FC Edmonton 3, Carolina RailHawks 0
Goals from forward Tomi Ameobi, midfielder Ritchie Jones and defender Mallan Roberts gave host FC Edmonton a 3-0 victory over the Carolina RailHawks at Clarke Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
It took no time at all for the Eddies to strike first. In the fifth minute, midfielder Neil Hlavaty’s free kick from a RailHawks handball outside the box was whiffed on the first try by defender Beto Navarro, but the homegrown talent Roberts calmly controlled the rebound and turned to fire it past Carolina goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald to give the Eddies a 1-0 lead.
The RailHawks were then awarded a penalty kick and a chance to even the score in the 12th minute after captain Albert Watson handled the ball in the box on a cross. Midfielder Enzo Martinez stepped up to the spot and skied the opportunity over the net and out of the stadium to keep it 1-0 in favour of the Eddies.
After the penalty scare at the other end, the Eddies quickly doubled their lead in the 17th minute when midfielder Horace James held off the cross in the RailHawks’ 18-yard-box before slipping the ball through to the foot of Jones, who calmly placed his shot at the far post to make it 2-0 inside twenty minutes.
The Eddies would carry their 2-0 lead into half-time.
The Eddies made it 3-0 in the 50th minute when Lance Laing made a beautiful reverse pass to James, whose shot on the break found the post before being redirecting off the legs of Ameobi into the back of the net.
The scoreline remained and finished 3-0, giving the Eddies their third win over the RailHawks in the 2014 season. The Eddies have put 12 goals past Carolina in three games, including the Spring Season’s 6-1 drubbing at Clarke Stadium before the break.
Eddies’ coach Colin Miller is excited at the prospect of the playoff race heating up as the Eddies inch closer to the coveted fourth spot in the NASL Combined Season standings.
“All of the guys were looking at the results yesterday and thinking what an opportunity this is,” said Miller. “We cannot throw this away to get back into it, and we come up with a fabulous performance today.”
