Understandably, FC Edmonton were working extensively on scoring Thursday at practice.

The local professional soccer squad has yet to score a goal in their first three NASL Fall Season games.

It hasn’t been for lack of trying, they’ve hit the crossbar on five occasions. It’s getting the ball to actually cross the goal line that’s been an issue.

“We’ve played some terrific football without scoring goals,” said FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller. “That’s been the disappointing thing. We’ve hit the woodwork five times in the last three games. That tells you that we’re getting into good areas, we’re still being creative, we’re still being aggressive going forward.

“I was really, really pleased with the players on Sunday, all 14 players who played contributed to a positive performance without us getting the result. I’ve said to the players after the game that they’ll play worse than that and win.”

Last Sunday, FC Edmonton dominated play in their game against the Indy Eleven, but squandered a number of chances, particularly in the first half. They then conceded a goal on the last kick of the game to lose 1-0.

“There is not a lot wrong in what we’re doing,” Miller said. “We just have to continue working the way we are working. You saw the practice, the intensity and the atmosphere at the club is fabulous and the players deserve a great deal of credit for that.”

The club believes eventually the goals will come and the ball will start rolling in their direction.

But, it hasn’t been all bad luck. FC Edmonton, at times, has shown a comical inability to convert chances.

Sunday against the Indy Eleven, midfielder Cristian Raudales practically tripped over his own feet trying to put the ball into an open net.

Lance Laing inexplicably failed to pull the trigger on an opportunity where he was left alone in front, then was forced to try and dance around a number of desperate defenders to get a shot off.

Currently, the club lacks that deadly finisher, who punishes teams for defensive lapses.

“It’s the same in any sport, the guys that put the puck in the net or throw hoops and all that stuff, they’re the big money players that are playing at the top level in the world,” Miller said. “We have good guys that can finish, you saw that here in practice (Thursday) morning. Unfortunately we have to get that quality of finish and put it into our Sunday performances.

“But we’re creating chances. If we weren’t creating chances, we’d be really concerned here at the moment.”

This Sunday, FC Edmonton is not expected to get the number of chances created in their first two home games against the Ottawa Fury and Indy Eleven.

The club is going up against the San Antonio Scorpions, who lead the Fall Season standings, having won their first four games, outscoring their opponents 9-1 in the process.

“They’re the best team in the league, they have a fabulous squad of players, they have real good pace in their team, have real good athleticism,” Miller said. “They’ve won six away from home in a row and deservedly so in the games that I’ve watched.

“That will be a real test for us this Sunday, but one that I believe if we do our job properly, we’ll do a good job.”

Miller is expected to make some changes in his lineup in order to try and find that final scoring touch.

After a good first half of the season, striker Daryl Fordyce has gone cold. Frank Jonke, who was brought in to provide a physical presence up front has been dropped from the squad for the upcoming week all together.

“I was actually speaking to Frank this morning to his reaction of being left out of the team,” Miller said. “Frank has not been a problem in the change room, it has just not worked out for him at the moment. I thought by leaving him out of the team it maybe gives him a little kick in the backside that he needs. And he’s reacted really well to that, very positively, which I would expect of Frank, because he’s a terrific professional.”

Eddies shining at Milk Cup

While most of his focus is on FC Edmonton, Colin Miller does have an eye on a soccer tournament currently taking place in Northern Ireland.

Two younger members of his roster, Hanson Boakai and Sadi Jalali, are participating in the Dale Farms Milk Cup tournament for Canada.

Canada won its opening game 2-0 against Mexico on Monday and tied China 1-1 on Wednesday. They’ll play the hosts Northern Ireland on Friday.

“Beating Mexico for the first time in a long time is a magnificent achievement,” said Miller. “Sadi Jalali scored a goal against China, which is fantastic.

“There are lots of positive things happening with our young players and what’s happening in the national team programs.”

Miller has been getting reports on the performance of his two young players.

The Milk Cup is one of the premier youth tournaments in the world, featuring teams from across the globe.

The two players will miss FC Edmonton’s contest Sunday against the San Antonio Scorpions, but could be back in time for the club’s two-game road trip starting Wednesday against the New York Cosmos.

“My understanding is that Hanson started both games and came off at about the 65, 70-minute mark,” Miller said. “He had some indifferent performances from what I can gather. Sadi played against China and scored and has done very well.

“We’ve kept in touch with Rob Gale, the Under-20 coach to see how our guys are doing. He’s very pleased with their attitude and they’re in a good place.”