RECAP | RailHawks 2, Eddies 1

FC Edmonton faced the Carolina RailHawks at Wakemed Soccer Park, and dropped a 2-1 decision on Wednesday night.

Nazmi Albadawi and Nacho Novo tallied for the RailHawks, while Daryl Fordyce collected the lone goal for the visiting Eddies. 

Carolina started the game on the front foot and was rewarded on 10 minutes with a goal. Albadawi received a pass from a throw-in before working his way inside the box and firing a shot past a diving Matt VanOekel for the 1-0 lead. 

The Eddies would settle into the match and create their first chance on 30 minutes. Midfielder Pablo Cruz was able to spot teammate Thiago de Freitas at the top of the box whose volley attempt went wide of the Carolina net. 

Carrying momentum for the remainder of the half, Edmonton would level the match in stoppage time when Fordyce buried a penalty-kick opportunity to the bottom left corner, sending both teams to the break in a 1-1 draw.

The tide turned on 62 minutes after captain Albert Watson was assessed a yellow card for a challenge just outside the box. Already on a yellow card, Watson’s second put the Eddies down to 10 men for the remaining half hour of the match. 

With both sides pushing for three points, the match began to open up on 72 minutes. Carolina’s Nacho Novo received a ball inside the box but was unable to settle the cross for a shot. Five minutes later, Novo found himself in the box again, firing a blast off the crossbar.

Novo was eventually rewarded for his hard work on 83 minutes, receiving the ball in the box and firing an off-balanced strike to the back of the net to give the home side a 2-1 advantage and eventual victory. 

“I’m disappointed with the outcome of course,” FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller said. “Thiago straining his hamstring just before half time knocked the rhythm of the team off a bit. We had a good substitution plan in place and unfortunately it didn’t materialize that way. I can’t fault the players, the injuries [on our back line] have finally caught up to us. Our players never gave up, they gave maximum effort.”