Geison Moura’s early headed goal stood up as the Fort Lauderdale Strikers beat FC Edmonton 1-0 Wednesday.

Late in the game, after intercepting a pass, Eddies’ central defender Mallan Roberts lingered on the ball rather than making the simple play and hoofing the ball out of danger. San Antonio’s Billy Forbes, who scored earlier in the game, nicked the ball off of Roberts’s feet and then went in alone on goal. He finished neatly, giving the Scorpions the late winner.

The Scorpions are to the NASL what the Oakland Raiders were to the National Football League in the 1970s. They’re a bunch of so-called bad apples brought together — and then transformed into one of the best units in the league.

Now, whether you love or hate the NASL’s decision to create a spring season in which each of the 10 teams plays a nine-game schedule — with one of the top two playoff, er, “Championship” seeds going to the league champ — there’s no doubt it brought a sense of immediacy to the opening weekend.

Daryl Fordyce scored twice, pacing the Eddies to a 2-1 win over the Carolina RailHawks. The big winners out of the weekend? The New York Cosmos. With Carolina’s loss, the gap between the Cosmos and the RailHawks (tied for second place) is now seven points.

Canadian defenders Paul Hamilton and Andres Arango can both claim MLS scalps after they both played roles in major U.S. Open Cup third-round upsets.

But, as we get ready for this weekend’s kickoff to the NASL spring season, the Rowdies and MUFC are the clear favourites to top the table.