SAN JUAN, P.R. – Two goals in three minutes in the first half and a well-struck curled strike from Puerto Rico FC’s Jairo Puerto condemned FC Edmonton to a 3-0 loss at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium on Saturday, June 3.
The Eddies were on the road for the first time in just under a month after three-straight fixtures at Clarke Stadium during the month of May. Saturday’s loss comes in the first of a two-match road trip through San Juan and Brooklyn, with the club set to face the New York Cosmos in a midweek clash on Wednesday, June 7.
“It’s a shocking result for us,” FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller said post-match. “As the head coach this result is on me, it’s very disappointing. We have to be much better come Wednesday night and we’ll have to find our consistency in goal and defence before facing arguaby one of the top sides in the league.”
Right-back Shawn Nicklaw drew back into the starting XI with Allan Zebie unavailable for selection due to a hamstring injury. Midfielder Mauro Eustaquio started his first match of the season in the centre of the park with captain Nik Ledgerwood on the bench, and Pedro Galvao got the nod in the midfield over Sainey Nyassi.
The opening opportunity fell to the Eddies in the 13th minute when Corea opened up space in the midfield for Eustaquio, who tried to chip Puerto Rico goalkeeper Austin Pack but missed the top corner.
In the span of three minutes before the half-hour mark, the hosts would take control with two quick goals. Gentile found space in the midfield in the 25th minute and made a solo run past defender Albert Watson and the defensive line to fire past Konopka on the near post for the 1-0 lead.
Moments later, a defensive error allowed Puerto Rico to pick up the ball near the top of FC Edmonton’s 18-yard-box. Gentile laid the ball off to Héctor Ramos, who finished to the bottom right corner to double Puerto Rico’s lead to 2-0.
The Eddies would go into the break down by a pair. To begin the second half, Miller gave defender Karsten Smith his season debut coming on for Netan Sansara while Eustaquio was replaced by striker Jake Keegan.
The half-time changes weren’t able to make an immediate impact, and the Eddies soon found themselves down by another on 52 minutes. A well-curled strike from the top of the box by Jairo Puerto to the top-left corner put the hosts up by three and left the Eddies an even bigger mountain to climb.
In search of a spark, winger Dustin Corea looked to provide it when his left-footed cross in the 63rd minute found the foot of Ameobi, but the Puerto Rico defender got enough on the ball to put it out for a FC Edmonton corner.
FC Edmonton weren’t able to find a way back into the match, losing 3-0 as the final whistle blew. The Eddies now regroup and head to Brooklyn to meet the New York Cosmos on Wednesday, June 7 for a mid-week makeup match from May 21.
“It’s a huge, important match for us,” Miller added. “We don’t want to get detached from the pack nine games into the season. Wednesday’s match could come at the right time because we’ll have to be at our best. We can’t go in hoping to hang on for a point, have to be on the front foot ready to play.”