Despite being up a man for an hour, FC Edmonton couldn’t score — and, to make matters worse for the home team, the Eddies were caught at the back late in the game, as Luke Mulholland’s goal gave the Tampa Bay Rowdies a 1-0 win.

After a disheartening 2-0 loss on the road to the Carolina RailHawks on Saturday, the parallels between the Eddies and the Impact of 2011 are more and more evident.

The Eddies played in front of their biggest crowd at Clarke Stadium so far this season, with 2,521 fans shoehorned into the bleachers and standing around the sidelines. But the crowd went home disappointed as the Eddies slumped to a 2-1 defeat to the previously undefeated Silverbacks.

Both defender Paul Hamilton and midfielder Kenny Caceros were forced to leave the game at halftime with injuries. Defender Fabien Vorbe broke his nose in the first half after a collision with San Antonio Scorpion forward Walter Ramirez.

A cavalcade of defensive and goalkeeping mistakes allowed the NASL champion Minnesota Stars to come away from FC Edmonton’s Clarke Stadium opener with a 4-3 win.

FC Edmonton was a man up for more than 50 minutes of soccer, but never asserted its numerical superiority and fell 1-0 on the road to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in their NASL season opener.

Playing their final tuneup match before Saturday’s NASL curtain raiser in Fort Lauderdale, FC Edmonton lost 2-0 on the road to the Minnesota Stars.

Fullback Niko Saler survived the last year’s purge of the FC Edmonton backline. But, with more defensive prospects coming into the NASL team’s camp, the Canadian left back was let go on Wednesday.

At the same time as Augustin’s signing was made official, the club released Canadian defender Justin Farenik and American forward Shawn Chin.

Hatchi’s recommendation has brought his French compatriot, Jonathan Joseph-Augustin, to Edmonton on a two-week trial.