Let’s face it, you would stay off the message boards and Reddit and the soccer blogs if you wanted sober, measured analysis. What you want is reactionary, knee-jerk, panicked commentary.

With the game already in hand, Sinclair was introduced at the start of the second half, clearly an effort to get her closer to all-time women’s international goal scoring leader Abby Wambach’s total of 184. On a two-player break, SInclair opted to pass to Huitema for a tap-in rather than take it herself. And when Sinclair got no. 174, she did not scream or raise her arms in triumph. She led her teammates quietly back to half.

On a day when Canada Soccer honoured five retiring veterans — Kaylyn Kyle, Lauren Sesselmann, Robyn Gayle, Josee Belanger and Jonelle Filigno — it was the kids who made themselves count.  Janine Beckie, age 22, had a hat trick, 16-year-old Jordyn Huitema had two and 18-year-old Deanne Rose opened the scoring.

For sure, it’s an embarrassing own goal — but keepers have to be the most mentally tough players on the pitch and, in some bizarre way, we can argue that giving up a goal like that in a friendly will actually be good for Sheridan down the road; that it will only force her to understand that you’ve got to forget the bad goals and remain in the moment.

The goal that gave the Canadian women's national team a 1-o win in Sweden Thursday was a perfect example of the three-pronged attempt that coach John Herdman will have at his disposal over the next few years.

Christine Sinclair used her left foot to place a shot neatly inside the far post. The goal stood as the winning tally as Canada beat Russia 2-1 Friday at the Algarve Cup.

On a Canadian roster packed with young players, it was more of the same. Another winning goal from Christine Sinclair; she scored her 166th career goal for Canada, to give our women’s national team a 1-0 win over Denmark Wednesday in the opener of the Algarve Cup.

There may be no harder game in Canadian soccer to analyze that Saturday's match at BC Place which saw our women's national side beat Mexico 3-2 on the strength of a Janine Beckie brace.

Two games in, and Canada has two losses and a goal differential of -7.

The Canadian women’s national team that faced Brazil on Saturday in Toronto was disjointed and deserved to lose. The Canadian women’s team that faced Brazil Tuesday in Ottawa was nothing like that.