The Sengalese defender has provided a slew of strong performances to start the Spring Season

Photo credit: FC Edmonton

Papé Diakité may not have known a great deal about the NASL before joining FC Edmonton, but through the first four weeks attackers around the league are getting to know the defender very well.

He has been a standout performer for the Eddies since his first match, making a whopping 15 clearances against Rayo OKC to help earn a 0-0 draw, despite the Eddies playing an hour with 10 men.

Diakité, 23, leads the NASL in clearances with 35 and is fourth in interceptions with 19. He has also won all four of the tackles he’s committed to this year, while winning 11 of his 20 duels.

“I try to work hard and to do more,” Diakité told NASL.com. “My goal is to be one of the best.

“I want to be the best defender. That’s my goal.”

He joined FC Edmonton from Royal Antwerp in Belgium in the offseason, but has fit in seamlessly with the club’s captain, Albert Watson, in the heart of the Eddies’ back line.

“We’re talking a lot,” Diakité said, “even though we haven’t played long together.

“If you’re smart and you know how to be in the right spot it’s easier for you. It’s concentration and communication with each other. We’re just talking to each other and we don’t take it negatively. If I scream to him or he screams to me, we take it positively.”

Through the first four games, the Eddies have kept two clean sheets and head into the next clash against Jacksonville Armada FC coming off a 2-0 victory over Canadian rival Ottawa Fury FC. The Eddies notched their first goals and win of the year, but Diakité, a native of Senegal, believes more is still to come from FC Edmonton.

“It was the first time we scored after three games and we won, but we can do better,” he said.

FC Edmonton will play its next two games on the road, first at Jacksonville on Wednesday night on beIN SPORTS and then against Indy Eleven. Diakité sees a simple formula if the Eddies are to build off their recent win.

“We need to stay concentrated and compact,” he said. “The win is the past and we need to forget and focus on the next game.

“We have to focus and do our job together as a team.”

Diakité’s intelligent reading of the game and overall play at the back should once again be on display. His name, though, will be one that attacking players won’t soon forget.