Things just got interesting for FC Edmonton.

With any realistic hopes of reaching the playoffs hanging in the balance, the Eddies defeated the Tampa Bay Rowdies 1-0 at Clarke Stadium on Sunday, thrusting themselves into the thick of the post-season chase.

Captain Albert Watson scored in the first half and Matt VanOekel picked up his sixth clean sheet of 2015 as the Eddies closed to within two points of the Rowdies for the NASL's second wild-card berth.

“The coaches told us right before the game it's a must-win game and we're going to play hard for three points and I think we did well the first half,” said midfielder Sainey Nyassi. “The second half we started a bit slow, but all in all it was a good game.”

With the result, FC Edmonton and Fort Lauderdale each have 28 points in the NASL combined standings, while the Rowdies have 30. A loss would have dropped Edmonton eight points back of Tampa Bay just seven matches remaining,

“Funnier things have happened in this league because everybody beats everybody, but you can imagine you're out of then (at eight points), so we got the three points today and we needed them,” said Watson. “It's when it matters. We needed the three points today and the boys came up trumps and they were brilliant.”

Watson redirected a corner kick by Dustin Corea past Rowdies goalkeeper Matt Pickens in the 16th minute. Tampa Bay came closest to drawing level in the 66th minute, when midfielder Juan Guerra got a clean look but blasted the ball off the woodwork.

Tampa Bay had just one shot on target, only four shots total, and earned a sole corner kick in the entire match. Manager Colin Miller called it one of the Eddies' best defensive performances he can remember.

“I think today was as solid a unit as we've had for a long time and I'm really proud of the players because there was a bit of pressure out here today, make no mistake about it,” Miller said. “You lose today and you go eight points behind Tampa, so there was a bit of pressure on the guys, so you could see a wee bit of nervousness at times in the second half, but I didn't think for any moment we were going to throw it away.

“Maybe in years gone by being 1-0 up with such limited time left, the Eddies have been masters of shooting themselves in the foot but that wasn't the case today.”

The Eddies held 53% possession and launched seven attacks to just three for the Rowdies in the first half. All five of the Eddies' wins in the fall season have now come by shutout.

FC Edmonton now has just two home dates left compared to five away matches, beginning Saturday at the Indy Eleven.

“We need to build on this and get three points the next game,” Watson said. “It will only be a good result today if we ... do the business next week.”