Rowdies vs. FC Edmonton

FC Edmonton 4 vs. Rowdies 0

The Rowdies dropped a 4-0 decision at FC Edmonton Tuesday night at Foote Field.

FC Edmonton took advantage of its opportunities throughout the game and handed the Rowdies the worst defeat in its two-year history. With the loss, the Rowdies saw its three-match unbeaten streak come to an end, and FC Edmonton extended its unbeaten stretch to four consecutive games.

"Obviously it is not good enough, especially in the manner of how we conceded the goals tonight," said Rowdies' head coach Ricky Hill. "We struggled to get clear cut chances. And I expect a great deal better from each and every one of the players; I expect us to not fold and concede goals the way we did."

The Rowdies were already playing without injured defenders Andres Arango and Omar Jarun, and then lost forward Warren Ukah with a gash to his head and midfielder Chad Burt to a foot injury in the first 35 minutes of the match. And defender JP Rodrigues, who had played in every minute of the first eight matches, limped off the pitch with a knee injury with about 15 minutes remaining in the game.

"The injuries early on were disappointing but the team that was out there was still capable of going out and competing," said Hill. "We conceded three very poor goals from a team defensive perspective and that cannot continue."

After some back and forth play early on, FC Edmonton forward Kyle Yamada took advantage of a defensive breakdown and streaked down the left side in the 28th minute. His shot ricocheted off the left post to a wide open Kyle Porter in front of the net, who easily put the ball in for a 1-0 lead.

"I was very happy up until that first goal, which was a ridiculous state of affairs," said Hill. "To have a corner kick at one end and then allow a three on one breakaway against Jeff cannot happen. It was a very, very poor play."

Less than 10 minutes later, Yamada was in the middle of another score for FC Edmonton. Rowdies attempted to clear the ball out of the box, but a deflection landed on the feet of Yamada, who put it away for a 2-0 lead.

The Rowdies came out of the locker room after halftime determined to get off a good start. Forward Tsuyoshi Yoshitake had a golden opportunity in the 53rd minute, but his header off a cross from defender David Hayes bounced off the post. And midfielder Keith Savage launched a left-footed strike in the 58th minute, but Rein Baart was there for the save.

FC Edmonton put the match away in the final 10 minutes. FC Edmonton midfielder Shaun Saiko parlayed a nice give and go with Michael Cox into a 85th minute score and Shawn Chin closed out the match with a strike past Rowdies' rookie goalkeeper Jeff Attinella in the 88th minute.

Lineups:

Rowdies lineup: Attinella, Sanfilippo (Captain), Rodrigues (King 78'), Hayes, Yamada, Burt (Hill 35'), Savage, Gyorio, Ambersley, Ukah (Millien 21'), Yoshitake

FC Edmonton lineup: Baart, Rago, Hamilton, Matthijs, Saler, Saiko, Kooy (Captain), Oppong, Porter, Craig (Chin 75'), Yamada (Cox 56')

Scoring Summary: FC Edmonton: Kyle Porter - 28th minute (assisted by Kyle Yamada)

FC Edmonton: Kyle Yamada - 37th minute

FC Edmonton: Shaun Saiko - 85th minute (assisted by Michael Cox)

FC Edmonton: Shawn Chin - 88th minute