Rowdies thump last place Eddies at Clark Stadium

It was a tough day for FC Edmonton on Sunday afternoon, falling 3-0 to the second place Tampa Bay Rowdies in front of 1,376 of their loyal fans at Clarke Stadium. The loss now leaves Edmonton at the bottom of the NASL standings.

PHOTO CREDIT - FCEdmonton.com

Edmonton - September 17, 2012 - It was a tough day for the Eddies as they played host to the second place Tampa Bay Rowdies in front of 1,376 fans at Clarke Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

After a stretch of good games for the striker, it was Kyle Porter who orchestrated FC Edmonton’s first good chance of the game in the 13th minute when he beat the Rowdies defender to a ball in the corner and sent a tempting cross into the box. Kenny Caceros got his head to the ball but guided it just wide of the far post.

It was the Rowdies who struck first however, against the run of play in the 21st minute. Tampa won a free kick from 30 yards out and Luke Mulholland stepped up to take it. The midfielder sailed a ball into the box and former Eddie; Daniel Antoniuk, beat everyone to the ball and placed it passed John Smits in the Edmonton goal.

The Rowdies doubled their lead in the 43rd minute thanks to a Mike Ambersley shot that eluded Smits. Keith Savage provided the assist on the goal.

The Rowdies took the two-goal lead into the half despite FC Edmonton having the best chances and the most possession.

Tampa Bay picked up where they left off in the first half. In a ping-pong play, the ball ended up on the foot of Mulholland who made no mistake and put the ball in the net to put his team up 3-0.

Porter looked the more dangerous of the strikers for the home team in the second half. In the 76th minute, Porter worked his way into the box, through three defenders, and got a hard shot off that was saved well by Jeff Attinella in the Rowdies’ goal.

FC Edmonton had plenty of chances in the game but as the story of the season goes, they had trouble finding the back of the net.

The Eddies hope to solve that problem prior to the final game of the 2012 NASL season next Sunday when the Fort Lauderdale Strikers come to town.