Eddies not taking fixture-congested Strikers for granted; 2,300 tickets already sold By Steven Sandor Posted on May 24, 2013 4 0 834 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Chris Nurse FC Edmonton midfielder Chris Nurse doesn’t believe that the Fort Lauderdale Strikers will start a weakened lineup for Sunday’s match at Clarke Stadium. You couldn’t blame Strikers’ coach Daryl Shore if he let some of his top players have the day off Sunday. The Strikers were forced into extra time and penalties in their midweek U.S. Open Cup win. And, on Tuesday, the Strikers will hos FC Dallas in the USOC. A trip across the continent to Edmonton and then back to Florida could set his team up for a poor performance against FCD. Add to the fact that the Strikers are at the rear of the NASL standings, and you could understand if FCE faced a shorthanded Fort Lauderdale team. But Nurse doesn’t believe it. “I don’t think they’ll be tired,” said FCE’s central midfield catalyst. “They’re at the bottom of the league, so they need a result. I think they’ll put a priority on the league over the Cup. And if we played on Saturday, I would say maybe they’d be tired. But we’re on Sunday, and that gives them more opportunity to rest.” Nurse will be part of a reconstructed midfield. Neil Hlavaty will be out Sunday, as he suffered a concussion in training. “We have a strong squad,” said Nurse. “It could mean that Ribs (Robert Garrett) moves to a more central role, and that’s more his natural position.” FCE coach Colin Miller said that no matter what kind of team Shore puts on the field, the Eddies won’t be taking the game for granted. “We’re not good enough to underestimate any opposition,” said Miller. “We can’t get carried away. No one has a god-given right to win a football game. We have to go for the jugular.” The Eddies are just three points off the top of the table, with six games left in the spring session. The atmosphere should be great at Clarke; the team confirmed that 2,300 tickets have already been sold for the match. Because the end-zone bleachers haven’t been approved by the city, Clarke has 2,800 available seats for Sunday, with additional standing room. “We know that, in this league, if you win your home games and then steal a couple of points on the road, then you will be in a good position at the end.”
