The good news? FC Edmonton’s five-game losing streak is over. The bad news? The Eddies gave up a sloppy late goal and threw two points away, being forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers Sunday at Foote Field.

FC Edmonton’s losing streak has grown to five games, as Aaron Pitchkolan’s last-gasp wonder strike gave the Puerto Rico Islanders a 1-0 win at a rain-soaked Foote Field Saturday.

FC Edmonton’s training session at Foote Field Wednesday was more, ahem, spirited than usual. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. To see some tough tackles and a few curse words uttered on the pitch is a sign that the team isn’t taking its current four-game losing streak all that well. In fact, it’s comforting to see that FC Edmonton isn’t getting comfortable with poor results.

Just as it did in losses to Carolina and FC Tampa Bay, FC Edmonton started poorly, surrendering two goals to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the first 29 minutes of the game. And, it led the way to a comprehensive 3-0 defeat.

FC Edmonton would have been in tough against the Carolina RailHawks had they had to play in what we’d consider normal summer conditions. But with the mercury at more than 100 F at kickoff, the combination of the Railhawks’ skill and the punishing heat was too much for the Eddies. Carolina capitalized on tired legs and defensive mistakes for a 4-1 game that wasn’t nearly as fast-paced as the score would indicate.

Ding dong, the witch is dead. That’s how FC Edmonton’s players and supporters feel after they broke their jinx against the Montreal Impact, winning 1-0 at Foote Field Sunday on the strength of a Kyle Porter wonder goal.

FC Edmonton will try and break its jinx against the Montreal Impact this Sunday. The largest crowd to ever see FC Edmonton play at Foote Field is expected for the weekend match-up, and they’ll want to see the home side, currently sitting second in the NASL table, reverse its recent run of form against the other Canadian team in the league.

FC Edmonton took advantage of a travel-weary Puerto Rico Islanders side, winning 3-0 Wednesday at Foote Field. FCE simply dominated, outnumbering Puerto Rico midfield and bossing possession. Puerto Rico, which played Sunday night and then had to make the 5,600-km trek from the Caribbean to Edmonton, didn’t look like it could keep up with Edmonton’s pace.

FC Edmonton has more bad news on the injury front. The club will now have to cope without veteran central defender Paul Matthijs for the long term. There are fears that the Dutch defender could miss the rest of the NASL season with a hernia

FC Edmonton’s 1-0 loss to the Carolina RailHawks was made all the more painful due to a serious injury suffered by keeper Lance Parker. Parker was carried off a stretcher, right arm immobilized, to a waiting ambulance on the sidelines after colliding with Carolina striker Etienne Barbara and falling awkwardly to the hard Foote Field artificial surface.