Laing: “Wouldn’t be a greater joy” than helping FCE beat the Strikers on Saturday

Lance Laing

A month and a half ago, the FC Edmonton staff discussed their plans for the final road trip of the regular season. If results continued to go in favour of the red-hot Eddies, there was a good chance that the Oct. 25 match at Fort Lauderdale could be huge.

So the decision was made then to change the team’s travel plans. Instead of leaving on a Friday, the common practice for a Saturday road game, the Eddies would leave on Thursday, giving them a chance to better acclimate to the Florida heat and humidity.

As it turns out, the Eddies were right about this Saturday’s game meaning something. The Eddies know that if they win their final two games of the season — away to the Strikers and then home to Atlanta — they will be in the NASL post-season, unless Carolina also wins both of their remaining games and makes up a massive goal-difference margin.

“We made this call five weeks ago, six weeks ago, anticipating we’d be in this position,” said assistant coach Jeff Paulus on Wednesday. “It’s paid off for us.”

But, if the Eddies lose to Fort Lauderdale, the Strikers will eliminate FCE, and solidify their own claim for the fourth and final NASL post-season spot.

And what will the Eddies spend the extra time working on? Limiting Fort Lauderdale’s explosiveness on the counterattack. Paulus said that the Strikers can turn defence into offence in quick fashion, and you need to be aware of how fast the Strikers can come at you.

“We don’t think we are bigger than we are,” said Paulus. “We know we have a lot of work to do. Fort Lauderdale will definitely be a tough venue to play in.”

While this weekend’s Fort Lauderdale/Eddies match is, for all intents and purposes, an elimination game, for midfielder Lance Laing, it will be extra special. Before coming to the Eddies, Laing was an NASL Best XI fullback for the Strikers. Since moving to the midfield, Laing has established himself as the best left-sided player in NASL, leading the Eddies in goals and assists.

“There’s not much nerves, to be honest,” said Laing. “I’ve been in this league, I know what it takes in situations like this, to get to the playoffs.

“There wouldn’t be a greater joy than to beat my former team and knock them out of a playoff spot and get myself into it. That’s what’s soccer is all about. Teams that win championships, to get to a championship game. On Saturday, this game is as big as a championship game for us. If we lose, we’re out. If we tie, you can say that we are out as well. We have to go there with the mentality that we have to get three points.”

The reason FCE is in this position — where the club controls its own destiny — is that it took care of business in Ottawa last week, while Fort Lauderdale and Carolina drew. It was the dream scenario come true. And, since the Eddies played in the afternoon, they could watch the RailHawks and Strikers draw from the comfort of their Ottawa hotel.

“We were celebrating in that hotel like it was a big Champions League game being played, like we were in Europe backing up Barcelona or Real Madrid or Chelsea to win a championship. It felt like that. We celebrated like crazy. I swear that hotel probably doesn’t want us back there.”

Laing could also celebrate the goal and the assist he had against Ottawa, including an Olimpico, a goal scored directly from a corner kick. (That performance earned him NASL Player of the Week honours). He didn’t celebrate the goal. Why? Because the goal took even him by surprise.

“I was aiming for the near post, to be honest, there was a crazy wind that came by and it just took the ball in. That’s why you saw me walk off like ‘hey, what just happened?’ I was pretty surprised at the wind. The wind cause that to be a goal.”