PREVIEW | Eddies vs. Scorpions

FC Edmonton kick off their North American Soccer League (NASL) Fall Season against the San Antonio Scorpions on Sunday, July 5 at 2:00 p.m. MT at Fort McMurray’s Shell Place. This is the first of two matches the Eddies will play in Fort McMurray this Fall Season, they will face Ottawa Fury FC on Sunday, August 2.

The Eddies faced San Antonio in the Spring Season in a tough match that saw the Scorpions win eight minutes from time with a 3-2 decision. Eddies striker Daryl Fordyce and Scorpions striker Billy Forbes earned braces for their respective sides, but it was Scorpion Omar Cummings who made the difference with a late goal to seal the win. Cummings finished the Spring Season as the league scoring leader with five goals.

The Eddies will need a complete team effort from their lineup to overcome the absence of several team members who will be out due to injury. The absences will give players such as defenders Allan Zebie, Michael Nonni and Johann Smith, midfielder Tomás Granitto and striker Sadi Jalali the opportunity to contribute versus San Antonio.

San Antonio Scorpions finished the Spring Season in seventh place, three points ahead of the Eddies. With a win in the first match of the Fall Season, the Eddies could level San Antonio on points and close the five-point gap between the third and 10th place in the combined table.

Spring Season champions New York Cosmos have secured one of the four NASL playoffs spots, leaving three spots available remaining that will go to the Fall champions and the two teams with the best combined records from the Spring and Fall Seasons.

Fort McMurray is located 450 kilometres north of Edmonton, making the match versus San Antonio the most northern club match in CONCACAF history. 

“Expectations are to win because it’s at home,” FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller explained. “Injuries aside, the group that is working has been very positive and has shown some good football since the start of the Fall Preseason.”