“I was just trying to connect with it,” Heinemann said following the game. “It was obviously just an empty net so I was just trying to connect with it and put it on frame.”

After six and a half years, it’s hard to imagine that Toronto FC could find new and baffling ways to frustrate and anger its fan base.

“We’re going through a bit of a tough phase at the moment. There’s a lot of physical fatigue and a bit of mental fatigue as well. It’s a long season and you have to expect some periods like the one we’re going through but we have to stay the course and play through them,” said Camara.

For Canadians Dwayne De Rosario and Paul Hamilton, Wednesday’s fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup saw them make important contributions as their clubs survived.

When asked about whether he found the performance of his midfield trio of Davidson, Gershon Koffie and Nigel Reo-Coker subpar, he responded simply that he was “very disappointed.”

With the MLS season moved up to its earliest start ever, forgive us if we don’t feel 100 per cent totally prepared for First Kick. Judging by the way many MLS teams finished preseason, with tentative matches and still looking at trialists with a week to go before the games count in the standings, a lot of coaches aren’t quite ready for the early start, either.

Gershon Koffie, Dane Richards, Camilo and Barry Robson all found the back of the net against the worst side in the Western Conference, despite the club finding itself on the wrong side of the possession statistics, holding only 32.3 per cent of the ball.

Dropping a 2-1 decision to Chivas USA, Montreal fell victim to errant marksmanship, placing only four of its 14 shots on target, as well as to home-team gaffer Robin Fraser’s timely substitutions.

"Bad luck. It's the only thing I can explain," said TFC head coach Aron Winter. "When you lose you can never say that you played well but you have to be always positive since I saw a lot of good things and that's important."

Aron Winter gambled, and rolled snake eyes. With a massive, must-win CONCACAF Champions League against Pumas UNAM coming up on Tuesday, and with Toronto FC all but eliminated from the MLS playoff race, the Reds’ technical director and coach decided to start his best available XI Saturday against Chivas.