VANCOUVER -- Carl Robinsons message was clear enough: Respect your opponents, but dont fear them. Camiseta Aleix Vidal . Even though the Vancouver Whitecaps (5-2-5) will be playing in a hostile environment at PPL Park, the team will carry a swagger into its Major League Soccer road game Saturday against the Philadelphia Union (3-7-5). "No game is easy," Robinson said earlier this week after the Whitecaps practised at the University of British Columbia. "There is no fear on this squad because they are playing well. "We will make them aware of how good Philadelphia are, because they are a good team. They havent picked up the results they probably want recently. .... But my players will never play with fear as long as Im here. Its important they go out and enjoy themselves. If they enjoy themselves they express themselves. If they express themselves, we play with a freedom and I think you can see an excitement in their football." The Whitecaps looked to be enjoying themselves in their final practice before leaving for Philadelphia. Several players engaged in a water fight which ended with English midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker emptying a cooler of ice water on Ghanian midfielder Gershon Koffie. Robinson looked on with a smile. The Whitecaps have earned the right to feel good about themselves. Their record gives them 20 points, good enough for fourth place in the Western Conference. Vancouver is coming off a 4-3 road victory over the Portland Timber last weekend, the first time the Whitecaps have beaten their Cascadia rivals in MLS play. Vancouver is unbeaten in six MLS games (3-0-3). The Whitecaps have scored 14 goals during that span, and only once managed fewer than two in a game. Vancouver also has two wins and a tie in their last three road games. While things are good, they could be better. The Whitecaps were up 4-1 against Portland but had to hold onto the victory. Vancouver has also allowed 11 goals over the last six games. "I think we can go to another level," said Robinson. "We have to tidy up a few things (defensively). We have to make sure we get back to basics on that and we will, without losing our attacking edge." The Union have struggled this season. They sit eighth in the Eastern Conference with 14 points but snapped a two-game losing skid with a 3-0 win over Chivas USA last weekend. Sebastien Le Toux, the French forward who has missed the last two Philadelphia matches with an injury, believes the team can still turn its season around. "I think its important to stay positive and keep working hard all the time," Le Toux, who could be in the lineup against Vancouver, told the Union website. "We havent had the type of start we were hoping for. "We just need to keep working and get this going in a good direction. We need to work as hard as we possibly can. We just have to find ways to do it on the field. I know we have the guys in here who can do it and we have be determined." One of the Whitecaps enjoying a breakout season is Erik Hurtado. The 23-year-old midfielder/forward scored once against Portland and drew a foul to set up another goal on a penalty kick. He also has scored a goal in the last four of Vancouvers games. Drafted fifth overall in last years MLS SuperDraft, the native of Fredericksburg, Va., struggled during his rookie season. He had speed to burn but sometimes looked like an unguided missile. He also had a heavy second touch on the ball. This year Hurtados play is more directed. Hes able to get open and can feather passes to his teammates. "Im more mature as a player," Hurtado said. "Ive learned in the centre-forward role how to move off the ball, how to get the ball in good places with space to turn, how to play off the defenders back, what runs to make." Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit said Hurtados game is evolving. "Everyone has seen his raw talent over the last year," said DeMerit. "Now hes staring to rein that in a little bit more. "Hes starting to figure out what hes good at and what he can hurt defenders with. When he was able to figure that out, and control his game a little bit more, hes consistently got better." The game against the Union will be the Whitecaps last before the MLS breaks for the World Cup in Brazil. It will also be Vancouvers third road match in four games. DeMerit expects a physical match. "They are a fairly big team," he said. "You might have to do some set pieces and make sure we are tight there. "Its a long way from home so we have to make sure we are up and ready for it and start the game right. A lot of times in these away games . . . sometimes you start a little flat. I think for us its about making sure that doesnt happen, make sure we are ready from the whistle to do combat in our style of game. When weve been able to do that, home or away, we have seemed to get the right results, so that has to continue." Camiseta Ousmane Dembele . The club says Fridays surgery was successful. Holiday, a former Eastern Conference All-Star acquired from Philadelphia last summer, has not played because of the shin injury since Jan. Camiseta Sergi Roberto . It was the quickest three-goal sequence in Olympic history, with the latter two coming just eight seconds apart. Kessel, Lamoureux and Kendall Coyne all scored twice for the Americans, and Molly Schaus made 10 saves in her Sochi debut. http://www.camisetasfcbarcelona.es/ . -- The Washington Redskins coaching staff distanced itself from other coaches Thursday by siding with ownership -- and not the players -- in the NFLs labour dispute.MONTREAL - The seven-game losing streak was over for the Montreal Impact and no one looked more relieved than Marco Di Vaio. The 38-year-old strikers goal in the 84th minute was the difference as the Impact downed the Chicago Fire 1-0 on a wet Saturday night at Saputo Stadium that saw a promising debut by new Argentine designated player Ignacio Piatti. It was Montreals first victory since a 3-0 decision at home over Houston on June 29. Italian striker Di Vaio had a goal in that game as well. "Its been a long time that we won a game with my goal, so Im really happy for me, for the team, the coach and the fans because we needed it," said Di Vaio. "Its a good win and it will give us more confidence." The Impact (4-14-5) remained 10th and last in the MLS Eastern Conference behind the ninth-place Fire (4-6-13). But the team got its fifth shutout of the season, after allowing 15 goals during the losing run. "Its definitely a monkey off our back," said goalkeeper Evan Bush. "A lot of the games lately, people say we havent been playing with energy, but a lot of that has been that we were putting extra pressure on ourselves to get results. "But to get that result, I think it will open things up for us to play a little more confidently." What had been mostly a defensive struggle broke open when substitute Maxim Tissot sent fullback Eric Miller in on the left side. The rookies dogged battle with Razva Cocis saw the ball squirt out to Di Vaio, who calmly slotted in his fifth goal of the season from near the penalty spot. Piatti got a loud welcome from the announced crowd of 17,132. The Argentine midfielder had some encouraging moments, particularly when he combined with Di Vaio, before he was substituted in the 54th minute for Andres Romero. Di Vaio, whose contract is up at the end of the season, was asked if he would consider extending his stay in Montreal to play an extra season with the Italian and Spanish-speaking Piatti, who inked a three and a half year deal. He said it would be difficult at his age. "We already had a little talk between us," Piatti said through a translator. "I asked Marco if he will stay, but Marco said its tough because of his family. But I said maybe we can find a solution. "t;Marcos a great player. Camiseta Philippe Coutinho. You give him the ball and you get it back right away. There was a chemistry there, but theres still a lot of work to do to develop the chemistry." The 29-year-old Piatti, who arrived Wednesday after helping the San Lorenzo club in Argentina to the Copa Libertatores final, said he was not surprised by the pace and physical style of MLS, but said he would need time to adapt to his new team. "Its a first game, I felt pretty good," said Piatti, who had an ice pack on left knee at the bench after he came off. "The team played well as a group." His best chance came only six minutes into the game. Piatti found himself in the Chicago area after a run down the left side, but wasnt able to get full control of the ball. The victory got a busy week off a to a good start. The Impact travel to El Salvador to face CD FAS in a CONCACAF Champions League match on Wednesday and then head to New York to play the Red bulls on Saturday. "It helps a lot because we had lost seven games in a row in MLS and now we have a big game in San Salvador," said Tissot. "Hopefully we can keep this going." Chicago, which ended a three-game league unbeaten run, was coming off a 6-0 defeat Wednesday to Seattle in U.S. Open Cup play. The Fire played with ardour, taking away the middle of the field and launching counterattacks, and made the Impact work for their chances. One came in the 60th, when Felipe sent Romero on a run to the edge of the area and his low shot needed a reaching, one-handed save by Sean Johnson. Bush had a hairy moment in the 38th minute when Lovel Palmers shot from the right side got through his hands, but the ball was cleared from the six-yard box. The Fire also had eight corner kicks, which are often an adventure for the Montreal defence. But centrebacks Matteo Ferrari and Wandrille Lefevre were sharp. Notes: Impact midfielder Calum Mallace served a one-game suspension for going onto the field from the bench during a game last week. . . Montreal is unbeaten (2-0-2) at home against Chicago in three seasons in MLS. . . Midfielder Dilly Duka, acquired July 29 from the Fire, played 90 minutes while Sanna Nyassi, who went to Chicago in the same deal, went on as a sub in the 78th. ' ' '