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There’s a road game in Edmonton up next as the home-and-home series heads to Alberta followed by another home-and-home set, this one against Winnipeg, before the Argos get their first taste of an Eastern foe.

At 1-2, the Argos, by all rights, should be 2-1 midway through their six-game stretch against Western opposition.

There was desperation on Saturday, a sense of urgency and execution when the game was on the line, key plays made in big moments and ultimately a win.

Three possessions into the game — two by Toronto and one by the Esks who turned the ball over — and the Argos were leading 12-0.

But after that, and prior to the late winning drive, there were too many stretches where the Toronto offence lacked execution.

Lost in the win was how the Argos virtually had no option but to twice gamble on third down on that defining drive because the team’s first two touchdowns went uncoverted, the first on a missed point-after kick, the second on a failed two-point convert.

In the end, it all worked out, once again reinforcing how wins in the CFL aren’t easy, especially against a

Mike Reilly-led offence, which left a lot of points on the field.

“We have to find ways to play smarter and more fundamentally sound football,’’ acknowledged head coach Marc Trestman, whose staff worked tirelessly during the team’s bye week following the home-opening embarrassment to the Stamps. “There’s a light, there’s a flicker there now.

“There’s nothing like a winning locker room and I think our guys really know how they got the win. They got it by working hard and investing in their football team, on and off the field. We’ll see where this takes us. We have a tough road ahead, certainly. We have to go back there (Edmonton on Friday night) in a back-to-back and that will be a challenge for us.”