Armada FC gear up for two home games this week

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After a weekend off from NASL competition, the Jacksonville Armada will get back to it this week with two matches at home, starting with FC Edmonton at 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Community First Park at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

In its last match, the Armada nearly pulled out a win on the road but settled for a 1-1 draw with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers on April 23. Defender Matt Bahner, who later earned an NASL Team of the Week honor for his performance, scored on a header in the 16th minute off a Richie Ryan cross.

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Despite being a man up after Strikers captain Jean-Marc Alexandre was shown his second yellow card in the 55th minute, the Armada got caught with its guard down in the 74th when Maicon Santos got behind the backline and blasted in a header off a Jose Angulo cross. Jacksonville had a few close attempts down the final stretch miss, including Mechack Jerome's stoppage time free kick from just outside of the penalty area that went just wide left of the goal.

The Eddies had a slow start to the 2016 regular season after a scoreless draw on the road with Rayo OKC on April 2, a 2-0 loss at home to Minnesota United FC on April 10 and a 1-0 road loss to the Tampa Bay Rowdies on April 16.

But FC Edmonton’s outlook is looking more positive with a 2-0 win over Ottawa Fury FC in this year’s first installment of the Canadian Rivalry on April 24 in Edmonton. Keegan and Watson each scored a goal in the win while goalkeeper Matt VanOekel notched the clean sheet.