Steven Sandor's Blog, page 99

If Laing goes to the Reggae Boyz, FC Edmonton will have a massive hole to fill

Lance Laing

If Lance Laing enjoys an extended period with the Reggae Boyz, FC Edmonton will have to learn to play without him on the left wing.

Laing was named the team MVP by the Edmonton Supporters’ Group in 2014 and has two goals and three assists in five NASL games this season — basically producing an average of a goal per game for the Eddies. He’s been named to Jamaica’s 30-man provisional roster for the upcoming Copa America.

Jamaica is playing in the Copa America as a guest team — and is in a group with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Laing said the roster will also apply to this year’s Gold Cup.

“It was a good feeling [to get the call],” Laing said Friday after FCE’s training session. “I think it was coming. It’s the preliminary squad of 30 and they will cut seven guys prior to Copa America.

“It’s all coming from the fall season, I came in this year knowing I could do the same things that I did in the fall season.”

It was just ahead of the 2014 NASL fall season where FCE coach Colin Miller elected to move Laing from left back to a left wing position. After that move, he became the most dangerous left-sided player in the league.



Assistant coach Jeff Paulus said FCE is hopeful that Laing will make the final cut.

But Laing said that Jamaica won’t have a camp before the Copa America; he says that the final 23 will simply be told that they are going and seven will be told that they’ve missed the cut.

“I’m surprised, I thought there would be something like a 15-day camp.”

But, if Laing does make the grade, he would be required head to Chile for Copa America preparations on May 29. The Eddies are scheduled to play the Ottawa Fury in the nation’s capital on May 29, and then on the road to the Rowdies on June 6 and the Indy Eleven June 13.

But Laing said he’s hopeful that the Jamaican Football Federation would grant him an extension to stay with the Eddies till June 6, so he’d only miss the game against Indy.

The Gold Cup is slated to go July 7-26; if Jamaica lasts till the later rounds of the tournament, Laing could miss up to five Eddies matches in July.

Will Laing make the final 23? He has one major advantage; he plays on the left side, and having a natural left-sided player is an awfully nice perk for a coach, rather than trying to force a right winger to switch to the left — as happens in more than a few national-team set-ups.

Paulus thinks that a Laing absence could offer a needed lesson for the Eddies.

“We will have to look to play a different way, and that could be a blessing, because we have to learn how to mix it up.”

Obviously, if an NASL player makes it to the Copa America, it’s a PR coup for the league.

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Gut check in Vancouver: “What a performance” by the Eddies, says Miller

The Eddies celebrate Tomi Ameobi’s opening goal. PHOTO: CANADA SOCCER

The Vancouver Whitecaps were finally able to break down FC Edmonton’s defence late in the match, but a 1-1 draw at BC Place was still an awfully big result for the visitors.

The Eddies will now head back to the Alberta capital knowing that they have a real chance to knock off the Whitecaps when they play the second leg of their Amway Canadian Championship semifinal next Wednesday. The Eddies have not lost a game at Clarke Stadium since last July. And, when the played MLS opposition at Clarke last season — the Montreal Impact — the Eddies won.

And the Eddies have a road goal.

The Eddies came off their worst performance of the season Sunday, in sapping heat in New York, with their gutsiest performance of the year Wednesday at BC Place.

“What a performance by these guys tonight,” said FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller. “It speaks to the culture that we’re trying to build here. We gave up some very poor goals to the best team in NASL on Sunday. But we came into this game not looking to draw; we thought we could win the game. We knew that, playing against the best team in the MLS Western Conference, that we couldn’t have one single player out there fail tonight. And we didn’t have any failures.”



The Eddies sat back and absorbed pressure and hit back on the counter, with lone striker Tomi Ameobi doing tireless work holding up ball after ball. He often won the first ball, despite being outnumbered two or three to one.

Earlier this year, Miller said that he felt Ameobi could play in a much bigger league than NASL — and that he could be the best striker in NASL — if he could find consistency.

Ameobi has been nothing but dangerous over the last month.

“I stand by what I said,” Miller said over the phone, voice hoarse from two hours of yelling at BC Place. “He really is a joy to work with, from the effort he puts in to his humility. He has a great willingness to learn and improve himself, and he did very well for us again tonight.”

Without injured captain Albert Watson, the back line held for most of the game. Yes, the Whitecaps started a young, experimental lineup, choosing to leave many of their big guns in their street clothes. But, the Eddies can only be judged based on the team that the Whitecaps put in front of them.

Miller said that Watson could have played Wednesday “in a pinch,” but that he wanted to give the captain a few more days off before Sunday’s league game at home to the Scorpions.

The Eddies have been poor starters for most of the year; in three NASL games and one previous ACC match, they’ve given up goals inside the 90-second mark. But the Eddies turned the table, stunning the BC Place crowd with a fourth minute goal. Tomi Ameobi picked the pocket of Whitecaps’ holding midfielder Gershon Koffie, who lingered on the ball. Ameobi nicked the ball, went in alone, and cooly slotted a low shot inside the post.

And, while the Whitecaps had some decent spells of possession as the first half went on, they did little to trouble Eddies’ keeper Matt Van Oekel. There were a couple of chances scuffed wide. But, for the most part, forwards Darren Mattocks and Erik Hurtado couldn’t get chances because passes were being cut out. And the Whitecaps struggled to get the ball behind the Eddies’ fullbacks.

The Whitecaps had more chances in the second half, though. But Eddies keeper Matt Van Oekel made two big saves, first swatting away a Hurtado attempt and then coming off the line to block a shot from Mattocks.

In the 65th minute, Mattocks nodded a ball into the Eddies penalty area for Hurtado to run on to — but Hurtado, with only Van Oekel to beat, blasted the ball wide.

Kekuta Manneh and Robert Earnshaw were brought in to bolster the Whitecaps’ attack, and the Eddies had to beat back attack after attack. Kareem Moses and Mallan Roberts did well to win a lot of balls pushed to the middle of the area. Fullback Eddie Edward had his best game of the season, a dominant force on the right side.

But, playing on the unforgiving BC Place turf — and not rotating the squad from Sunday’s game — finally took its toll on the Eddies. And, in the 86th minute, left back Johann Smith — playing because of the injuries to Watson and left back Allan Zebie — couldn’t get a bouncing ball out of the penalty area. The ball came to Koffie, who somewhat atoned for his earlier error by finishing the chance.

(“Somewhat” and not “fully” as road goals loom larger than goals scored at home.)

Last year, the Eddies went out at the semifinal stage to the Impact thanks to a 96th-minute penalty in the second leg. Now, they’ve gone to Vancouver and got a 1-1 draw. Say what you will about MLS teams resting players; the NASL team has made a solid account of itself.

“It doesn’t matter what players were out there in Whitecaps shirts tonight,” said Miller. “They are excellent players. They are one of the best teams in MLS.”

And, there’s no doubt that the Eddies would love nothing more than another shot at the Impact, who qualified for the final thanks to Dominic Oduro’s late headed goal in Toronto earlier Wednesday night.

That game, a 3-2 “win” for TFC that saw the Reds lose on the away-goals rule, was another example of great Cup theatre, as a single flick from Oduro’s head cancelled out a furious second-half rally from the Reds, spurred by Designated Players Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore.

If anything, these semifinal ties, added to some compelling ties in 2014, are proof that the Canadian Championship is important, that it needs to grow. Because, let’s face it — in terms of sheer entertainment, they’ve offered the best games we’ve seen in Canada over the last couple of years.

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Quintessentially Canadian Power Rankings, MLS Week 10/NASL Week 6

Mason Trafford

The Ottawa Fury was able to get a point against the Tampa Bay Rowdies this past weekend. But maybe even more impressive is the fact that coach Marc Dos Santos gave his Canadian players a total of 402 minutes of game time.

That’s an impressive total spread among five players (Julian de Guzman, Mason Trafford, Drew Beckie, Carl Haworth and Mauro Eustaquio). And it moved Ottawa’s average to nearly 258 minutes per game for Canadian players, slightly behind FC Edmonton’s average of 275 minutes per game.

Hanson Boakai, Adrian Cann and Mason Trafford made their NASL season debuts this past weekend, and it pushes the number of “surefire” Canadian prospects who have played in MLS or NASL in 2015 to 29. But, let’s break that number down. Take Ottawa and the Eddies out of the equation, and the number of players drops to 16 — which isn’t very good at all. Ottawa has played six different Canadians this year, the Eddies have played seven. So, these two franchises are skewing the Power Rankings, which look at the top two divisions in North America — as they both allow Canadian teams to treat Americans as domestic players, but force American teams to treat Canadians as import players. In NASL and MLS, an American is treated as a domestic on both sides of the border;the Canadian player can only be domestic if he plays for a Canadian side.

The USL, not included here, treats both Canadians and Americans as domestic players no matter if they play in Canada and the United States.



Montreal returned to MLS action this week in much the same way it played earlier this season. That is, without using Canadians. The Impact averages just 35.4 minutes per game of playing time for Canadians. Compare that to Toronto FC and the Whitecaps, who are averaging just a little more than 120 minutes per game of time played by Canadians. The Whitecaps/TFC numbers don’t come close to the Canadian NASL teams, but are astronomically better than Montreal’s.

Still, 120 minutes per game is nothing to wave the flag over. That’s one full 90 per game plus a half an hour of sub time.

One final note: We’ve made the decision to completely remove Kofi Opare from the list. While he’s indicated he wants to play for Canada, and spent much of his childhood in Niagara Falls, he’s not a Canadian citizen yet. And, playing for D.C. United, it’s hard to see him fulfilling a residency requirement needed for citizenship anytime soon. Ethan Finlay and Tesho Akindele have been invited to Canadian national-team camps, and Steven Vitoria was born in Canada, so they remain on the Canadian “maybe” list – even though we are hopeful that Akindele will soon move to the surefire-Canada-eligible list before the end of the MLS season.



MLS AND NASL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS (MLS AFTER 10 WEEKS, NASL AFTER 6 WEEKS):

1. Russell Teibert, VAN, MLS, 696 (9)

2. Sam Adekugbe, VAN, MLS, 615 (7)

3. Ashtone Morgan, TFC, MLS, 566 (7)

4. Carl Haworth, OTT, NASL, 517 (6)

5. Kyle Porter, ATL, NASL, 508 (6)

6. Dominic Oppong, ATL, NASL, 495 (6)

7. Marcel de Jong, SKC, MLS, 453 (6)

T8. Julian de Guzman, OTT, NASL, 450 (5)

T8. Eddie Edward, FCE, NASL, 450 (5)

T8. Mallan Roberts, FCE, NASL, 450 (5)

11. Jonathan Osorio, TFC, MLS, 430 (7)

12. Nana Attakora, SAS, NASL, 360 (4)

13. Cyle Larin, ORL, MLS, 352 (6)

14. Drew Beckie, OTT, NASL, 255 (4)

15. Frank Jonke, FCE, NASL, 253 (3)

16. Patryk Misik, OTT, NASL, 165 (4)

17. Karl Ouimette, NYRB, MLS, 142 (2)

18. Allan Zebie, FCE, NASL, 101 (2)

T19. Adrian Cann, SAS, NASL, 90 (1)

T19. Maxim Tissot, MTL, MLS 90 (1)

T19. Mason Trafford, OTT, NASL, 90 (1)

22. Kyle Bekker, FCD, MLS, 87 (4)

23. Patrice Bernier, MTL, MLS 81 (2)

24. Mauro Eustaquio, OTT, NASL, 69 (2)

25. Kianz Froese, VAN, MLS, 66 (3)

26. Sadi Jalali, FCE, NASL, 52 (2)

27. Michael Nonni, FCE, NASL, 43 (3)

28. Hanson Boakai, FCE, NASL, 28 (1)

29. Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare, MTL, MLS, 6 (1)

MLS AND NASL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIAN MAYBES — PLAYERS WHO COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR CANADA, BUT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR OTHER NATIONS AND HAVE NOT COMMITTED TO CANADA (MLS AFTER 10 WEEKS, NASL AFTER 6 WEEKS):

1. Steven Vitoria, PHI 810 (9)

2. Ethan Finlay, CLB 746 (9)

3. Tesho Akindele, FCD 637 (10)

TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2015 (INCLUDES BOTH SUREFIRES and MAYBES); RANKED BY AVERAGE MINUTES PER GAME:

FC Edmonton, NASL, 1377/5 GP (275.4) (+5.6)

Ottawa, NASL, 1546/6 GP (257.7) (+28.9)

Atlanta, NASL, 1003/6 GP (167.2) (-3.8)

Vancouver, MLS, 1377/11 GP (125.2) (-3.5)

Toronto FC, MLS, 996/8 GP (124.5) (-0.4)

San Antonio, NASL 450/5 GP (90) (NC)?

Columbus, MLS, 746/9 GP (82.9) (+0.9)

Philadelphia, MLS, 810/11 GP (73.6) (-7.4)

FC Dallas, MLS, 725/10 GP (72.5) (+0.3)

Sporting Kansas City, MLS, 453/10 GP (45.3) (-5)

Orlando City, MLS, 352/9 GP (39.1) (+5.2)

Montreal, MLS, 177/5 GP (35.4) (-8.9)

New York Red Bulls, MLS 142/9GP (15.8) (+4.5)

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Cosmos score early, often in 4-2 triumph over the Eddies

FCE’s Chad Burt tries to get in the way of Raul’s shot attempt. PHOTO: NEW YORK COSMOS

Before the Eddies departed for New York, midfielder Lance Laing spoke about the team’s continued struggles in the early stages of games.

“We’ve just got to park the bus for the first few minutes,” he said. “We’ve got to be like Chelsea.”

Instead, on Sunday, the Eddies continued their baffling propensity to surrender goals right after games kick off. This time, it was Cosmos Carlos Mendes who benefitted from the charity provided to him by the Eddies’ back line. He poked the ball across the line just 1:25 after the game started.

Crazily, that marks only the fourth quickest goal the Eddies have given up this season in NASL or Canadian Championship play. That’s right. Even though the season began in April, the Mendes goal is only at No. 4 in the quick-goals chart.

But, while the Eddies have been able to come back in many games this season, this time the Mendes goal would simply the harbinger of many more to come, as the Cosmos pleased the home fans with a wild 4-2 win.



If anything, the defensive holes today showed just how much the Eddies’ change when captain Albert Watson is out of the lineup. He had to leave last weekend’s draw with Minnesota to injury — and the back line was a totally different crew without him. And it will strike fear into the Eddies’ supporters hearts to know that their favourite team could be playing without Watson when they head to Vancouver on Wednesday for the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship semifinal.

FCE coach Colin Miller said his team “was in la-la land” on the defensive side of the ball.

“From the attacking point of view, I’m very pleased, we created some very good chances and could have had more [goals]… But from the defensive point of view, not good enough at this particular venue against this team.

“We were well beaten by very good New York Cosmos team.”

Traditionally, Cosmos/FCE matches are defensive struggles. Not this time. Off a short corner right after the opening kickoff, the hosts were able to work the ball to the far post to Raul, who dinked a short corner across the box for striker Lucky Mkosana. The ball was headed down, and FCE keeper Matt Van Oekel scrambled to palm the ball away. He pushed the ball right to the feet of Mendes, who simply had to poke the ball into the open goal.

But the Eddies got a break just before the 20-minute mark. Mendes was ruled to have tugged on the Eddies’ Kareem Moses in the penalty area, and the referee pointed to the spot. Tomi Ameobi converted the chance into the top corner, and it looked like the soccer gods had evened the score. Last, a soft penalty was called against the Eddies that allowed Minnesota United to leave Edmonton with a draw. Certainly, the call that the Eddies got in their favour on Sunday was up for debate.

But the Cosmos soon made the debate moot. Raul didn’t look like a man in his late 30s; playing in a deeper role with the Cosmos than he did in his glory years with Real Madrid, he sprayed passes around the pitch with an air of confidence. The Eddies chased shadows as the Cosmos played keep-away for long portions of the game.

Raul would give the Cosmos the lead. Mkosana brought the ball down the left wing and sent in a low cross for Danny Szetela; the ball crashed off the underside of the bar and stayed out. The ball fell to Szetela, who then hammered a volley off the bar. Two crossbars in a row — was fate intervening on the Eddies’ behalf? Well, not exactly; Raul took advantage of Moses, who had taken his eye off the play to make a protest towards the linesmen for an offside call. Raul took the rebound off the second shot to hit bar, and then fired the ball into the goal. Would Moses have got to Raul? Tough to say, but the defender has to play to the whistle.

Then, to pile on to the Eddies’ tough first half, Van Oekel came off the line to try and get to a free kick launched into the box; his route was off-line and he was late. Mendes got to the ball well before Van Oekel and headed into an empty goal.

The second half started as badly as the first had ended. Cosmos midfielder Leonardo Fernandes split the centre backs with a pass for Mkosana, who was played onside by right back Eddie Edward, who wasn’t near the play. With acres of space and tons of time, Mksoana got his second.

Van Oekel did make an excellent diving stop on substitute Sebastian Guenzatti and Ameobi, the liveliest Eddie on the afternoon, did make an excellent run down the right side before cushioning a pass that set up Ritchie Jones’s late consolation goal. But emergency left-back started Allan Zebie — moved into that spot so Jones could move to centre back to fill the Watson void — had to leave the game in the second half with a hamstring problem.

With defensive injuries are a concern, the Eddies will have their hands full playing on the road Wednesday to one of MLS’s most potent home sides. But, they need to focus on surviving the first two minutes.

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Snow patrol: Caps, FCE and CSA “unanimous” in decision to postpone match

Three Whitecaps supporters who made the trip from Vancouver decided to visit Clarke Field on Wednesday.

Three Vancouver Whitecaps supporter ran onto the snowy field. They dodged snow-removal vehicles and then unfurled a bright blue and white banner, with a fist in the middle.

It would only be a symbolic gesture of defiance, as the visit was the only act that hinted that a soccer game was supposed to be played at Clarke Field on Wednesday.

After referee Dave Gantar deemed FC Edmonton’s home pitch unplayable, officials from the Canadian Soccer Association, FC Edmonton and the Whitecaps unanimously agreed to postpone the first leg of their Amway Canadian Championship semifinal, which had been set for Wednesday night. The Edmonton leg, now set for May 20, will be the second leg of the series. The Whitecaps still host a match on May 13, but it will now be the first leg, not the second.

Snow began to fall late Tuesday night in Edmonton. And, though forecasters had originally predicted it would peter out by the morning, it kept coming. It was heavy, wet snow, too. At 2 p.m. Wednesday, the call was made to scrub the game.

FC Edmonton General Manager Rod Proudfoot said that, even if the field was cleared, the turf underneath was soaking wet. With temperatures expected to be below the freezing mark by Wednesday night, the fear was that the field would become icy.



He said “the weather was not going to be much better” Thursday morning, so playing the game the next day at noon was out of the question. He said the decision to postpone and reschedule to the 20th was “unanimous.”

“Player safety is paramount,” said FCE coach Colin Miller.

“When the studs start to pack underneath with snow, it becomes dangerous.”

Miller said he won’t change his approach towards the series, even though the Eddies now have the advantage of the second leg at home.

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Quintesstentially Canadian Power Rankings, MLS Week 9/NASL Week 5

Allan Zebie made his NASL debut on Sunday

It’s been a hopeful week for Canadian players in MLS and NASL.

Two Canadians made their season debuts this weekend; After playing in USL or being parked on the bench through the first eight weeks of the MLS season, New York Red Bulls defender Karl Ouimette got to play a full 90 minutes on Saturday. And, on Sunday, fullback Allan Zebie, a product of the FC Edmonton Academy, made his NASL debut, coming in as a sub in Sunday’s 2-2 draw between the Eddies and Minnesota United.

Two other Canadians were inked to deals this past week, but neither saw action. Veteran Adrian Cann re-signed with the San Antonio Scorpions after recovering from a knee injury. And, 16-year-old Chaim Roserie signed with the NASL’s Jacksonville Armada, after he spent time with the team’s developmental squad. Roserie’s deal is still subject to FIFA approval because he is a minor; and he isn’t eligible to play for the Armada till that green-light comes through.

We’ve added a feature to the team rankings: We are now tracking if a team’s minutes-given-to-Canadians average is tracking upwards or downwards. We will show how the teams’ Canadian-minutes-per-game averages have increased or decreased from the previous week’s rankings.



MLS AND NASL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS (MLS AFTER 9 WEEKS, NASL AFTER 5 WEEKS):?

1. Sam Adekugbe, VAN, MLS, 615 (7)

2. Russell Teibert, VAN, MLS, 606 (8)

3. Ashtone Morgan, TFC, MLS, 476 (6)

4. Marcel de Jong, SKC, MLS, 453 (6)

T5. Carl Haworth, OTT, NASL, 450 (5)

T5. Kyle Porter, ATL, NASL, 450 (5)

7. Dominic Oppong, ATL, NASL, 405 (5)

8. Jonathan Osorio, TFC, MLS, 398 (6)

T9. Nana Attakora, SAS, NASL, 360 (4)

T9. Julian de Guzman, OTT, NASL, 360 (4)

T9. Eddie Edward, FCE, NASL, 360 (4)

T9. Mallan Roberts, FCE, NASL, 360 (4)

13. Cyle Larin, ORL, MLS, 271 (5)

14. Frank Jonke, FCE, NASL, 253 (3)

15. Patryk Misik, OTT, NASL, 165 (4)

16. Drew Beckie, OTT, NASL, 165 (3)

T17.Karl Ouimette, NYRB, MLS, 90 (1)

T17.Maxim Tissot, MTL, MLS 90 (1)

19. Patrice Bernier, MTL, MLS 81 (2)

20. Kianz Froese, VAN, MLS, 66 (3)

21. Kyle Bekker, FCD, MLS, 57 (3)

22. Sadi Jalali, FCE, NASL, 52 (2)

23. Allan Zebie, FCE, NASL, 28 (1)

24. Michael Nonni, FCE, NASL, 26 (2)

25. Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare, MTL, MLS, 6 (1)

26. Mauro Eustaquio, OTT, NASL, 4 (1)

MLS AND NASL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIAN MAYBES — PLAYERS WHO COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR CANADA, BUT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR OTHER NATIONS AND HAVE NOT COMMITTED TO CANADA (MLS AFTER 9 WEEKS, NASL AFTER 5 WEEKS):

1. Steven Vitoria, PHI 810 (9)

2. Ethan Finlay, CLB 656 (8)

3. Tesho Akindele, FCD 592 (9)

4. Kofi Opare, DCU 535 (6)

TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2015 (INCLUDES BOTH SUREFIRES and MAYBES); RANKED BY AVERAGE MINUTES PER GAME AND +/-CHANGE FROM THE PREVIOUS WEEK:

FC Edmonton, NASL, 1079/4 GP (269.8) (-17.2)

Ottawa, NASL, 1144/5 GP (228.8) (+10.3)

Atlanta, NASL, 855/5 GP (171) (-4)

Vancouver, MLS, 1287/10 GP (128.7) (-4.3)

Toronto FC, MLS, 874/7 GP (124.9) (-5.8)

San Antonio, NASL 360/4 GP (90) (NC)

Philadelphia, MLS, 810/10 GP (81) (-9)

Columbus, MLS, 656/8 GP (82) (+1.1)

FC Dallas, MLS, 650/9 GP (72.2) (-7)

DC United, MLS, 535/8 GP (66.9) (+3.3)

Sporting Kansas City, MLS, 453/9 GP (50.3) (-6.3)

Montreal, MLS, 177/4 GP (44.25) (NC)

Orlando City, MLS, 271/8 GP (33.9) (NC)

New York Red Bulls, MLS, 90/8GP (11.25) (+11.25)

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Late Minnesota penalty spoils another comeback-win attempt by FCE

Tomi Ameobi scores for the Eddies as Minnesota keeper Mitch Hildebrandt scrambles in vain. PHOTO: TONY LEWIS/FC EDMONTON

FC Edmonton was less than 10 minutes away from yet another Kardiac Kids comeback win. After going down 1-0 to Minnesota United just 71 seconds after the opening kickoff, the Eddies had scored two second-half goals to take the lead.

Then, it all changed on what looked to be an innocuous play. Minnesota fullback Justin Davis got into the penalty are with the ball, and looked to have run himself into a corner; he wasn’t facing goal and he didn’t have a shooting angle. At best, he could hope to turn and pop a cross to the centre of the area. But FC Edmonton substitute Michael Nonni elected to dive in. Even though Nonni got all ball with the tackle, Davis went down and referee Geoff Gamble pointed to the spot.

Before Jamie Watson converted the penalty to give the visitors a 2-2 draw with the Eddies, Gamble sent FCE forward Daryl Fordyce off for arguing the call. The player says that the referee “misheard” what was being said. But FCE will not appeal, as NASL fines teams for lost appeal attempts. And teams are only allowed two appeals per season.

So, down to 10 men, the Eddies ended up needing to hang on for the draw in a game that they dominated for long stretches.

“The referee has apologized to me for a call that he made last year,” said FCE coach Colin Miller after the match. “Now he owes me another apology.” Miller said that he didn’t need replays to see that the call was the wrong one — that in real time he saw that Nonni got all ball on the challenge.



Miller said the “criminal decision” undid a lot of good work by his club. Outside of the first minute of the game, he felt that the Eddies had played their most complete match of the year.

Minnesota United coach Manny Lagos said that he would need to see replays to see if Gamble had indeed made the correct call, but he pointed out that, when a player slides to make a tackle from behind in the box, he always runs the risk of the referee pointing to the spot. And Lagos felt that, earlier in the game, his fullback, Davis, was wrongly penalized — and the free kick was buried by Lance Laing.

Nonni, who had just come into the game for right winger Sainey Nyassi, could be criticized for deciding to dive in and making that challenge, who was not in a threatening position. Basically, don’t put the referee in a position where he has to make a bang-bang decision.

The game started like too many Eddies games have started this year; the Eddies have already given up a goal at the 12-second mark in league play, and the 56-second mark in Cup play. Starting with a full-strength 11 despite playing Ottawa in Cup play Wednesday and having to play the Vancouver Whitecaps this coming Wednesday, the Eddies got off to another dreadful start. Miguel Ibarra was credited with the marker 71 seconds in that could just has easily been credited as an own goal to keeper Matt Van Oekel.

After right back Eddie Edward fell down, the ball was released down Minnesota’s left side to Ibarra. His first cross was blocked; then he tried to play another ball across the face of goal. Defender Mallan Roberts and Van Oekel each tried to block the pass, which was headed right for a wide open Pablo Campos for a tap-in. The ball hit Van Oekel, changed direction and rolled across the line. To be fair to Van Oekel, with Campos wide open behind him, had he not touched the ball, the Minnesota striker would have tapped home the Ibarra pass.

But, after conceding, it was Edmonton who then controlled the remainder of the first half; that was especially true down the left wing, where Minnesota United’s Jonny Steele was being run ragged by Laing.

Laing delivered a cross that Fordyce headed towards the goal, only to have Minnesota keeper Mitch Hildebrandt make the fingertip save at full stretch.

Then, Steele compounded what was a miserable afternoon for him with an awful back pass that set FCE’s Tomi Ameobi in alone on goal. Hildebrandt came out, just got a piece of the shot, but it was enough to change the direction of the ball so that it kissed the goalpost rather than going in.

But the Eddies kept up the pace in the second half; and, after Davis was whistled for fouling Edward, Laing slammed a free kick into the top corner.

“I’ve been coming to training early for the last couple of days and practising free kicks from that exact same spot,” said Laing. “And I’ve been able to hit a few of them into the top corner just like that.”

Laing’s dominant, man-of-the-match performance continued when he got behind the defence on the left wing — after being sprung by a great diagonal ball from Cristian Raudales. He then laid the ball across the goal for Ameobi to slide onto and drive across the line.

Van Oekel made a good save on Davis, and Eddies’ captain Albert Watson and had to leave the game after picking up an injury when he fouled Campos. Watson had tried to play through the pain, but ended up needing to go out. Kareem Moses moved from left back to centre back, and FCE Academy graduate Allan Zebie was given his NASL debut.

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FCE’s Van Oekel admits it will be “emotional” to face Minnesota United on Sunday

Matt Van Oekel was playing professional soccer in Minnesota before the modern NASL was a thing. His wife and 15-month-old son still live in the Gopher State, though they are set to move to Canada in a couple of months.

So, when Van Oekel puts on the keepers’ gloves on Sunday for his new team, FC Edmonton, it will start what will be an emotional afternoon. For the first time since he signed with the Eddies, he will play against Minnesota United.

“I was there for a very long time,” Van Oekel said after the Eddies wrapped up training on Friday. “I know 90 per cent of their players. It will be an emotional day for me.”

Last year, had the lowest goals-against average in the NASL by the second-last weekend of the season. In the final weekend, Van Oekel surrendered a couple of goals and FCE’s John Smits won the Golden Glove award for the lowest GAA in the league. But, despite posting such good numbers, Van Oekel found himself looking for a team in the off-season.



“It wasn’t my choice; they didn’t have me in their plans,” Van Oekel said of the move from Minnesota. “They wanted to go in a different direction. And it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I have a coach here (in Edmonton, Colin Miller) who I get along with wonderfully, and a goalkeeping coach (Darren Woloshen) who really pushes me.”

But, as a former Loon, does Van Oekel have any insight into why Minnesota — the preseason favourite of many pundits to be at the top of the league in spring (and fall, too) — is off to such a poor start? The Loons have just two points from their first three matches, and now have to go to Clarke Stadium to face an Eddies team that has not lost a home game since last July.

“I think it’s because the NASL is better than it has ever been,” said Van Oekel. “Right now any team can beat anyone on any given day. There will be no team this year that will be able to go on a run of games and stay at the top of the standings like Minnesota did last year.”

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Phenom alert: 16-year-old Canadian Chaim Roserie signs with Jacksonville Armada

Chaim Roserie is pictured with the ball at his feet

Canadian Hanson Boakai broke into the NASL at 16 years of age with FC Edmonton.

Now, another Canadian 16-year-old has cracked an NASL team’s roster. On Friday, the Jacksonville Armada announced that it has signed Mississauga’s Chaim Roserie. He played for the Mississauga Falcons and the West Toronto Cobras, and also attended a camp with AC Milan.

But don’t expect to see Roserie in NASL game in the coming weeks. According to the team, Roserie “will not be eligible to play in official matches for the Armada FC until clearance is received from FIFA due to the fact that Roserie is a minor. He will, however, continue to train with the team and is able to compete in friendlies.”

Roserie traveled down to Florida in 2014 to attend the Armada’s developmental camp (CLICK HERE) and stuck with the club.



According to Armada general manager Dario Sala, “Chaim Roserie is a tremendous young prospect for our club.He has a great amount of potential, and we look forward to seeing him develop and working to become a fixture in our lineup in the future.”

We will be looking forward to Roserie’s debut on The 11‘s Quintessentially Canadian Power Rankings. And, knowing the Canadian soccer community’s penchant for putting the “great Canadian hope tag” on the up-and-coming phenom of the moment, chances are the message boards will be lit up with chatter about the Mississauga teen, now that he’s been inked to a pro contract.

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Can the Impact recover to take on congested schedule, Canadian championship?

It was a little bit of a surreal experience. Marc Dos Santos, former Montreal Impact coach, was stuck in the Clarke Stadium press box. Now the coach of the Ottawa Fury, he was suspended for the second leg of his team’s Amway Canadian Championship series against FC Edmonton, so he was stuck in the booth next to our broadcast position.

There was still a little less than an hour to go before the kickoff of the Canadian Championship match. In the tiny press box’s tight hallway, I fired up my laptop, perched it on a ledge, and logged into my Sportsnet account so I could watch the second half of the CONCACAF Champions League final. Dos Santos came out and joined me; we hunched over the computer screen and watched Club America’s four-goal second half rampage, as the Mexican giants went on their way to a 4-2 second-leg win. Argentine Dario Benedetto got a hat trick for America, but the story was how the Mexican giants simply exploded in the second half. It was like when you were a kid, and the one player who was so much better than everyone else warns “OK, I am really gonna try, now.”

It felt as if Club America were instructed to play possum through the first leg and the second leg’s first half; for the good of CONCACAF, please keep it close. Then, well, in the final 45, go ahead an illustrate the gulf in talent between a bottom-table MLS side and an elite Liga MX club.

The Impact and MLS did all they could do; surgery was conducted on the Impact’s domestic schedule so the club would have weekends off leading up to and during the CCL final. The Impact had bye weekends, while Club America had no such advantages. While the Impact spent the weekend prepping for the second leg of the final, Club America had a Sunday match against its fiercest rival, Chivas. That gave the Mexican side little time to get to Montreal and get used to the turf.

Didn’t matter.



As Club America started raining down goals, Dos Santos simply said “the stronger team wins.” He pointed to Carlos Darwin Quintero now wearing Club America’s blue road kit. Five years ago, Quintero was the scorer of the two extra-time goals that allowed Santos Laguna to complete a stunning comeback that knocked the then-second-division Impact out of the CCL. Dos Santos said, in a game that counted, he’s never been involved in a game against a more dynamic player. Sure, there have been better players who come over when the big European clubs do their bloated North American summer tours, but in terms of CONCACAF and games that matter against MLS or other Can-Am opposition, Quintero was the best game-changer he’s seen.

Club America’s final 45 showed just how much work leagues in Canada and the United States have left to do.

Ironically, maybe the worst thing to happen to the Impact last night was to score an early goal. The game opened up after Andres Romero scored, and the Impact looked more and more willing to try and trade chances with the opposition than at any other time in its CCL run. Sure, having 61,000 home fans boosts the adrenalin but, from a tactical viewpoint, it meant nothing to America to concede the first goal. The Mexican side, 1-1 after the leg at Azteca Stadium, knew that, to survive, it needed to score. At 1-0 or 1-1, it didn’t matter. America could allow the first goal and continue with the game plan.

But, by opening up, the Impact — who were always going to be under pressure — allowed more space, more gaps, than a team trying to nurse a lead should. And once that first Benedetto volley screamed past Impact keeper Kristian Nicht, the dam was broken.

At the same time, it needs to be said that the Impact’s success in the CCL — including previous triumphs over Mexican and Costa Rican sides — came from a defend-and-counter stance. Basically, the Impact bunkered and hoped for outlets to the speedy Dominic Oduro. And, it’s a tactic a team employs when it knows it’s outgunned. The Impact’s playing style truly emphasized the gap that remains between MLS and Mexico. When the Impact got away from that style, on Wednesday, the curtain was lifted.

That’s not a criticism of the Impact, by the way. Actually, coach Frank Klopas has answered a lot of critics by finding a system that allowed the Impact to have the best chance at success.

But now, Klopas has a doozy of a job ahead of him. With all the added bye weeks, the Impact now has the most congested MLS schedule of all. The Impact’s Canadian Championship quest begins next week. There is no time for the Impact to emotionally recover from the loss; and we’ll see if the agony of defeat gives the Impact the anger needed to win games in the next few weeks, or if the emotional toll will lead to this team being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of games it will need to play.

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