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NASL FC Edmonton

Eddies Earn Second Victory of Scotland Trip with 2-1 Win over Airdrieonians FC

March 16, 2016 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
FC Edmonton News Release


AIRDRIE, SCT - FC Edmonton (2-0-0) captured the second win of their Scotland preseason trip, Mar. 15, defeating Airdrieonians FC, 2-1 at Excelsior Stadium. For the second-straight-match, the Eddies played virtually every player on the squad, allowing Eddies head coach Colin Miller and staff an opportunity to view multiple players prior to the team's 2016 North American Soccer League (NASL) Season Opener.

Robbie Leighton scored the lone goal for host Airdrie, while Daryl Fordyce registered both goals for the visiting side. Between the woodwork, goalkeeper Matt VanOekel recorded 60 minutes, while teammate Nathan Ingham jumped in for the remaining 30 minutes of the second half.

The Eddies went up early in the match, thanks to a converted penalty kick in the 11^th-minute by all-time leading scorer Fordyce. The early penalty call followed an attempt by Eddies' newcomer Gustavo to get inside the box before being taken down.

Airdrieonians nearly tied it up less than five minutes following Edmonton's goal, as a Dean Cairns lob looked destined for the back of the net before being cleared off the line by midfielder Nik Ledgerwood.

At the other end of the pitch, Jamie Bain turned the ball over in his defensive third to Eddies striker Jake Keegan, whose low rolling shot deflected off the right post and out of play. Keegan's second opportunity on net came just ten minutes later, when the New York native rang his attempt off the crossbar.

Airdrie's Leighton levelled the match in the 34^th minute, capitalizing on an Eddies miscue in the defensive third and drawing the match level at 1-1.

The Eddies would answer back just moments later, as midfielder Pablo Cruz brought the ball inside the box before sending a cross to the front of goal. A sliding Fordyce was able to deflect the ball from his back to regain the lead at 2-1.

"With a bit more quality and luck I believe we could have scored three or four more goals," remarked Miller. "We're very pleased with the attitude of our players...both sets of players, our first half team and second half team I thought were committed to the cause."

A scoreless second half of play saw attempts by multiple Eddies to extend their 2-1 lead to no avail. An early rush from Sainey Nyassi, as well as a pair of chances from Tomi Ameobi and striker Sadi Jalali highlighted the team's second half of play in the attacking third. 'Keeper Nathan Ingham was able to record valuable minutes, as well as FC Edmonton Academy product Tyrell Leslie, who came on late in relief of Shamit Shome. The match would end in a 2-1 win for the Eddies.

Join the Eddies on their two-week preseason trip! Use the hashtags #FCEinScotland and #FCEd to stay connected and view exclusive content straight from Scotland. To learn more about the Eddies' preseason trip.

Following their trip to Scotland, the Eddies return to Edmonton for just over a week before opening up their North American Soccer League (NASL) season on April 2 versus Rayo OKC. The team faces Minnesota United FC, April 10 in their Canadian Tire Home Opener, 2:00 p.m. MT at Clarke Field. For tickets and more information, please call 780.700.2600, visit www.fcedmonton.com.

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