FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller professed pride through his disappointment.

Miller was proud of all his team had accomplished in the North American Soccer League this season after it came to an abrupt end Saturday in a 1-0 semifinal loss, on the road, to the Indy Eleven.

Midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic scored the lone goal in the 63rd minute to give Indy the win and put them in next weekend’s NASL final.

“We’re obviously devastated by the result, there was such a fine line between the teams out there,” Miller said. “It was two very committed, very competitive teams and it was going to take a mistake or poor defending from one of the two teams that was going to be the difference. And we didn’t defend the goal well at all, and I think that was possibly the only shot (goalkeeper) Matt (VanOekel) had to deal with in the second half.”

Ubiparipovic took a pass at the top of the penalty area and slotted a shot into the top corner of the net past VanOekel.

Edmonton had an excellent opportunity to tie the game as time wound down in the second half when Tomi Ameobi got to the end of cross in front of the Indy net. Ameobi headed the ball down, but Indy Eleven goalkeeper Jon Busch was able to dive across and make an outstanding save.

“As much as I’m devastated, I’m very proud of our club and our players and everybody connected with FC Edmonton,” Miller said. “I’m very proud to be the head coach here, because our guys had a fantastic season, an absolutely fantastic season, the most memorable in the club’s history.”

Saturday was the first time Edmonton qualified for the playoffs under the current four-team system adopted by the league in 2013.

Their only previous playoff appearance came in their inaugural 2011 season when six of the eight teams qualified. On that occasion, Edmonton were soundly defeated 5-0 by the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

Against the Indy Eleven, FC Edmonton battled until the end, but were hampered by their inability to score, which had been an issue for the club all season.

“That was the difference, they had one strike, which was a terrific strike, I take nothing away from the lad, apart from our shocking defending,” Miller said. “Really that was the difference, they took their one chance that they had and we had chances later on in the game and we didn’t convert them.”

Edmonton started well, taking the play to the Indy Eleven from the onset as an early run from Ameobi set the tone. Ameobi put the ball into the Indy net two minutes in to the game, but was whistled for a foul prior to that.

Later in the half, Sainey Nyassi got on the end of excellent cross in the box and headed the ball off the top of the crossbar.

“I just thought our shape was good and didn’t allow Indy to penetrate in any way in that first half and we started very, very positively,” Miller said. “If that chance goes in, then it’s a different story.”

Indy had an excellent chance of their own in the half off a scramble in front, but VanOekel was able to get down and knock away a ball bouncing towards the net.

In the second half, the teams played much tighter and the only chance Indy created resulted in the goal. Edmonton had plenty of bodies behind the ball, but no one challenged Ubiparipovic after Dylan Mares laid the ball off to him at the top of the penalty area.

“Nobody pressed the ball,” Miller said. “We actually could have cleared it, I thought, right at the very start. I didn’t think that we closed down properly and we got what we deserved and we spoke about that, getting blocks all week long. For the most part, we did that, because we took their biggest threats (strikers Eamon Zayed and Justin Braun) out of the game and limited them to very few chances.”

Once down, Edmonton pressed for the equalizer, but had difficulty getting behind the Indy Eleven defence. Midfielder Ben Fisk had an opportunity on a header but he was stopped by Busch, prior to Ameobi’s heart-stopping moment.

“We’re not known for our scoring and it’ll be an area we’ll look at in the offseason for sure,” Miller said. “We’ll try to bring in competition for Tomi and for Jake (Keegan) and Daryl (Fordyce) as well, someone that can compliment all of that. That will probably be job No. 1 to be honest with you.”

Dvandiest@postmedia.com

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