PREVIEW | Fury FC vs. Eddies

FC Edmonton heads out on an 18-day, three-match road trip to close out the NASL Spring Season, beginning with a match against Ottawa Fury at TD Place, May 29 at 7 p.m. ET.  The Eddies will be looking to build on a 4-2 victory last Sunday over the Atlanta Silverbacks and potentially jump into fourth place in the league standings with a win this Friday. 

The two sides have met twice this season in the Amway Canadian Championship, where the Eddies advanced to the semifinals, 6-2, on aggregate. The first leg saw the Eddies capturing a 3-1 comeback win in Ottawa off goals from Daryl Fordyce, Lance Laing, and Tomi Ameobi. The second leg saw the Eddies cruising to a 3-1 victory at Clarke Field off goals from Fordyce, Ameobi, and Sainey Nyassi.

Ottawa’s previous outing last Saturday was a dramatic win, as Nicki Paterson scored just before the final whistle against Indy Eleven in a 1-0 Fury FC victory. Offensively, Ottawa (2W-2D-3L, 8 points) has struggled in the attacking third, posting just five goals in NASL competition this season while conceding eight. Ottawa shares the same record as the Eddies, separated only in the standings by goal differential.

In Sunday’s match between the Eddies (2-2-3, 8) and the Silverbacks, Edmonton’s Kareem Moses, Ritchie Jones, Fordyce, and Laing combined for the goals in a 4-2 win. Jones’ tally puts him at four on the season and places him in a tie for the league lead in goals scored, while Laing notched another assist on Sunday to put him in sole possession of first place for assists. Eddies goalkeeper John Smits looked on form and inspired in his first NASL appearance of the season, making several outstanding saves throughout the match.

“Friday is another important game for both teams,” FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller explained. “We know that Ottawa has come off a really important three points. We’ve come off a solid performance with a win, so it’s all to play for. We have to go back to basics again, our team is playing well. I think regardless of who the opposition is we can cause other teams problems, but we have to make sure we understand the job of work that is required.”