On a cold, wet, blustery day at Clarke Stadium, FC Edmonton found a way to win ugly.

Midfielder Daryl Fordyce scored on a penalty kick with 11 minutes left to give FC Edmonton a 1-0 win against the Carolina RailHawks on Sunday and temporary top spot in the North American Soccer League Spring Season standings.

The New York Cosmos regained first place later in the day with a 2-1 win against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

“It nice, when were second from the bottom at the start of the season, we still knew that there was real quality on our team,” said FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller. “This (Sunday) was about grinding a result out. We have some very, very tired legs as you could see towards the end of the game, but we kept going. The character was there in the group, which is absolutely fabulous, I’m so proud of them.

“The penalty was the difference between the two teams. They (Carolina) are a very, very good side, and we’re a very, very good side, and that’s how the league is set up at the moment and I can’t speak highly enough about our players.”

Edmonton was awarded a penalty kick in the 78th minute after RailHawks defender Drew Beckie took down Albert Watson in the box off a corner kick.

Fordyce stepped up and coolly slotted the ball to the left of Carolina goaltender Brian Sylvestre, who dove in the opposite direction.

“'Just put it in the net,' that’s all I was thinking,” Fordyce said. “I just made sure I struck my foot through the ball and hit it clean. Gladly, the goalie went early a little bit, and fortunately, we got the win.”

Much like the day, which kept many spectators away, the victory wasn’t pretty. But style points are not awarded in the NASL.

Carolina came into the game with a share of first place and set themselves up to defend in the contest, forcing FC Edmonton to play a patient, build-up game.

Not much took place in the first half, with the only real opportunity falling to FC Edmonton midfielder Dustin Corea just before the halftime whistle. Corea was able to get to a ball at the top of the penalty area and fired a shot, which forced a good save out of Sylvestre.

“Carolina were making it very difficult to break through,” Miller said. “We had to be patient, we had to be disciplined in our approach, and what was frustrating at times was the amount of times that we forced it when it wasn’t on to do that."

In the second half, play opened up as Carolina began venturing forward, looking to steal a goal.

They had two good opportunities off ensuing corner kicks as headers from defender Alex Perez and midfielder Tiyi Shipalane just missed the target.

Corea then came close to giving Edmonton the lead in the 52nd minute with a run through the Carolina penalty area, but his shot was deflected by Sylvestre and bounced off the goal post.

Edmonton went into the game knowing a win would give them a valuable three points and vault them into the top of the standings over the Cosmos, the RailHawks and Minnesota United FC.

With the issue still in doubt 15 minutes from the end, Miller considered pushing another player up front to go for the victory.

“I thought about throwing (midfielder) Jake Keegan up for long spells in the game,” Miller said. “But he was doing such a good job (on the wing) against (Paul) Black who was playing left fullback for them that I didn’t want to change that too much.”

After scoring the goal, Edmonton was put under pressure by Carolina but managed to hold them off. The RailHawks had one excellent opportunity seconds from the end when awarded a free kick at the edge of the penalty area. Forward Brian Shriver, however, hit his shot directly into Edmonton’s wall.

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Dvandiest@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @DerekVanDiest

Game Review

FC Edmonton 1, Carolina RailHawks 0

Man of the match: Daryl Fordyce

The midfielder was called upon to take a penalty kick with 11 minutes left in the contest and buried it to give Edmonton the victory and lift the club into top spot in the North American Soccer League temporarily.

Game Grades

Offence B

Defence A

Goalkeeping A

Toughness A

Effort A

Why FC Edmonton won: They found a way to win an important game in difficult conditions against a good team set out to frustrate them defensively. There wasn’t much disputing the penalty as Albert Watson was manhandled in the penalty area trying to get to the end of a corner kick. Daryl Fordyce scored on the ensuing penalty to put Edmonton ahead, and they were able to hold on to the lead.

Play of the game: Defender Adam Eckersley swings in a corner kick to the far post looking for captain Albert Watson, who is tackled by defender Connor Tobin before the ball gets there. Edmonton is awarded a penalty for the infraction and Tobin is issued a yellow card.

Save of the game: With time running out, striker Tomi Ameobi blocks a free kick from midfielder Brian Shriver as part of the FC Edmonton wall, then runs out and blocks the rebound to help his club preserve the victory.

Up Next: FC Edmonton at Miami FC, Saturday (6 p.m.) Florida International University Stadium.