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.

Then, it all changed on what looked to be an innocuous play. Minnesota fullback Justin Davis got into the penalty are with the ball, and looked to have run himself into a corner; he wasn’t facing goal and he didn’t have a shooting angle. At best, he could hope to turn and pop a cross to the centre of the area. But FC Edmonton substitute Michael Nonni elected to dive in. Even though Nonni got all ball with the tackle, Davis went down and referee Geoff Gamble pointed to the spot.

On the short end of a 2-0 score by the quarter-hour mark, Montreal were let down by its defence and dominated, as is his custom, by Thierry Henry. The French forward’s goal and pair of helpers ran his lifetime record against the Impact in MLS play to seven goals and three assists in four matches.

A 2-1 triumph over the Red Bulls was more than just three points for Vancouver; it was a statement to the fans back in British Columbia that this team wasn’t going to roll over.

Two of the three goals came in added time — one in the first half and another in the second — with Thierry Henry notching both the home side’s tallies while Marco Di Vaio got one (and very nearly two) back for the visitors.

“They’re a good team, but the problem they had is that Champions League killed them. It’s a very tough thing to do in a salary cap league even with three designated players. It’s extremely tough to travel down to Mexico and then up to Montreal. It’s difficult. You are so focused on this championship that you are so close to winning, and then all the sudden you’ve got to refocus on the league and you’re 10 points behind.”

Both the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps were busy in preseason action Friday.

“We always have a good game against this team. I really liked it,” said Barbara, who has scored in every NASL game he’s played in this season and already set the RailHawks record for most goals in a season with nine. “Any game we play against Montreal could go either way. Right now I’m on a streak and everything is happening automatically. I could have got another hat trick today.” Reminded that the Impact is moving on up next season Barbara expressed his interest in doing the same thing. “I came here with the intention of not staying in this league. Although I love playing in Carolina my aim is always to play in a higher league. I hope to make an impact because I want to play in MLS.”