Calgary Foothills FC held to a draw by Lane United

Calgary Foothills FC were held to a 0-0 draw by visitors Lane United in their latest Premier Development League match on a windy Saturday evening in Okotoks.

Foothills FC carried the majority of the attacking play but were unable to find the back of the net, thanks in large part to the visitors’ well-honed defence.

But even without a victory, Foothills FC’s head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. was proud of his squad’s performance.

“I thought we were very good,” said Wheeldon. “We’ve kept a clean sheet. We’ve created chances. I thought we were very good second half. I thought it was a very good performance. The greatest skill of all is putting the ball in the back of the net and they parked eleven players behind the ball. They made it tough.”

Wheeldon, who will become had coach and general manager of Cavalry FC after the current PDL season,  knows that good performances don’t guarantee victories. But he says it’s important to keep moving forward and making progress.

“We’re not getting carried away with league placement or anything like that,” said Wheeldon. “It’s a race we’ll be at in the end. We’re not getting carried away. We just want to keep picking up points.

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“We’ve got a good three-game road trip coming up. I’m pleased with the lads. I’d like to see the stats, but I think we’ve had double figures in terms of goal action and their keeper has made couple of great saves, and that’s why they’re going home with a point. Can’t complain with the effort the boys have put in.”

Wheeldon also had praise for his own defence.

“Joel Waterman has been absolutely rock solid,” he said. “We’re not conceding goals. We’ve only conceded four goals in seven games. And we’ll take that same attitude on the road. We’ll go on this stretch with a bit of confidence.”

Foothills FC were forced to keep a few regular starters out of the line up Saturday, due to injury concerns. But Wheeldon and his staff saw it saw it as an opportunity to get other players game time.

“We’ve got injury things with Nik Ledgerwood, Jay Wheeldon, Ali Musse, Kyle Jones,” said Wheeldon. “They’re four big players that could start on this team, but it shows the strength of this squad – that we’re putting players in and they’re doing well.

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“It was more precautionary. We had to make sure we didn’t over stretch them because those three games in five days is important. So we’re managing the season.”

Foothills FC will now play their next three games on the road. And Wheeldon admits his squad could be entering pivotal section of the season.

“We’ve got to go and pick up some points,” he said. “If we can get around six points and get two wins out there, as a minimum, that’s good for us. It puts us in good shape.”

Foothills FC’s play their next three games on the road against Seattle Sounders FC (June 13), TSS FC Rovers (June 15) and Victoria Highlanders (June 17). Their next home game is against TSS FC Rovers in Okotoks Saturday, June 23 at 2pm.

Single game and season tickets are available online at www.foothillsfc.ca/tickets/ or at the gate.

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