FC Edmonton win another, unbeaten on current home stand

FC Edmonton managed to climb back into playoff contention, with a 1-0 victory over the Puerto Rico Islanders on Sunday afternoon. The Eddies currently sit just four points back of the Carolina RailHawks, for the sixth and final playoff spot in the NASL.

PHOTO CREDIT - FCEdmonton.com

Edmonton - August 12, 2012 - Coming in to Sunday afternoon’s contest between FC Edmonton and the Puerto Rico Islanders, the Eddies were only seven points back of the final playoff spot held by the Carolina RailHawks.

Thanks to a 1-0 win in front of 1,229 fans at Clarke, the Eddies are officially back in the hunt.

Chances were hard to come by early on as neither team was able to get too many shots on net in the first 20 minutes.

FC Edmonton had a chance in the 25th minute to take the lead but Kenny Caceros’ cross was headed wide by striker Yashir Pinto.

Islanders’ Nick Addlery had a chance of his own minutes later but Lance Parker cut the angle off and the striker’s shot missed the near post.

It was Shaun Saiko, back in the starting line-up after being left out for two games in a row, who got the Eddies on the board in the 31st minute.

Another Caceros cross found its way to Saiko in the box and the Edmontonian made no mistake, volleying the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net.

That was to be Caceros’ last contribution as the midfielder limped off minutes later and was replaced by Matt Lam.

The Eddies went into the locker room with a 1-0 lead.

It was all the Eddies could do to not score in the 60th minute when Martin made an error on a ball into the box; Saiko took a shot which hit the near post, Sérisay Barthélémy hit the rebound but it was blocked by a defender and Saiko hit the next shot wide.

In the end, there were no late goals to spoil the party, no red cards that would have led to suspensions, just three points at home, something the Eddies haven’t tasted since a 1-0 victory against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers on June 10.

The Eddies finish their three-game home stand earning points in each game (1-2-0) and are now are just four points back of the sixth place RailHawks, who have a game in hand.

Next up for FC Edmonton is a road game against the very same RailHawks on Saturday.