Peking Loon, with head still attached!

Matchday Preview 2: Showing their cards

With the defense already tested, offense looks for chance to finally show their hand.

After the massive defensive effort while down to ten at OKC, FC Edmonton has not had much of a chance to demonstrate their offensive options. On top of that, if the Eddies’ performance before Watson’s sending off is anything to go by, there is still a lot to be desired from the attack.

Paulus Unsatisfied

At training on Friday, assistant coach Jeff Paulus, when asked if he was satisfied with the squad’s offensive performance prior to the Watson red card, answered with a terse “no”. Then he added,

“When people talk about us, they talk about defending the long ball and playing over the top, and we want to be a bit more than that.”

Paulus also mentioned that there is unpredictability for FC Edmonton in trying to play up the middle more. For him, he feels that teams have yet to see Edmonton try to do this successfully, and a portion of their preparation leading into the season was focused on this.

In the preview for last week’s match, it was incorrectly predicted that Gustavo and Corea would get the starts. Instead, Raudales was paired with Ledgerwood in the middle, and Cruz was opted on the wing.

Perhaps it was a little too soon to think that Corea had trained with the team enough — having missed the entire preseason tour — to consider him already back in the fold. Corea “now has to work his way back in”, but Paulus reitrated that they expect big things and the staff still see him as an important piece for FC Edmonton moving forward.

When asked if midfield selection would be largely the same this week, Paulus concurred. The staff felt that the timing of the red card prevented them from truly evaluate the midfield’s performance as a group.

“We didn’t really get to see this group really do much, and so this will give them the chance to get to show where they are at as a group…”

Although it was not explicitly said, this is perhaps due to the opportunity to see how they could have responded at half. Cruz was the odd man out, being subbed in favour of defense last week, and that was harsh on him. One gets the feeling, however, that last week’s midfield setup is likely to be given another chance to work together.

That said, Paulus also pointed out that the staff feels the lineup is very flexible and gives them options that, when called upon, a player that can better fit a tactical change is available.

Projected Lineup

Given Paulus comments, the midfield may line up exactly the same as it did last week but, barring another red card to the defence, we may finally get the chance to see Gustavo or Corea in action. An alternative lineup in the midfield could see Corea get the start over Cruz.

Keegan appears to be the 3rd choice striker at the moment, and we will likely see him make an appearance. Aleksic gets a spot on the bench over the likes of Plumhoff and Jalali, only because the need for centre-back cover has arisen. Smith was left behind during the trip last week, there were mentions of an injury, but he was quite active in training on Friday.

The Opposition

As their own fans will tell you, much has been made ado about the defence’s susceptibility to the long-ball. FC Edmonton has a penchant to try to play route one, to the chagrin of several fans here, whether successful or not. The underwhelming attempts at this last week was apparent, but if even slightly improved upon, FCE’s offence might have some life against this defence. Last week exposed further United’s disorganization in the back, something that was also on display in the preseason—albeit against much stronger MLS opposition.

On the other end, this is going to be close to or equally as tough a test for this defence as it was down to ten at OKC last week. Despite these apparent weaknesses in the United defence, they still possess proven NASL talent, and this time names we know for sure are going to be part of the mix. Christian Ramirez showed a keen eye for goal last week, and FCE fans don’t need to be told how dangerous Laing can be both in transition and in a set-piece.

United came into the first week as one of the favourites to win not only the spring but potentially the whole competition. With that in mind, the loss to Carolina certainly stung and may result in a lively Minnesota squad trying to ensure the same result does not happen again. On the other hand, defensive mistakes may also see them be a lot more cautious and could potentially open the game up for Edmonton.

All things considered, the most compelling storyline is the potential return of Lance Laing to Clarke after three years playing for the home team in Edmonton. The key word here, however, is “potential” as Laing was limited to half an hour of play off the bench. Many questions were asked of Carl Craig’s decision and some interesting quotes regarding fitness and attitude were revealed.

Despite the apparent drama, it seems unfathomable to think that Laing could even miss this tie. Regardless of what version of the story you have of Laing’s departure, you can not deny that he has a chip on his shoulder, as most players do, when it comes to facing their old club.