In fact, the more your teams sucks early in the season,the better your chances of seeing silverware at the end of it. So, Toronto FC fans, don’t worry about a long road trip to start the season; early-season losses are harbingers of big-time success down the road! And, for fans in the respective cities watching the Montreal Impact-Vancouver Whitecaps match, cheer for the other guys! It's the RIGHT thing to do!

Reluctant to rotate his personnel for the bulk of the season, Impact head coach Marco Schallibaum, prompted by injuries and suspensions to his regulars, fielded a squad that read like a reserve side, starting Evan Bush in goal, putting three youthful academy products on the back line and adding another couple to his bench.

While Keane’s feat was impressive, we felt that Real Salt Lake’s Joao Plata was more influential in his team’s win. Plata was all over the pitch, scoring once and adding two assists as his Real Salt Lake side continued to enjoy the best record in MLS after a 4-2 win over Portland.

Latching onto a loose ball after Andy O'Brien and Johnny Leveron both moved toward Robbie Keane in the third minute, the U.S. international powered a laser of a shot into the top left side of David Ousted's goal in what would turn out to be game winner.

But, when it came to the player of the week vote, Robbie Keane stood apart from the crowd.

“The assistant referee called the referee over to determine if #29 Zardes had touched the ball with his head before #33 [Villarreal] kicked the ball into the goal,” Penso wrote. “The referee determined that Zardes had not touched the ball, thus not making [Villarreal] offside. The goal was awarded.”

Two hat tricks highlighted this past weekend's MLS action. Marco Di Vaio scored three in the first half as the Montreal Impact defeated the Philadelphua Union 5-3 on Saturday. Robbie Keane got three as the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated the Seattle Sounders 4-0 on Sunday.

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.

And this is where Kinnear got it wrong — he left his best defender on crosses — Canadian Andre Hainault — out of the starting lineup. If you’re willing to yield the wide positions, you need to have your best options out there when it comes to dealing with crosses.

Professional players are expected to give their all for the jersey. And, when there is nothing left to play for in terms of trophies or playoff spots, they play for pride.