blake's eighth goal of the season had the Armada ahead at half-time.

Searching for an equalizer early in the final 45 minutes, the Eddies pounded on the pressure. Nyassi was put through on the right side in a 1-on-1 with Patterson-Sewell on 56 minutes, but the Gambian's hard shot was parried over by the Armada keeper.

The press from FC Edmonton was soon rewarded with a goal on 62 minutes. A beautiful through-ball from Ben McKendry beat the offside and sprung Jake Keegan and Daryl Fordyce on goal in a 2-on-0 situation before Fordyce's pass found a wide open Keegan, making no mistake by finishing into the empty net to level the score 1-1.

The Eddies could've nicked the three points late in the game on the break as Jacksonville pressed for the winner, but Dukuly's low effort curled away from the back post, ultimately sealing the deal on an energetic 1-1 draw and second half.

FC Edmonton have a quick turnaround for the club's final home match of the season on Saturday, October 21 when they host league-leading Miami FC on Girls in Soccer Night II at Clarke Stadium. Two-time Olympic medalists Desiree Scott and Melissa Tancredi of the Canadian Women's National Team will be in attendance and fans can get their tickets at tickets.fcedmonton.com!

Scoring Summary

1 2 F

FCE 0 1 1

JAX 1 0 1

Scorers

FCE: Jake Keegan (62')

JAX: Jack Blake (39')

Cautions:

FCE: Eustaquio (40'), Ledgerwood (83'), Dukuly (83'), Ingham (90')

JAX: George (9'), Jerome (65'), Rebellon (69')

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North American Soccer League Stories from October 19, 2017


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