Voyageurs Cup: Eddies predict goals aplenty in the second leg against Ottawa

FCE captain Albert Watson shakes hand with Fury captain Richie Ryan in leg one. PHOTO: STEVE KINSMAN/OTTAWA FURY

FC Edmonton’s players wrapped up Tuesday’s training session with a penalty-taking session.

After all, if Wednesday’s second leg of the Amway Canadian Championship preliminary round between the host Eddies and the Ottawa Fury finishes 0-0 after extra time, penalties would decide the tie.

But, even though the Eddies were practicing the spot kicks, they’re confident that they won’t need to go there. Even though the Eddies are winless in NASL play and have scored just one goal in the three league games and the first leg of the Ottawa series, they feel that they’re a better team than the Fury. And, even though the Fury scored four times in a weekend triumph over Carolina in league play, the Eddies aren’t phased by it.

(Special disclaimer aimed at Fury coach Marc Dos Santos: There may be tack-to-dressing-room-wall material to come.)

While the Eddies have scored just once all season, in the season opener in Tampa, coach Colin Miller feels that plenty of chances were created outside of a 1-0 loss at home to the Cosmos a couple of weeks back. And he thinks that when the first goal comes, more will follow.

“I feel we’re about to give someone a hammering,” he said.

And Miller said that, while Ottawa looked good on the weekend, “it wasn’t Carolina at their best.”

But, knowing that a scoring draw puts Ottawa through, Miller said the Eddies have to think about winning the game outright, and not try to nurse a 0-0 scoreline.

“Guns ablazing,” said Miller. “We have to win at all costs. Our mindset is that we have to score goals tomorrow. No disrespect, but I believe we are a better squad than Ottawa.”

Miller said that he felt the Eddies should have won the first leg going away.

“In the game in Ottawa, we should have scored two or three. Ottawa created next to nothing, in all honesty.”

FCE captain Albert Watson agreed that the Eddies are ready for an outburst.

“We’re close. We are going to score. And when it comes, we’re not just going to score one, but we’re going to score a few. We have to look at this game as all or nothing. We have to win this game.”

As the pillar of FCE’s stingy defence, though, Watson knows that giving up a road goal to the Fury would be an issue. But he said that the Eddies can’t sit back and pass up chances to go forward just for the sake of milking a 0-0 scoreline.

“To be fair, I am disappointed that we’ve only kept one clean sheet out of our four games this year, and that wasn’t in the league,” said Watson. “Each of the other games we’ve given up one goal. But , it’s easier to defend when you have something to hold on to.”

Watson said the defenders need to do more to support the attacks; getting forward more and playing better balls ahead. And that’s true even if 17-year-old Marko Aleksic is pressed into service due to injuries. Kareem Moses and Mallan Roberts are carrying hamstring problems, and that has left the Eddies thin in the centre of the defence.

As well, midfielder Milton Blanco, who broke his hand in the home opener against the New York Cosmos, is out indefinitely.

As for the penalties? Miller said he won’t make a list of five players to take the kicks in case they’re needed on Wednesday.

“I leave it up to the players. If someone wants to take a penalty, I am not going to stop him. I don’t want to force a player to take a penalty who doesn’t want to do it.”