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Puerto Rico not to be taken lightly by FC Edmonton

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There was a time when the entire North American Soccer League, including FC Edmonton, looked down at Puerto Rico FC.

But the proverbial shoe is on the other foot now with Puerto Rico sitting at the top of the Fall Season standings after finishing at the bottom in the Spring Season.

So going into their game against Puerto Rico FC on Sunday (2 p.m.) at Clarke Stadium, FC Edmonton know better than to take them lightly.

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“Like any team in the league, we would never underestimate anyone,” said FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller. “They are a good side, they are a well-drilled team. They have just come off a fantastic result down in Jacksonville (2-1 win) in incredible heat. We know they’re well organized, they’re, arguably, physically the biggest team in the league – they have some big lads on their team – so we know set plays will be very, very important for us. We have to compete very well against their lads.”

Four games into the Fall Season, Puerto Rico FC has a two-point lead over Miami FC at the top of the standings.

Puerto Rico have two wins, eclipsing their win total from the Spring Season, where their only victory came against Edmonton.

“I’m sure their mentality is similar to us right now,” said FC Edmonton midfielder Ben Fisk. “They have something to prove and they’re trying to get points every single game. I think it’ll be a tough match, but we’re up for it and I think we’ll do well.”

Edmonton finished four points ahead of Puerto Rico in the Spring Season standings, with both teams well back of a playoff spot.

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The best chance of a playoff spot for either side would be to win the Fall Season title.

Puerto Rico is off to a good start. Edmonton not far behind with a game in hand.

Edmonton have a win, loss and draw through their first three games and are coming off an entertaining 1-1 tie against the New York Cosmos at Clarke Stadium last weekend.

“There is a lot to build off of that game, there were some positives in the performance,” Fisk said. “The Cosmos are a good side, and while three points would have been better, to get something from that game is positive for us, especially after the Spring Season where we would play well in games and didn’t get anything out of it.”

Scoring proved to be an issue for Edmonton in the Spring Season, netting the fewest goals in the league. Edmonton had just 11 goals in their first 16 games. By comparison, Puerto Rico scored 19.

So far in the Fall Season, Edmonton have five goals in three games.

“I think even before the break we were creating the chances, but we were just lacking that final product,” Fisk said. “Luckily the last few games, we’ve kind of improved that and scored a few more goals, so hopefully, that continues.”

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Injuries were a factor in FC Edmonton’s inability to score in the first half of the year. The club is relatively healthy now and have also added offensive reinforcements.

Three games in, the new guys and those who returned from injury are also starting to round into game shape.

“I had a good chat with Daryl Fordyce about that,” Miller said. “He wasn’t anywhere near his normal fitness levels when he came back to us originally, and now he’s featured for us in three games and his level of fitness is improving.

“That’s going to be really important for us moving forward and there are going to be competition for places. I’m excited about the group and they should be excited about what we’re doing as well.”

Edmonton are hoping to build on their strong performance against the Cosmos and on an impressive win, on the road, against the Indy Eleven two weeks ago.

However, if they are going to get back into playoff contention, FC Edmonton need to start earning victories.

“We played well for about 60 minutes last week against the Cosmos and they dominated for maybe half an hour,” Miller said. “Overall, they created one or two chances, but we had some chances (up 1-0) that if we had stuck them away, we would have had three points (for a win) done.

“We know when we’re playing well, we know what we’re capable of as a group. If the guys continue to show the attitude that they continue to show as a group, both in training and in the games, I think we’ll be a match for anybody this Fall Season.”

Dvandiest@postmedia.com

twitter.com/DerekVanDiest

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