Central-defender Amer Didic, outstanding in Pacific FC’s first two games of the season, was held out until subbing in late in the Trident’s third consecutive Canadian Premier League victory last Saturday at Starlight Stadium.
That’s mainly because of the short turnaround to tonight’s first away game of the season against FC Edmonton at Clark Stadium, which is Didic’s former club and former stomping ground.
“Yes and no,” answered PFC head coach James Merriman, when asked about why Didic was rested in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over the HFX Wanderers of Halifax.
The Tridents bench boss also cited the need to utilize the club’s depth by giving veteran returnees Jordan Haynes and Abdou Samake their first starts of the season on the backline.
“Amer [Didic] is fit and healthy and excited to play against his former team,” said Merriman.
Most observers had the six-foot-four Canada-capped former Sporting Kansas City MLS-prospect Didic graded as the second-best central defender in the CPL last season behind Lukas MacNaughton of PFC, who in the off-season moved up to MLS with Toronto FC. The Tridents quickly moved to fill that gap by signing Didic away from FC Edmonton.
This is a homecoming on many levels for the 27-year-old, who was born in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and came to Edmonton at a young age following the Bosnian War and grew up playing in the Sherwood Park youth soccer system.
But his hometown club is going through some turbulent times. The FC Edmonton club has been taken over by the CPL after the former owners fell into financial distress in regards to the operation of the club. The CPL is looking for new ownership. Until then, in a show of league solidarity, the Eddies are mostly stocked on loan by signed developmental players from the other seven CPL clubs, including Haiti U-20 national-team midfielder Bicou Bissainthe from Pacific FC, and two players on loan from Toronto FC of Major League Soccer.
“I guess this is the selfless part of my job right now — I’m actually developing players for other clubs. But that’s part of what we have to do to make sure we keep one of Canada’s football clubs afloat,” FC Edmonton head coach Alan Koch told Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press.
FC Edmonton is off to a reasonable start, all things considered, with two draws and a loss in its first three games. One of the few returnees, former Germany U-19 player and Dortmund prospect Tobias Warschewski, saved one of those games by drawing the Eddies level 1-1 in injury time against Valour FC with a bicycle-kick wonder goal that might have ended the CPL goal-of-the-season sweepstakes right then and there. Despite being on the lowly Eddies, Warschewski gave the eventual CPL-champion Tridents fits last season with his attacking style.
“Warschewski is a hard-working and quality player who is relentless in attack,” said PFC bench-boss Merriman.
“He is a player we need to care of [tonight].”
After a 3-0 start, all in games at Starlight Stadium, the swirl of hotel rooms and restaurant meals will be a new experience for the Tridents this season as they follow up the game in the Alberta capital with a game in the nation’s capital against Atletico Ottawa on May 7 before facing the Eddies back at Starlight Stadium on May 14.
“We did well in getting three results at home, but our group is hungry no matter where we are, and the road is often about mentality and approach,” said Merriman.
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com
