Armada Sunk by Sick Set Piece
Eddies take advantage of set piece to eke out away win
Fresh off a 10-day rest and a win, it didn’t seem likely that much would change to the lineup. So it came to the surprise of many of the inclusion of Plumoff and Shome in the lineup, at the expense of Corea and Nyassi. Nyassi’s omission had been known before, as he had an appointment in Rhode Island earlier in the day to take care of his green card, but Corea’s was puzzling and nothing has been made public about his absence. It has been noted by Steven Sandor, however, that Corea is expected to be back for Saturday’s match in Indiana.
Plumhoff took up the left wing role, while Shome was placed in the centre of the park along with Ledgerwood and Raudales, taking over defensive midfielder duties in front of the back four.
Raudales carted off
Barely out the gates, Raudales landed awkwardly forcing a substitution. Fordyce was brought in to partner with Keegan up front, with Ledgerwood switching to a more defensive role. It was a positive but forced substitution and it would work out in the end, but more on that later.
Raudales injury was reported to be a calf muscle tear at halftime and—pending tests back in Edmonton—this could rule him out for at least 2 months if confirmed.
Armada Dominant, but Ineffective
As the match unfolded, it was more of what we have seen lately from FCE on both sides of the ball. They were content to sit back and let their opponents maintain possession and apply the pressure. Offensively, the game plan also did not change. This team has continually relied on exploiting the space created by their opponents as they attack. Unfortunately for the Eddies in the first half, the same issues that have plagued them in transition were evident. Long passes were a problem again and even “easy” passes went awry.
On the other hand Jacksonville did not help themselves by committing various errors moving forward and being largely ineffective with their set pieces. Edmonton did well to make life difficult for the Armada when they tried to look for space up the middle.
The half did end with a more positive Eddies, with Shome connecting well finding himself some space, and conjuring up a dangerous shot that caromed low off the woodwork. It was the culmination of something clicking for the Eddies in the final 5 minutes.
Second Half Resurgence
Buoyed by their defensive efforts, the Eddies came to relative life. While Jacksonville still continued to maintain possession through to the second half, they still found themselves frustrated by the defence they were facing and by themselves. For the Eddies, perhaps inspired by the positivity before the break, and sensing an opportunity, began to find spaces up front and managing to string together plays moving forward.
It was that positivity that led to the only goal of the match. Fordyce was found in space down the right flank, but was dispossessed when he tried to dribble the ball into the box. In the resulting corner, Pablo Cruz’s cross found Fordyce on the near post, who cooly flicked it on and over the crowd contesting the cross to an open Diákité with the volley.
The match went on largely the same for Jacksonville as it had in the previous hour. The Eddies, despite not feeling the need to score, showed sporadic bits of positivity and somewhat consistently found players in space deep in the Jacksonville half. This would hold up until the final whistle.
Once again, the Eddies have escaped a match and relied on the ineffective offense of their opponents. But, credit should also be given, as it has been through most of this season, to the defensive shape and concentration in ensuring this ineffectivity.
What stands out, however, is the offensive performance in the second half. It was the first sign all season that FCE have shown cohesion on this side of the ball. From what we have seen so far, this is going to be the primary way the Eddies find their goals and wins this season. If they can continue to find these connections in space behind defences, especially when under pressure away from home, this team will be very tough to beat wherever they visit.
