Sports stats



NASL FC Edmonton

FC Edmonton Continues to Roll with 1-0 Win over Puerto Rico FC

August 6, 2016 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
FC Edmonton News Release


EDMONTON, AB - FC Edmonton (10W-3D-4L) earned their third straight win with a victory over Puerto Rico FC (1W-3D-4L), August 6 at Juan Ramon. The victory moves the Eddies into a tie atop the North American Soccer League (NASL) Fall Season standings with Indy Eleven.

Eddies striker Tomi Ameobi recorded his first goal of the season, while teammates Adam Eckersley, Albert Watson, Pape Diakite and Shawn Nicklaw led their team to yet another strong defensive performance. Between the woodwork, Eddies' goalkeeper Matt VanOekel recorded his eighth clean sheet of the season.

For a second-straight-match, the Eddies dominated first half possession with 65-percent, but were unable to put themselves ahead as a result. It was a chippy opening half of play overall, with the Eddies committing six fouls to Puerto Rico's three and a total of three yellow cards issued between the two sides- two of them to the visiting Eddies.

VanOekel made a pair of difficult stops in the opening frame, diving to his right on Puerto Rico's opening chance of the match on 18 minutes- a hard shot from midfielder Tyler Rudy. The six-foot-four 'keeper was at it again just under ten minutes later, deflecting a point blank opportunity from Sidney Rivera to keep the match scoreless.

The Eddies enjoyed extended spells of possession in the half and received their first dangerous chance in the area on 38 minutes. Midfielder Dustin Corea was fed the ball inside 10 yards but could not bring the ball down to get a shot towards goal.

The Eddies nearly went up in the dying moments of the half, as extended pressure in the attacking third of the pitch resulted in striker Jake Keegan receiving a pair of chances inside the area that the New York native was unable to convert. Teammate Ameobi nearly found his elusive goal immediately following Keegan's, but his strike from a difficult angle would go wide.

Both teams would head into the break tied 0-0.

The Eddies carried their late momentum into the second half, opening play on the front foot. Their play forced Puerto Rico into a pair of early fouls that resulted in a free kick for the Eddies. Dustin followed up his sides' free kick attempt with a rush up the left wing before feeding Keegan in a dangerous position, but the play was deemed offside.

After withstanding Puerto Rico's longest stretch of pressure in the match, Eddies head coach Colin Miller inserted two his most recent signings into play in the form of midfielders' Nicolas Di Biase and Ben Fisk.

Shortly thereafter, the Eddies broke the deadlock, after Ameobi headed in his first goal of the season. Right back Shawn Nicklaw worked an overlap up the right wing before dropping off for Dustin, whose perfectly weighted cross into the box was met by Ameobi for the one goal lead on 74 minutes.

"The lads once again showed enormous character," Miller said. "I thought as play went on we got better. Nico added genuine class and quality when he came on the field and I think we can see there is a difference maker in that player there. I thought all three substitutes actually contributed. Ben Fisk added good energy and legs."

The Eddies managed the clock well following the goal, with midfielder Nik Ledgerwood receiving his second and third shots on the night as he looked for his third goal of the season. A frantic four minutes of added time that saw chances at both ends would finish with the Eddies maintaining their lead and earning the 1-0 victory, their tenth win of the season.

"It was great to see big Tomi scoring his first of the season," Miller added. "I'm hoping that was the beginning of the season for him. We've showed great faith in him, we never doubted him. Fingers crossed Tomi got that one off his chest and hopefully he can continue to score goals for us."

FC Edmonton returns to Clarke Field, August 14 to host Minnesota United FC, with kick-off set for 2:00 p.m. MT. It will be "Footie For Food" day at Clarke Field, as the Eddies support Edmonton's Food Bank. The club will collect non-perishable food items to stuff the team bus at all gates.

Check out the FC Edmonton Statistics



North American Soccer League Stories from August 6, 2016


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central