The soccer world was still buzzing even if Colin Miller’s blood had stopped boiling when his team arrived in San Antonio on Thursday, the day after suffering a hugely contentious loss in Montreal.

Late in the second leg of the Amway Championship semifinal, trailing the host Impact 3-2 at Saputo Stadium but leading on aggregate, 4-4 with a tiebreaker 2-1 on away goals, Miller’s FC Edmonton squad verged on the biggest victory its history.

That’s when official Drew Fischer whistled Edmonton’s Mallan Robert for a handball in the penalty area that resulted in a penalty kick for Patrice Bernier. The Impact midfielder stutter faked a shot and easily scored on goalkeeper John Smits, who had little chance.

Moments later it was all over, the mighty MLS side defeating the little NASL squad that could 4-2 in the match and 5-4 on aggregate to advance to the Canadian Championship final against Toronto FC.

Twitter blew up. Fans coast to coast watching the nationally televised game reacted, some with outrage. Back home, Edmontonians that normally didn’t give the Eddies much thought were talking soccer.

The Eddies were in the spotlight like never before. They’d dropped the match, but gained widespread support.

“The response that I and everyone connected with the club has had from all over the world has been absolutely incredible, and we’re very proud of that,” Miller said from the Alamo City, where his team is preparing to battle the San Antonio Scorpions on Saturday night.

While trying to focus on FCE’s fast-approaching NASL match, the manager was dealing with the fallout from Fischer’s disputed call. Replays appeared to show not only that Robert didn’t hand the ball, but made a concerted effort to avoid doing so.

“I don’t want to make too big a song and dance of it because I think he’s one of Canada’s best referees, but my own personal feeling is I thought he got the decision wrong,” said Miller.

After battling back from a 3-0 deficit against Montreal with a pair of goals by Frank Jonke, in the 67th and 70th minutes, the Eddies were positioned to make their first Amway Championship final appearance.

Their resilience resonated with fans, perhaps moreso in the moments following the game when the players — equal parts devastated and incensed — argued with Fischer.

Miller, generally not one for ill manners, became involved in a shouting match with Impact president Joey Saputo, who had come onto the pitch.

“I’ve spoken to the players, and I said, ‘Guys, you deserve immense credit (Wednesday) for representing the club as well as you did,’” Miller said. “I probably let the club down a little bit by my behaviour after the game but as soon as I lose that passion, I won’t need to be fired, I’ll just walk away from the job, so I’m not proud of falling out with the president of Montreal, but I care so much about our players and what we’re doing here.

“The fact is that’s now history, we’ve earned a great deal of praise from a lot of people and a lot of people in football in Canada have commented on it, but now our total and sole focus is on getting those three points in San Antonio.”

After a rough start, the Eddies have won three of their last five matches overall, and are coming off their first regular season victory, 2-1 at the Indy Eleven last Saturday.

“We’re in a good place, we’re playing well ...we’ve got a bit of momentum going and I’m desperate that the lads continue to believe in themselves and forget that last part of the game (Wednesday) night,” said Miller.