It was broad smiles all around from head coach Frank Klopas and Sporting Director Nick de Santis as the Impact put on their brave and cheery faces at training yesterday. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . Hard to imagine this is a club who are firmly entrenched at the bottom of the Eastern Conference as results this season mirror the tailspin the Impact suffered throughout the later stages of the 2013 season. Last Saturdays Kansas City shambles offered very few shreds of comfort or optimism for a club who have only claimed a solitary victory over the course of their last 15 regular season matches. Coincidentally, that win - secured in the final home match of the 2013 season - came against the Philadelphia Union who will be the opponent for the Impacts Saputo Stadium home opener Saturday afternoon. Going into this season there was no expectation the Impact would start in the same forthright manner they did in 2013, where they had already accumulated 16 points and by a distance were the form team of the Eastern Conference through seven games. By the same token nobody in the organization would have thought the club would still be in search of its first win on the back of the worst start of the season in club history. By a quirk of fate Klopas old flame, the Chicago Fire, are the only other winless team in the conference. Any thought Klopas would suffer a similar fate of so many Impact coaches before were completely dismissed out of hand by De Santis yesterday, as he offered full and unequivocal support for his besieged head coach. De Santis could not have appeared more genuine as he addressed the media first in French and then reinforced the same message when switching to English as he expressed complete confidence in his coaching staff. “Its frustrating, its disappointing but we do need to stay patient,” De Santis said of the Imapcts start. The opening goal conceded against the reigning MLS Cup champions was a Callum Mallace attempt at a headed clearance that found nothing but the roof of the Impact net. It typifies the run of ill fortune the Impact has experienced so far this season. One that by this stage drains, and erodes confidence levels allowing for the doubts to set in. This was evident during the second half in Kansas where as a team they completely lacked conviction and confidence. After Marco Di Vaio was forced off injured in minute 55, many players became mere shadows of themselves as they conceded three soft goals. After the match Impact captain Patrice Bernier could offer little explanation of why the team had performed so poorly though the second half. If the Impact is to salvage their season this has to represent rock bottom. Playing at Saputo Stadium for a first time this season offers up the perfect tonic. Training yesterday took place at the clubs training pitch adjacent to the stadium and was conducted under glorious blue skies, which is in stark contrast to training and playing at a dreary appearing Olympic Stadium. A spring was in everyones steps, a certain buoyancy in the air. Di Vaio - who will be the first to admit that his form this season is far from where he would like it to be, or where the club needs it to be - seems likely to overcome the slight hamstring strain and should be available Saturday. Someone who likely again wont feature is Argentine DP Hernan Bernardello. Yesterday De Santis spoke of the midfielders fellow countryman Igniacio Piatti, who currently plays for San Lorenzo. The Impacts Sporting Director admitted the club was very much hoping to bring him in during the upcoming transfer window. Dont expect summer shopping to be limited to merely adding a third and final DP. This is a club who throughout its 20-plus-year history doesnt shy away from making the investments where needed. Bolstering the lineup and adding greater depth will certainly enhance the Impacts chances in the second half of the season. For now, though, its about getting the optimum performances from all the players at their disposal. This is something Klopas admitted earlier in the week was keeping him awake at night. In the lead up to Saturdays game much has been made in both Montreal and Philadelphia about Andrew Wengers return to Saputo Stadium. Wenger even got in on the act himself in the week when he spoke of his time in Montreal and learning much from Marco. Referring to Di Vaio, this was clearly a backhanded slap in the direction of Marco Schallibaum. As the team were putting in some of their final preparations for Saturday afternoons encounter, the finishing touches were been applied to Saputo Stadium. The pitch looks in perfect shape. The last time the club took to that pitch was last Oct. 19 in what was a must-win game for the Impact - who had gone into the game on the back of a six-game winless skid. Philly took the early lead before Di Vaio notched his 20th goal of the season and Karl Ouimette scored the late winner. The opponent will be the same Saturday afternoon, and the club fully need a similar result. Or as De Santis put it yesterday: “We are a win away from relieving the pressure on everyone.” You can reach and follow Noel Butler at: Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter Listen to Montreal Impact vs. Philadelphia Union live on TSN690 Montreal [TSN690.ca] Saturday at 4pm et. Rick Moffat [@RickMoffat] and Grant Needham [@GrantNeedham] have the call. Cheap NFL Jerseys . -- Nick Bjugstad snapped out of his scoring slump and spoiled Drew MacIntyres first NHL start. Nike NFL Jerseys China .The mixed martial arts organization announced Friday it has terminated the contract of Thiago Silva and indefinitely suspended fellow light-heavyweight Anthony (Rumble) Johnson.WASHINGTON - The Denver Nuggets are off to an 11-5 start, and each night it seems a different player takes over. On Friday night, they were without starting forward Nene, who was out with a bruised right heel. That gave Al Harrington a chance to shine. Harrington scored a season-high 29 points -- going 5 for 8 on three-pointers -- and Danilo Gallinari and Ty Lawson each had 21 to lead the Nuggets over the Washington Wizards 108-104. In the last five games, the Nuggets have had a different leading scorer each time. "I think thats probably who well be for most of the year. Sometimes you piece it together throughout the game," coach George Karl said. It was the fifth win in six games for the Nuggets, who expect Nene back Saturday in New York. That will be the first time Denver has faced Carmelo Anthony since he was traded to the Knicks last February. "I think thats one of those games that motivates itself," Karl said before Friday nights win. "I dont think Im going to have to give a really big pep talk." After Arron Afflalo gave Denver a 100-98 lead on a layup with 2:07 to play, Harrington hit a three with 1:14 left to make it 103-98. Harrington played 30 minutes -- and scored 27 in the last three quarters. The 14-year veteran has had great success in Washington. In his last three games at the Verizon Center, hes averaged 29 points and hit 16 of 24 shots from three-point range. "I feel like I can shoot every night like that. It just doesnt always happen that way," Harrington said. Washington dropped to 2-13 and failed to post its first two-game winning streak. Last season, it took the Wizards 39 games to win two in a row. "Harrington killed us," Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. "We have a great defensive sequence and they throw it out to him at 30 feet and he throws it in at the buzzer." Nick Young led Washington with 25 points. John Wall had 13 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds -- narrowly missing his second career triple-double. Lawson scored 19 of his 21 points in the final three quarters and, at five-foot-11, grabbed a career-high nine rebounds. He admires Wall, who had 63 points in his previous two games. The speedy Washingtonn guard, however, missed 13 of his 17 shots Friday night -- including all six in the fourth when the Wizards scored just 12 points in the final 7:49. Wholesale Jerseys. "Hes maturing. Things are, you can just tell, in disarray, not with the organization, but the players on the court," Lawson said. "Hes fighting through it. Eventually hes going to get some players around him and show exactly how good he is." Jordan Crawford had 18 points and scored the last nine for the Wizards. After he hit two free throws to cut the Nuggets lead to 106-104 with 9.4 seconds left, Harrington secured the win with a dunk with 7.2 seconds remaining. "We felt we were actually better than this team tonight and to give it up like -- we shot ourselves in the foot, and it hurt," Crawford said. Saunders said his team is improving -- even though the record doesnt show it. "Were playing better than a week ago," he said. The Wizards led 63-61 at halftime. Nine days before, they scored a franchise-low 64 points in a loss to Chicago. Washington led 37-27 after the first quarter, shooting 61.5 per cent. The Wizards had 13 assists -- their most in any quarter since April 15, 2000. Young had 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field, including three three-pointers. He didnt take a shot in the second quarter, and scored four points in both the third and fourth. Washington made eight of its 12 3-point attempts in the first half, but was 3 for 14 in the second half. Lawson scored 12 points in the second quarter. The Nuggets held the Wizards scoreless for nearly four minutes in the third quarter, taking a 78-71 lead with 4:39 to play. NOTES: Pamela McGee, the mother of Wizards C JaVale McGee and a former WNBA player and coach, told the Washington Post that Saunders has unnecessarily publicly criticized her son. "The one thing I never did as a coach, never, not once, in my career, was throw my players under a bus," Pamela McGee said. Saunders said: "Were happy with the development of JaVale and where he is." ... When asked about it, Karl said: "Would I trust Flip Saunders or would I trust a players mother? 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