A Shorthanded Stand
Red card elicits stalwart performance out of the defence in season opener.
Watson Sent Off
The moment that changed the course of the match was the straight red card to Watson in the 30th minute.
Trying to deal with a high ball, Watson’s first touch was a little heavy, allowing Marvin Chavez to pounce on the error and be clean through on goal. The captain stuck his arm and leg out catching Chavez on his way to what would have been a clear one-on-one with Van Oekel. With perhaps a little embellishment, Chavez tumbled over, but Watson’s fate was sealed moments before by his errant first touch.
Digging in
Faced with the prospect of playing a full hour without their captain and down a centre back, questions were asked about how both those roles would be filled. The captain’s armband found itself wrapped around Ledgerwood’s arm in the aftermath to answer the first question.
It would appear that Miller and staff decided to pull one of the midfielders back, with Raudales turning into a makeshift defender. This would prove to be a temporary measure, as the left-winger Cruz was replaced by Roberts after 8 minutes. The time elapsed between the dismissal and substitution seemed like a long time for a change that seemed inevitable. Roberts was said to be fighting the flu and maybe needed more time to warm up.
And so the trenches were dug for the onslaught that would come.
The Grind
With the advantage, OKC played a very patient possession game, with Michel as a playmaker and Boateng as a crucial midfield cog, trying to grind down the Eddies defence. Perhaps they were a little too patient, as over the course of an hour, they managed to produce 12 shots on goal after the dismissal, with only four being on target.
This is not to say there was a lack of danger in any of those opportunities. Credit must be given to the Eddies’ defence for being almost perfectly disciplined when it counted. OKC only needed one, were made to work for it, and were ultimately found wanting.
Papé Diákité was by far the man of the match for Edmonton. Producing 12 clearances and seemingly winning most of the headers he was contested for. If there is an unsung hero for FCE, it might be Eddie Edward for putting in a near equal performance on the right side of the pitch.
Late Threats
Marquee signing Giorgios Samaras was brought in for Findley with 12 minutes to go. The Eddies may consider themselves lucky he did not feature longer. It is clear that Samaras still has the gift despite his age, and showed in his short time in the pitch, the quality he can still bring to the NASL.
What was interesting to note was that Samaras was played in a very deep position and served as a playmaker, almost completely taking over that role form Michel. And why not? Samaras produced arguably the 2nd best chance for OKC — see above .gif for their best—of the match, eliciting a heroic double save from Matt Van Oekel.
Eddies fans can also count themselves relieved that they did not see Billy Forbes enter until the 70th minute. A previous terror to FC Edmonton defences, Forbes produced some good passes in attack, but may have not had enough time to settle into the match as OKC tried to play with an increased sense of urgency to try and find the winner.
Before the Dismissal
Watson’s dismissal ultimately set the tone for the match, and what resulted was that Eddies fans did not get to see much of how this team would attack in the new 4–4–2.
Unfortunately, what they saw in those first 30 minutes of even-strength football was frustrating. OKC’s central midfield tandem of Boateng and Pecka exerted a measure of influence on the midfield—both in and out of possession—forcing FCE into route one football. Nyassi appeared up for it, sometimes finding himself with room to play on the right wing, but for the most part, any attempt to pull together an attack failed. Compounding these frustrations were the amount of unsuccessful crosses from the wing both before and after the dismissal.
Many questions remain about where the Eddies’ will find offense this season, and this is not an encouraging sign. Hopefully the team can work this week on being better in transition not only up the wings, but through the middle. This all on top of being better with their crosses.
At the end of the day, however, much credit has to be given to this squad to come away from those circumstances with a draw. A little bit can be said about Rayo OKC’s offensive shortcomings that night, but those too may also stem from the Eddies stone wall in their way.
While it is not a complete recovery from the slow starts of seasons past, Eddies fans can only hope that the defensive stability on Saturday is a good first step towards a more consistent and better Spring season.
