NASL FC Edmonton

Eddies Strike Down Fort Lauderdale 1-0 for Sixth Win of Season

Published on July 10, 2016 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
FC Edmonton News Release


EDMONTON, AB - FC Edmonton (6W-3D-3L) registered a 1-0 victory in their North American Soccer League (NASL) Fall Season home opener, July 10 at Clarke Field against Fort Lauderdale Strikers (4W-4D-4L). The win places the Eddies just two points back of league leaders New York Cosmos.

HIGHLIGHTS / TICKETS / STANDINGS

Eddies midfielder Daryl Fordyce opened the scoring for the Eddies in the second half, while Matt VanOekel registered his fifth clean sheet of the season.

FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller made two changes to the side that faced Rayo OKC in the opening match of the Fall Season. Nik Ledgerwood returned to the team after serving a one match suspension and newly signed Shawn Nicklaw made his Eddies debut at right-back.

The heavy rain caused problems for both sides in the early stages as they adjusted to the wet surface. However, it was the visitors who started the match on the front foot, with midfielder Luis Felipe shooting from range on two different occasions. The wet surface posed a challenge for Eddies keeper VanOekel, but the American native managed to parry both attempts away from danger.

The Eddies earned their first chance on 18 minutes when midfielder Dustin Corea played in Tomi Ameobi. Facing a tough angle, Ameobi managed to fire a shot that forced Strikers 'keeper Diego Restrepo to make a difficult save.

The Strikers came close to breaking the 0-0 dead lock just after the half-hour mark. Geison Moura fired a shot from outside the box, which took a slight deflection, but VanOekel reacted quickly to make the save and prevent any rebound.

Both sides headed into the change room after a scoreless 45 minutes.

The Eddies registered the first chance of the second half just after the hour mark when New York native Jake Keegan crossed a ball into the box. Corea found himself on the end of the cross, but the wingers shot went just wide of the visitors' net.

Fort Lauderdale found chance to open the scoring on 68 minutes when second half substitute Jose Angulo fired a shot across VanOekel's net, but the Eddies keeper made the diving save.

Following the stop, the Eddies went on the counter attack. Keegan picked out Fordyce with another long ball. The Northern Ireland midfielder took a touch before firing a shot past Restrepo to give Edmonton the 1-0 lead.

The visitors best chance to equalize the match came 10 minutes before the final whistle. Angulo crossed a dangerous ball across the six-yard-box, but midfielder Shamit Shome made a crucial interception to help the Eddies secure the 1-0 victory.

"The players responded well after a slow first half and produced a good performance in the second." Miller said post-match. "I thank the fans for turning up to the match despite the heavy rain and we are very pleased to secure all three points for them. Clarke Field is becoming a difficult place for teams to play and we hope to continue to make it difficult."

The Eddies return to Clarke Field, July 17 versus Ottawa Fury at 2:00 p.m. MT. Tickets and more information are available, calling 780.700.2600, or visiting www.fcedmonton.com.

Scoring

FC Edmonton: Fordyce (70')

Fort Lauderdale Strikers: None

Cautions

FC Edmonton: Shome (20'), Diakite (41'), Ledgerwood (44')

Fort Lauderdale Strikers: Pineda (49'), PC (63'), James (78')

FC Edmonton

VanOekel; Nicklaw, Watson, Diakite; Eckersley; Corea; Shome, Ledgerwood (Gustavo 69'), Fordyce (Zebie 77'), Keegan; Ameobi (Smith 81')

Fort Lauderdale Strikers

Restrepo; James, Agbossoumonde, Gabriel; PC, Fernandes, Arguez, Alexandre, Santos (Angulo 56'), Moura (Paulo Junior 68'), Pineda (Nunez 67')

Check out the FC Edmonton Statistics

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North American Soccer League Stories from July 10, 2016


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