Ottawa’s Marcel de Jong got behind the Vancouver defenders and got a clear sight of goal. ‘Caps keeper Paolo Tornaghi scrambled off his line and stopped de Jong’s attempt, point blank.

“If another team comes in for Mallan, we’re in control of that situation. What Ottawa has done is taken on his salary and hopefully he can get some playing time there.”

Less than three minutes in, Jonny Steele got the Fury off to a dream start in front of its home fans, with a strike that found the top corner of the goal.

But, because the Eddies have a bye next weekend, the call-ups won't affect the team greatly. Corea will miss one match. Ledgerwood won't miss any. Both players will be back in the lineup for the final game of the spring season, when the Eddies face Fort Lauderdale on June 12.

For the Eddies, the Timbo tackle will become just another chapter in a novel entitled Agonizing Ways to Be Eliminated From the Voyageurs Cup. At least the Eddies didn’t get knocked out by a 97th-minute goals in the second leg of a tie, as they have in the past two years. But, scoring two first-half goals in Ottawa is yet another way this team has brought its fans so close to Cup joy — only to have it go bad in the end.

At halftime, with FC Edmonton trailing 1-0, coach Colin Miller was so angry about his team’s performance, he said that “we’ll end up being relegated, and there is no relegation.”

So, when asked after the game if Scarlett would be making more appearances in pre-game ceremonies to come, Watson answered with an emphatic yes. Maybe the little girl has replaced the rabbit as the Eddies’ good-luck charm.

“They should do what they think is best for their club and best for their supporters,” Peterson said in a media conference call on Tuesday.

Even though he’s been at Ottawa’s camp since the outset, the termination of his SKC contract and his new Fury deal were only just announced. The Fury deal only lasts till the break between the spring and fall seasons, so de Jong can look for a new club in the July transfer window. In fact, his wife and daughter have remained in Kansas City.

“This was a bittersweet situation for Mason as he really enjoyed his time in Ottawa, especially developing relationships with the Fury fans and local community, but Miami FC aggressively pursued Mason and created a package that justified Mason’s market value as one of the best defenders in NASL. Having represented Mason from his first professional contract to the present, it is a great testament for him to have Italian legend Alessandro Nesta seek him out to be a leader on defence."