While more than two months have passed since FC Edmonton captain Albert Watson’s front teeth were knocked out on a questionable challenge by Atlanta Silverbacks forward Danny Barrera, the two North American Soccer Leagues sides do not yet appear ready to let bygones be bygones.

FCE battled Atlanta to a 1-1 draw at Clarke Stadium Sunday afternoon, as 2,353 fans watched FCE’s Chris Nurse and Atlanta’s Horace James score in a second half that featured plenty of offence, following a volatile first half that saw bad blood between the teams continue to boil.

“I think it stems down to Albert Watson losing two teeth in Atlanta,” said Nurse, whose goal was his first this year. “Any time you play a football game and a player loses two teeth and the opposing player decides not to apologize ... I think that was our main motivation why it got so chippy in the first half, but we stuck together as a team and we fought hard and we came out with a point which is important.”

There were 17 fouls out called in the match, with five players receiving yellow cards. There was plenty of contact before and after whistles in the first half, which ended with FCE coach Colin Miller and his Atlanta counterpoint Brian Haynes intervening before trash-talking between the two sides could escalate.

“I think it’s more handbags and lipstick flying all over the place,” Miller said. “These guys are professional football players. If my players back out of challenges and don’t compete, they won’t play for this team, and it’s the same thing with Atlanta. They’re playing for a place to play in the Soccer Bowl final, so it’s what you would expect from two teams that have a real mission and a real goal to play for.”

Only three minutes into the second half, Barrera took control of the ball and sent it to James, who got behind the FCE defence and beat Eddies keeper Lance Parker, making the score 1-0 Atlanta.

With the Silverbacks having seized control of the game, the Eddies staggered through the next 20 minutes of action. The momentum turned 180 in the 69th minute, when Edmonton’s Neil Hlavaty delivered a free kick to fellow midfielder Nurse, whose beautiful header got past Atlanta goalkeeper Joe Nasco to level the score.

“The goal changed the game and it gave the team confidence,” said Nurse. “You could see we started to play with a lot of confidence and attack a lot more.

“ It shows the character of the team: being a goal down it’s easy to get your heads down and not come back in the game, but we worked hard and I think towards the end of the game we worked harder than them, which is why we got the opportunities and we’re unlucky (not) to get the win.”

The Eddies, now 1-1-1 with four points, are in a three-way tie for fourth in the NASL standings, just one point back of second place.

“We started a bit tentative today,” said Miller. “We knew if we’d win today we could go second in the league, so there was a bit of added pressure on the players, but I thought in the second half we responded very well.”

GAME BALL – Chris Nurse

MAN OF THE MATCH – Chris Nurse. Not only did midfielder deliver a picture-perfect header to score FCE’s only goal, he also made key defensive plays.

WHY FC EDMONTON TIED

The Eddies were lucky to be down only 1 after a sloppy opening 25 minutes to the second half, but were unlucky to not get a second goal for the win, after creating many chances in the final 20 minutes.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Atlanta keeper Joe Nasco gave up a rebound, leaving a wide-open net for Eddies forward Michael Cox, who and seemed destined to score his third goal of the year against the Silverbacks, but defender Mike Randolph saved the day, knocking the ball away with a spectacular sliding challenge.

SAVE OF THE GAME

Midway through the first, Nasco made a save in close on Shaun Saiko, who was set up by Corey Hertzog after the FCE striker made a pretty move to turn free of his coverage.

INJURY NOTES

Hertzog was taken off on a stretcher in extra time after hurting his hip on a challenge by Milton Blanco, who was assessed a yellow card. Eddies defender Mallan Roberts was substituted out early in the second half with a hamstring strain. FCE coach Colin Miller says both will be evaluated this week.

GAME GRADES

OFFENCE B+

DEFENCE B-

MIDFIELD PLAY B

GOALTENDING B+

NEXT MATCH

The Eddies travel to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Rowdies, who are unbeaten in three fall season games, at Lang Stadium on August 24

brian.swane@sunmedia.ca