Home NASL & USL FC Edmonton Eddies find baffling new ways to not score in loss to Indy

Eddies find baffling new ways to not score in loss to Indy

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For the second week in a row, FC Edmonton faced a team that had yet to keep a clean sheet in either the NASL spring or fall seasons.

For the second week in a row, the Eddies obliged and gave the opposition its first shutout of the campaign.

Last week, it was Atlanta. On Sunday, on the first game on the pristine Clarke Stadium pitch, it was the Indy Eleven. The Eddies suffered their second 1-0 loss in a row.

And sure, the highlight shows and recaps will show the comedy of errors that led to Kleberson’s injury-time game winner. But, really, Kleberson’s 92nd-minute effort should have been a consolation goal — that’s how badly the Eleven was out chanced by the Eddies. You could argue that the Eddies created as many chances as they did in the spring season finale, when they found the net six times against Carolina.

But, as Eddies coach Colin Miller put it at halftime, the way the Eddies attackers find ways to turn chances in front of goals into shot attempts that didn’t even trouble the keeper is a “physical impossibility.”

Interestingly, the longer the game went scoreless, Miller used all three of his available subs — and none of them were striker Frank Jonke, who was dropped from the starting XI this week.

“We had a team that was dead and buried,” said Miller. “We could have had five or six goals at halftime.

“We have to be better in front of goal. We find ways to hit the goalposts, the crossbar or the photographers at the side of the pitch.”

And, after letting Indy off the hook time and time again, the Eddies took the suckerpunch to the kisser right at the death. After Lance Laing failed to clear the area, a cross was lofted in and hit defender Edson Edward in the back, as he was falling. With the ball at his prone body, he decided to try and head the ball — while lying down — to clear it away. Instead, the ball rolled off his head to the middle of the penalty area, where Kleberson obliged by putting the winner into the corner of the goal.

Indy started the game brightly. On two occasions Blake Smith, on loan to the Eleven from the Montreal Impact, found space on the right side and got shots away on goal. But both times, FCE keeper John Smits was equal to the task, coming off his line and taking the space away.

FC Edmonton's Horace James, centre, skips by Indy's Kleberson, left. PHOTO: FC EDMONTON/TONY LEWIS
FC Edmonton’s Horace James, centre, skips by Indy’s Kleberson, left. PHOTO: FC EDMONTON/TONY LEWIS

For most of the half, though, FCE thoroughly dominated, making attack after attack on the right wing, exposing Indy Eleven left back Jaime Frias as the weak link in the defence. Unopposed crosses rained in from Edmonton’s right/Indy’s left.

Lance Laing missed the target after a cross from Horace James; James then missed the net on an open header off a cross from Edward. A couple of looping headers, from Albert Watson and Daryl Fordyce, were cleared off the line. Fordyce missed the goal on a cross from Edward.

James was able to take a pass from Milton Blanco and then turned around Kleberson as if the Brazilian was wearing cement shoes; he pushed a ball behind the Indy defence for Laing, who chipped keeper Kristian Nicht and watched his effort go off the bar. Then, FCE central defender Beto Navarro, who joined the attack, won a ball on the right side (again), laid off a pass at the top of the box for Fordyce, whose effort went off the bar.

That was all in the first 20 minutes.

But, in the 28th came the most egregious miss of all. Blanco pounced on a giveaway and fed the ball to James on the right wing (again), who then laid a roller into the area for Cristian Raudales to side foot home. The ball was shanked well wide.

In the second half, James totally missed making any contact with a decent cross from Edward; Tomi Ameobi, who came on as a sub, got the ball behind the defence but had his effort stopped by Nicht, who came well out of goal.

Finally, Michael Nonni, another sub, rifled a shot that Nicht touched onto the bar.

At least with Ameobi and Nonni, they could say they forced Nicht into making the saves. But, too often this fall season, great chances aren’t put anywhere close to the target. And that’s why the Eddies have yet to score in three fall season games, and are already 11 points back of the table-topping San Antonio Scorpions.

Maybe the enduring image from the game should be a second-half shot from Laing, which was blasted well wide and over the goal, and flew over the fence at the end of the stadium and into the parking lot. It might do more to summarize the game in one play than the Kleberson goal.

 

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10 Comments

  1. Kahkakew Yawassanay

    July 30, 2014 at 2:26 am

    Skilled and experienced players will finish one of those multiple chances….obviously their current squad do not have the skills, experience and system to support regular goal scoring..the Carolina game was an anomaly(fluke) like Canada qualifying for the 86WC….

  2. left back

    July 29, 2014 at 4:29 pm

    Thanks Steve… thought he had a falling out with CM… just like every other manager over his last 6 seasons…..

  3. left back

    July 29, 2014 at 4:08 pm

    Does anyone know what has happened to Ritchie Jones? Our former Manchester United star has been absent for a little while…..?

    • Steven Sandor

      July 29, 2014 at 4:25 pm

      He came in as a second-half sub on Sunday. He’s been recovering from a leg injury.

  4. left back

    July 29, 2014 at 4:00 pm

    I don’t think you can blame CM for the lack of goals in recent games… the chances are there… they just can’t score.. they are creating decent scoring chances… which is a good thing…. but you have to finish…. bottom line…. one thing you can blame CM on is the players he drops from the team and the players he keeps… i wonder if Shaun saiko was still in an FCE jersey… he is our all time leading scorer and can finish… H.James, Jonke, Laing, Ameobi…. many of these players are physically strong but have little technical quality… CM likes strong players…. we know that… but do they win games?

    the reality is that wee Boakai is our most dangerous player… and he is off at the Milk Cup… (why CM would let him go i have no idea.. he is a paid pro… ?) the wee lad has good technical ability… Fordyce as well…… but CM doesn’t have time for ‘gifted’ players… he likes the grind.

    He has built a team of pluggers… just like himself… leopard can’t change it’s spots.

    • Kahkakew Yawassanay

      July 30, 2014 at 2:31 am

      Fath did the same ole same ole hiring people like Petrone and Miller to name a few..all overhyped managers/coaches/players, who accomplished little where and when it matters…the amount of $$$ they have spent on players, player/coaches and managers to date would have been better spent on well known player/coach, manager of two-three excellent veterans from Europe or central/south America to build from…when you think a margin player like Saiko is your best player..you have big problems

  5. Mike

    July 28, 2014 at 2:46 pm

    I’m shocked they lost let alone not score, again. Fath has his field now so the whole organization needs to step it up pdq. How did you describe the shot that ended up in the parking lot Steve? Kind of like that scene in Major League when wild thing threw it to the screen, “and that was just a little wide”. 🙂

    • Kahkakew yawassanay

      July 28, 2014 at 6:18 pm

      Time to put out was two years ago…as an owner would demand significant improvement and effort…it is easy…produce or leave…there are a lot of players out there that would take out their moms knee to get hat ball and try and score…relying on North Americans is a waste of time when latinos are faster, more skilled, quick with their feet and football crazy…time to let CM go..he has had enough time to mould a competitive team and he has not….

  6. Soccerfan

    July 28, 2014 at 2:09 am

    I attended the game with my family and this is the result. I am so tired of this pathetic effort. The next two games are against S.A. and NY, if the Eddies lose both games, Tom has no choice but to fire Colin and while he is showing him the door, Rod Proudfoot can join him. I saw that they announced 3152 fans at the game but that was not even close. Proudfoot can keep putting up false numbers but this is insane. What a waste of an afternoon, the drinks were not cold, it was way too hot, nobody was there and another loss and not a single goal scored. Proudfoot and Miller are not doing their jobs. Steve, I am curious to know your thoughts on what is in store for this team because this sucks!!! Where are all the people that were ripping me after the Montreal win and Carolina win with six goals? Big deal. Two games is just two games, look at the body of work and it speaks for itself. Remember how insane the organization was when they wanted to ask for a new stadium? Yeah that made lots of sense, a losing franchise on so many levels. If the Eddies drop their next two games, I am going to start a social media campaign that promotes Miller and Proudfoot to be let go. The 2013 and 2014 seasons are a joke. I just knew that Indy was going to score in the last minute. Miller cannot coach worth a lick and his henchman, Paulus just whispers in his ear, “master, master, the village people are coming. What should we do?” Miller probably replies with a “Igor, don’t worry I will just throw another player onto the backline and that should solve all the problems.”

  7. Kahkakew yawassanay

    July 27, 2014 at 11:14 pm

    Who put this squad together..they are inept at scoring….and FCE expects to draw an average of 4500 when they cannot score 1 goal per game, let alone win…time to make serious changes starting with the coaches and scouts

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