RECAP | Eddies 0, RailHawks 0

FC Edmonton previewed their Canadian Tire Home Opener for the 2015 North American Soccer League (NASL) season against the Carolina RailHawks a few weeks early. In the Eddies' third preseason match of 2015, they held the RailHawks to a 0-0 draw on Saturday, March 28 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, FL. 

FC Edmonton’s first half squad had a few changes from the team that saw action against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Wednesday. Matt VanOekel remained in goal for the Eddies and Eddie Edward, Mallan Roberts, Marko Aleksic, and Johann Smith made up FC Edmonton’s backline. Cristian Raudales, Chad Burt, Oskar Hauksson, Ritchie Jones and Lance Laing played in the midfield and Frank Jonke was the lone striker. 

Carolina RailHawks looked to be the team in control at the start of the half - earning a corner kick in the first five minutes and six in total during the half. However, FC Edmonton was not without their own chances. 

Thirty-seven minutes in, right-back Edward played a neat little pass through to a racing Burt in the right-hand side of the 18-yard box. Although the combination was promising, the final ball ended up in Carolina ‘keeper Hunter Gilstrap’s hands. FC Edmonton striker Jonke also finished the half with a few chances on net, but the recovering forward was well-marked and his shots were either blocked or saved. 

“We put ourselves under too much pressure in the first half, in all honesty,” FC Edmonton’s head coach Colin Miller said. “We were never really able to recover from that in the first 45 minutes. It was a poor first half possession wise, which was disappointing.” 

The Eddies turned up the heat in the second half and made several substitutions to try and kickstart their offense. Jones made way for Daryl Fordyce and Edward left the pitch for Allan Zebie in defense and Sainey Nyassi, Sadi Jalali, Tyson Farago, and Tomi Ameobi all made second half appearances for the Eddies. 

The combination of Laing, Burt, and Fordyce made for a few good plays down the left side of the pitch, but the final ball eluded the Eddies. The addition of Nyassi injected some pace down the right, and resulted in a some well-placed balls into the 18-yard box, however, that final ball was lacking from the Canadian side. 

After 90 minutes, the match ended just as it started - in a scoreless 0-0 draw and the Eddies 2015 preseason record grows to 1-1-1 (W-D-L) with one match remaining against National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) side Jacksonville United FC on Tuesday, March 31 (8:00 p.m. EST KO). 

“We had more chances in the second half, but managed to miss them,” Miller said after the match. “I would be more worried if those chances weren't there, so I can’t be too disappointed with the draw.”

FC Edmonton's newest goalkeeper signing records the most impressive preseason record for the Eddies - after 165 minutes of preseason action, VanOekel maintains a 0.00 goals against average (GAA). With five saves against Carolina alone, he’s looking good for the starting spot between the posts for FC Edmonton. 

“This is the reason why we brought Matt in,” Miller said about his number one ‘keeper. “He has the presence, his distribution is spot-on and he’s had a fantastic preseason so far. He must be getting excited for the first league match.”