July 22 - Edmonton FC - Milwaukee (R)

beachesl · July 23, 2004

EdmFC 0-Milwaukee 1

goal: Digital Takawira (what a name, he's African, not Japanese)

23', a breakawy down right centre, long cross on counterattack, close shot that GK Stankov had no chance on IMO

attendance 943 (about right), Foote Park, sunny and calm, about 24 C

Beautiful evening in an intimate setting.

Milwaukee played typical catennaccio, except with less possession. Edmonton had about 65% possession, mostly in Milwaukees end, but had trouble getting clear shots at goal because of tight defensive play by Miwaukee. Milwaukee attacked numerous times on counterattack against stranded defencemen, and had a number of clear breakaways.

Much of the possession of Miwaukee involved extensive time-wasting after the goal. Couldn't tell much difference in EFC play, other that the team was a lot more attack oriented. Vignevic probably the man of the match, great movment in Mil end.

Kick-off started at 7:35 (half an hour after announced), game ended

at about 9:35 after only 2 miutes of injury time (should have been about 10' with all the injuries and timewasting, but the sun was almost down....I think the officials were very happy it didn't go into extra time as no lights).

They are going to have to have earlier kick-offs (ie: 6:30, 7 sharp at least, next week , Monday July 26 against Toronto, scheduled for Foote) if they stay at Foote.

I like Foote, it's located in the bucolic setting of the University experimental farm. The football field, which has astro-type surface, holds about a thousand more, but probably not necessary. Good views, and the benches are not that bad...aluminum, makes for great noise.

Great crowd ambience. Didn't miss all the distractions at Commonwealth at all, and easily able to sneak in own beer to dry stadium.

Big cheers and clapping for the players as they came on before ko.

Enjoyable evening.

DJT · July 23, 2004

quote:Originally posted by beachesl

goal: Digital Takawira (what a name, he's African, not Japanese)

Sounds like it could be a Japanese high-tech company.

My father saw something on Sportsnet about this match. He said Edmonton has new uniforms with red jerseys. Was it really necessary to change uniforms? I could be wrong but I don't recall Calgary doing that last year. Does anyone have a photo? Or can someone at least describe it in more detail - plain red? markings? logo?

Speaking of Calgary, I don't understand why they got a very lame name like "Team Calgary" while Edmonton gets a cool one like "Edmonton FC"!?!?

DoyleG · July 23, 2004

Still can't attend games because of work but many other may not be able to because of an early work time.

They are still considering other venues as well.[}]

beachesl · July 23, 2004

quote:Originally posted by DJT

Sounds like it could be a Japanese high-tech company.

My father saw something on Sportsnet about this match. He said Edmonton has new uniforms with red jerseys. Was it really necessary to change uniforms? I could be wrong but I don't recall Calgary doing that last year. Does anyone have a photo? Or can someone at least describe it in more detail - plain red? markings? logo?

Speaking of Calgary, I don't understand why they got a very lame name like "Team Calgary" while Edmonton gets a cool one like "Edmonton FC"!?!?

No photo, but the new kits are bright red jerseys(with white numbering, no names) with dark blue shorts and blue & white socks. There's an Anthem logo on both the game uniforms and the white practice jerseys. Besides the Anthem logo across the front, there was a small tasteful shield type crest on the upper right.

Anthem is an Edmonton sportswear company.

http://www.anthemsportswear.com/

I note that one of their partners is "Ongaro's Outdoor Outfitters":

http://www.ongaros.com/

Probably Ongaro worked out a deal with the USL for the new uniforms.

A poster called dhaliwal posted this on the hangar before the match:

"While strolling through londonderry mall today i happened to enter Army and Navy. To my utter surprise i was standing in line behind Ross Ongaro holding a full team set of old school umbro jerseys retailing at $6.99 each. Its sad to see a team have to resort to this. Hopefully he was picking up practice jerseys, but with a scaled down budget i doubt it." The poster later said they were red jerseys.

If Ongaro did get a deal at the local discount store, he probably went back to the family firm and did the lettering there. Looked sharp tho'.

strobe_z will probably have a photo on the hangar website soon, not there yet. He was at the match taking photos.

Not using the old Aviators kit was probably a legal thing mostly. For one thing, the kit and the rest of the old organization's goods are probably locked up and will later be sold off to pay debts.

As to "Edmonton FC", all I can think is that the usl guys (or Ongaro) must have been reading the forums from last winter, as that was definitely one of the favourties of the posters, along with "Edmonton City". An indication that Ongaro and Petrone are probably been given a lot of discretion in terms of running things from this end.

beachesl · July 23, 2004

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/Sports/2004/07/23/553788.html

Fri, July 23, 2004

New club, old score

SCOTT ZERR, EDMONTON SUN

There was a warm welcome for the city's newest soccer team, the club that had gone from being the Aviators to the plainly named Edmonton FC in the span of four days. It was a kindly response from a full-house crowd at Foote Field last night to the orphaned club, dumped by its misguided ownership group and saved only by the good graces of the United Soccer Leagues and the rest of the A-League team owners.

Sporting sharp new red jerseys and armed with an us-against-the-world frame of mind, they were outmanned and outgunned as usual. Edmonton FC (2-10-6) suffered its first loss as a new entity, falling 1-0 to the Milwaukee Wave.

"New team, same disappointing story," said captain Kurt Bosch, who had one the best scoring chances in the first half with a 22-yard rocket that was snared by former Drillers 'keeper Jim Larkin in the Wave net.

"We created a lot of chances and we had good possession of the ball, just that final touch inside the box. Had we got one tonight I think we would have got a couple more because we were creating a lot of chances."

RAUCOUS RECEPTION FROM CROWD

The Wave (8-7-2) notched the game's only goal in the 23rd minute when Digital Takqwira knocked in a perfect header on the end of cross into the box.

The raucous reception from the crowd certainly played a part in FC's spirited first-half effort. Edmonton's pressure dwindled somewhat in the second stanza but there was plenty of fight in a team that been demolished mentally since word of the Aviators' demise broke last week.

"That was one of our best games all season," said Edmonton 'keeper Nic Stankov, who was making his first home start of the year. "We had a 100 per cent more chances than they did - we were all over them.

"It's a loss but the way we played was completely different. We played as a team, there was hardly any arguing with each other - I think we're all surprised. With everything that's been going on we've had one practice in the last week and we dominated, but we just couldn't get the win."

'PITY OR SUPPORT?'

Nestled in amongst the fans were three of the departed. Chris Handsor will join the Toronto Lynx for Sunday's game in Calgary and then face his former mates here on Monday.

"I'm very bitter," said Handsor, twice burned by soccer's failures in Edmonton. "I'm pleased for what's happened here tonight, but I'm agitated as well. I'm not sure if all the people who are here are here out of pity or out of support."

Handsor will rejoin his indoor team in Baltimore at the end of the A-League campaign.

Jose Luis Campi, easily the team's best player through the first half of the season, is headed back to Argentina on Sunday in part because of family obligations but because the team's collapse merely finalized his growing frustrations with soccer in this city.

"There was bad management from the beginning. Things were badly arranged in part by administration and in part by the soccer people," said Campi through Jaime Lopresti's interpretation.

Lopresti was particularly perturbed at the Aviators' crash coming just two weeks after he could have signed with a club in South America.

"I planned my life around spending three years in Edmonton and in two and a half months all those plans changed," said Lopresti.

Lopresti defended the work of Tom Newton, the former chairman of the Aviators and the lone owner to face the media during Monday's crumbling.

"He did the best he could for us and is being morally responsible," added Lopresti, who said he was promised a car and an apartment in his deal - neither of which materialized. "He had people working for him who didn't keep him informed about what was happening.

"There are two people who are responsible and everyone knows who they are."

beachesl · July 23, 2004