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HIGHLIGHTS: Edmonton, Pacific end scrappy affair in scoreless draw

FC Edmonton drew Pacific FC 0-0 on Sunday in FCE’s first home match at Clarke Field in the Canadian Premier League.

A rough match that saw both sides elect to take more conservative approaches, the scoreless result is the first in CPL’s short history.

That dreaded 0-0 scoreline didn’t seem likely in the 27th minute when FCE’s Philippe Lincourt-Joseph was sent off by referee David Gantar, who didn’t hesitate to give the 24-year-old his marching orders after sliding into PFC’s Ryan McCurdy.

The attacking midfielder’s sending off was the peak of a rather chippy affair.

Despite the man advantage, Pacific FC never really took control of the match, as they came into the match without striker Marcus Haber and centreback Hendrik Starostzik once again.

Both sides looked to set pieces to make the difference through the first and second half with Edmonton coming close to nicking in a decider off of a total of five corners.

Pacific FC next heads into Canadian Championship action, taking on Cavalry FC at Westhills Stadium on May 15, in the first of two legs (10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT, available on OneSoccer). FC Edmonton has a bye in the first round of the tournament, meaning the Eddies will need to start preparing for another league encounter on May 18, away to Cavalry FC in the first match of the “Al Classico” derby (6 p.m. ET/4 p.m. MT, available on OneSoccer).


Three key performers

Amer Didic (FC Edmonton)

You wonder where the Eddies would be without their late-pre-season addition of Amer Didic. The towering centreback made you forget his side was a man down for over 75 minutes – challenging attackers and shutting down PFC’s front line. He also created a couple of FCE’s best scoring chances — including a near-post flick-on to Oumar Diouck that was eerily similar to the second goal the side scored last weekend against Valour.

Conor James (FC Edmonton)

Keeping his side in the match, Connor James’s willingness to rush out and cut down the angles was the perfect correction to his side being down to 10 men. His unorthodox two-handed smack of a bouncing deflection in the second match was the biggest save of the match, one that earned him man of the match honours.

Son Yong-Chan (FC Edmonton)

Son Yong-Chan was one of the few players on the pitch generally creating chances. Taking players on along the wing and moving the ball well with an 87% passing percentage, he was routinely the focus of Edmonton’s moves into the final third. Oh, and his ability to launch a long throw-in was as useful weapon late in the match.