New FCE defender Laing: Will be an “honour” to team up with Paul Hamilton

Lance Laing

It was the final game of the NASL season. FC Edmonton already knew that it would finish the season in last place. After 89 minutes at Clarke Stadium, FC Edmonton trailed playoff-bound Fort Lauderdale 2-0.

But the Eddies came back with two late goals to tie the match — a show of spirit and passion. Elvir Gigolaj scored on a wonder volley, then Paul Craig tied the game in time added on with a low long-distance strike.

And no one was more impressed than defender Lance Laing. A 2011 member of the NASL Best XI, the Jamaican spent the last two seasons with the strikers, and has earned a couple of national-team call-ups. And, on Wednesday, he joined ex-Minnesota Star Neil Hlavaty as the newest members of the Eddies.

“We saw some really good stuff from them in that last game,” Laing said over the phone. “We saw a lot of players that we hadn’t seen play for them before, and they made a difference. I think if some of those players come back next year, we can turn this team around.”

But it’s not just the new players who impress Laing. He said it will be “an honour” to play alongside Eddie Paul Hamilton in the back line. Hamilton was the only Eddie to be named to the NASL Best XI in 2012 — heck, on a last-place team, even getting one player on the all-star list is an achievement — and Laing said he’s looking forward to partnering with the Calgary native.

“He is one of my favourite players in the league,” said Laing. “He’s a very good defender. He’s a very good tackler and he’s good off the ball.”

But what might be surprising was that Laing didn’t even have to pause when FC Edmonton made the offer. He wasn’t worried about the northern climate or coming to a new country. He has national-team mates who play in Canada; Dane Richards spent half a season in Vancouver and Ryan Johnson is in Toronto.

“It wasn’t a hard decision to make,” said Laing. “I was out of contract, and I think Edmonton is a really good team. They have good players, and it’s a great city. I really like it when I have gone there. When the offer came, I didn’t have to think much about it.

“One day, I hope to move on to a bigger challenge, maybe to move up to MLS one day. But, right now, I am an FC Edmonton player, and I plan to give this club everything I’ve got.”