The Carolina Railhawks will travel to FC Edmonton for a Sunday afternoon match, which will have an important impact into who may sneak into the fourth playoff spot in the combined standings. Currently, Carolina is tied for fifth place with 22 points, one point under fourth place Minnesota United. Edmonton is in seventh place with 21 points, and has an opportunity to jump as high as fourth place with a Minnesota loss or draw at Ottawa and an Edmonton win over Carolina. Considering Ottawa’s Fall dominance, especially at home, this should excite both Carolina and Edmonton as a golden opportunity to earn a top-four spot. Last time out, Edmonton tied Minnesota 1:1 on the road, while Carolina lost 0:3 to Jacksonville on the road. Despite both teams being in close proximity in the standings, these teams are clearly moving in the opposite direction.
Going into Sunday’s match, Edmonton has developed a very dangerous attacking duo in Liang and Ameobi. Liang leads the NASL in assists per game, while Ameobi leads the NASL in goals per game. Ameobi has taken the NASL by storm, scoring six times in eight games, and with Liang back to being match fit after a short international break, I would argue that this is the most potent one-two punch in the NASL right now. With that said, Carolina has a dangerous duo of their own with Nacho Novo, NASL’s second leading scorer, and Ty Shipalane, Carolina’s assist leader and most entertaining playmaker. Despite similar attacking threats, the real difference between the two teams is their current defensive strength. Carolina will be missing two to three defenders, due to Knight’s retirement, Scott’s red card versus Jacksonville, and Low’s possible leg injury suffered Wednesday night versus Jacksonville. This only leaves three defenders on the roster that have played during the 2015 Spring/Fall campaign. Expect to see Carolina compensating by playing two defensive midfielders. Carolina, along with every Railhawks fan, will be praying for a healthy card-free game from their back line, but playing a very speedy and athletic Edmonton attack will truly test Carolina’s defensive discipline.
Overall, both teams are built to counter attack, and both have averaged less than 50% possession on the season. Expect Edmonton to take advantage of Carolina’s depleted defense early and often, and any kind of result for Carolina will hinge on Akira Fitzgerald’s keeper magic, since prior to the Jacksonville game, he was only allowing 1.1 goals per game, far better than Edmonton’s keeper, VanOekel, allowing 1.6 goals per game. After two road games and over three thousand miles of travel in half a week, will the Railhawks continue to be a contender, or begin plummeting in the NASL standings? For Edmonton, this game could show the rest of the NASL that they are among the NASL elite, and primed for a strong second half to the Fall season.
