On Wednesday, the team revealed the identity of those players who have been released; Canadian goalkeeper John Smits, Canadian striker Frank Jonke, defender Kareem Moses and midfielders Tomas Granitto and Thiago de Freitas.

After an 0-3-0 road trip that made the final game of the regular season about pride and not the playoffs, the Eddies responded to put together one of the worst 90-plus minutes that we’ve seen in franchise history. Make no mistake, if not for the heroics of keeper Tyson Farago, Jacksonville would have had a deserved three-goal lead before Roberts’s injury-time effort.

Remember that the Eddies gave up a goal 12 seconds into the match in their NASL season-opening loss in Jacksonville. But Saturday’s game, with the Eddies badly needing a win to fan their fading playing hopes, might have surpassed that in infamy.

“I have to say I am fairly disappointed in the Jamaican federation. Here is a player [Laing] who they take all the way to Korea for a friendly, but they know he’s suspended for the next four [World Cup qualifying] matches. And they know this will have a huge impact on his club. They have not shown any respect to the club at all. The Canadian association asked if Mallan would be available for the most recent camp [Tuesday friendly with Ghana] and they were very understanding when I said we needed him because it’s an important time for the club. Of course, that was before Mallan got injured. But it shows the difference in class between the two federations. I’m not saying Lance Laing is such a great player that we can’t play without him; no player is that good. But, the Jamaican federation needs to respect the spirit of the game.”

The Eddies now trail the Tampa Bay Rowdies by one point for the fourth and final playoff spot in NASL. Both teams have three games left on their schedules. The Eddies are at Carolina Wednesday, then have a home-and-home with Jacksonville to end their season.

In the previous five matches Laing has missed, the Eddies have earned just five out of a possible 15 points (1-2-2).

Miller said that the Eddies knew coming into the game that the Fury was one of the best, if not the best, counterattacking sides in NASL. So, he was disappointed that the Eddies were caught on two counters.

Two Canadian teams in the top sector of the league standings. Facing each other, with so much on the line. Pinch us.

With the Cosmos already assured of a post-season spot because it won the spring-season title, the club prioritized resting players over putting out the best XI available. And that decision will be magnified because it influenced a game that was vital not only to the Eddies, but the other teams involved in the dogfight for fourth.

The Eddies host the spring-season champion and overall NASL leaders New York Cosmos Sunday. The team said that there are only about 200 or so tickets left for that match. Then, the Eddies go on the road to face the fall-season leaders Ottawa Fury and then the Cosmos, again. With the Eddies just two points out of the NASL’s final post-season spot, this three-game swing could very well be the defining stretch of their season.