On Sunday, both FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller and Minnesota United boss Manny Lagos will rue how the players in their teams’ respective walls got out of the way when free kicks were hammered in their direction.

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.

With a two-goal lead after the first leg of the NASL Championship, the Minnesota Stars’ grip on the Soccer Bowl has tightened. Now, the team that entered as the No. 6 seed is the odds-on favourite to repeat as North America’s Div. 2 champion.

In the end, the new graphic was well-received but the evening ended on a down note for Montreal, who dropped a 3-1 decision to the third-place Minnesota Stars, a game in which it did not challenge seriously for victory.