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.

“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.”

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.

“But we’ve created a monster here, in terms of players getting call-ups to their national teams. It’s a situation we’ve never had to deal with before this season, but it’s also an honour for the club.”

With 10 minutes left Saturday’s match between Atlanta and FC Edmonton, Silverback Junior Burgos came up with that moment of magic. He hammered a free kick from distance just inside the post to give Atlanta the 1-0 win.

The Eddies produced more turnovers than you’d find in a bakery. And, they really only created one scoring chance of note — and that came in the second half with the Eddies already down a goal. And, in true comedy-of-errors style, sub Hanson Boakai and winger Lance Laing got in each other’s way when the ball sat in the Fort Lauderdale penalty area and keeper Josh Ford down and out on the turf.

And, in the fall? The Eddies are the only team in NASL to allow an average of less than a goal per game; FCE has conceded just eight times in nine matches. And the defensive turnaround has put the Eddies in second place in the fall table, and just two points out of fourth in the combined standings. That fourth spot would likely represent the final post-season spot.

No word if Tom Hanks will play FCE coach Colin Miller in the Edmonton version of The Terminal.

"I'm absolutely delighted," said Miller after the game. "This stadium is one of the most difficult places to come in the league. They have so many quality players here [in San Antonio]. But the credit has to go to our guys, they just never gave up."

FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller has been involved in professional soccer for more than three decades. He said Tuesday that, at no time in his career, has he been involved in an injury crisis as severe as the one FC Edmonton is in right now.