Like I did last night, I'm watching the two Champions' Cup quarterfinals matches. First up is DC United-Olimpia. Once again another small crowd at RFK, and there appeared to be quite a roar when Olimpia advanced on goal. It's also raining, which should be interesting on this pitch (I believe it was converted to a soccer pitch only a few days ago)
- DCU's defensive line is still the weak link. That crossing pass was waiting for an Olimpia player.
- Good run by Boswell on that corner kick. The header sailed wide, but it serves as a warning to Olimpia.
- It's a real shame that there aren't Spanish language commentators for this game.
- 10': Yet another cross by Olimpia that should have been converted.
- The commentators just said that this is a much better effort by Olimpia in this game than the previous one. For some reason Honduran teams have always seemed to play better on the road than at home. I haven't been able to figure that out. Less pressure on the road, perhaps?
- What a beautiful one-two between Emilio (?) and Gómez! Gomito very nearly made it 1-0, but pushed it wide of the far post.
- Raining very hard now...
- End-to-end action by both teams now, as we near the half-hour mark. Another bad giveaway by DCU's backline, and a bad tackle by Namoff in the area yields a penalty to Olimpia. Thomas shoots...and scores. 1-0 to Olimpia, and now two goals down on aggregate. Great time for the satellite feed to screw up.
- Olimpia's putting a lot more pressure on DC United. That last defensive effort was pure desperation. Tranquilo, muchachos!
- 37': Great long ball received by Moreno who advances into the box, and Emilio finishes with a drive to the far post. 1-1, and back to a three-goal lead on aggregate. Emilio celebrates this goal more than the one he scored in Honduras, but it's still fairly reserved.
- I just read Steven Goff's post on his blog entitled 'Greetings from Estadio RFK'. I laughed when I saw the title.
- That goal has relieved some of the pressure on United. They're seeing more of the ball now.
- Halftime. It's pretty clear that DCU's weakness is in their defensive line. Too many giveaways of the ball in the final third. Gómez is the indispensable player for United.
- Second half starts, and Jamil Walker and Ben Olsen enter the lineup for DCU, in place of Brian Carroll and Jaime Moreno. Walter López enters the match for Olimpia.
- DCU starts off quickly...a free kick by Gómez set off alarm bells in the Olimpia defense. Then a big run down the middle by Olsen draws a penalty. Gómez shoots and scores, and DCU should be in the semifinals now. 2-1 DCU, 6-2 on aggregate.
- Emilio and Walker combine, and a defensive slip lets Walker in all alone against Valladares. Walker decides to try to cannon the ball through the 'keeper, and it goes out for a corner.
- Another cross finds Walker, and he tries some left-footed scissor-like volley thing. He's not that talented, unfortunately, and the ball skies over the bar.
- Half an hour to go, and the outcome of this game is almost certain.
- Uh oh! Perkins has to go off due to an injury (hip flexor?), and Jay Nolly enters the match. Olimpia also makes a substitution, but I didn't catch the names.
- A very fortunate break for DCU...Nolly's forced to make a pass with his feet, but finds López (?) instead. His shot skies over the bar.
- Well, Olimpia are still fighting. Palacios pushes it wide, and the substitute Pacini slots the ball between Nolly's legs. 2-2 and 6-3 on aggregate for DCU.
- And Emilio seals it - what a great goal! He shrugs off the Olimpia defender, and then switches to the right foot to slot the ball past Valladares. The tie should be over by now.
- Overall this hasn't been DCU's best effort, understandable given that they wanted to defend more, but it's more than enough to win. The high-scoring match reflects the defensive shakiness of both sides.
- And that's it, the final whistle blows and DCU will play in the semifinals against Guadalajara. They have a shot to win the tie but the first leg is going to be crucial.
The Houston-Puntarenas match should start in about 10-15 minutes.
- Welcome to Aggieland! Once again, the away fans are making themselves heard in this game.
- It's nails-on-a-chalkboard annoying that Mark Bogandino is pronouncing Puntarenas as "Punta Arenas" It's JUST ONE WORD !! I know, it shouldn't bother me but still...
- Okay the match is well underway. Quarter of an hour in, and this match looks very physical. Houston Dynamo, or Dynamo Houston, look to be playing better in midfield. Of course just as I write that, they lose the ball.
- A very close moment for Houston. Two players in the box and it still didn't go in. Orio uses his hand as a canasta to steer the ball away.
- And Dynamo score!! A great ball from the right flank finds Davis, whose shot is blocked by Orio but Dalglish is present to put the ball over the line. 1-1 on aggregate!
- Another right wing cross finds DeRosario, but his shot is weak and goes wide.
- Punta looks to be packing the midfield and looking to pounce for quick counters at the moment. On some of Dynamo's breaks, they end up retreating backward for lack of support, which allows more of the Puntarenas midfielders to cover the middle.
- A great save by Orio keeps the series alive. Forty minutes in.
- A lot of the MLS players show too much of the ball on their runs. Clark had a chance to make a great run on goal, but the ball was too far ahead of him and was easily tackled away by the Punta defense.
- Oh my goodness. Punta very nearly made it 1-1, but Wells made a tremendous save off Puntarenas' Barboza. That was the last action of the first half, an exciting second half awaits!
- The second half is about to start. I don't think there were any substitutions made at the break.
- 53': Dynamo hit the post again! I think it was Davis this time.
- Coming up to the hour mark, and this match is really on a knife-edge right now.
- I read in Al Día the other day how the temperature might get cold enough to make the Puntarenas players uncomfortable, but not too much so. Of course, 50 degrees (10 C) is cold if you're from Costa Rica!
- Nice run by Moreno to the end line, but Dalglish's near-post finish went wide (and would have been very well-defended).
- Oh, that was not a good foul to make by Davis, about 25 meters outside the box. Bernard strikes a gorgeous free kick over the wall, but Wells leaps high to push the ball around the post for a corner.
- It looks like Dominic Kinnear wants to win the game in regular time, because Brian Ching is going to enter the match for Alejandro Moreno. Ching's not fully match fit, but he could go 25-35 minutes. He might have to be even more of a poacher than usual.
- And Ching's entry brings immediate dividends. Davis' free kick finds Ching, whose header is saved by Orio the post, and Kelly Gray converts the rebound to put Dynamo ahead on aggregate! Fifteen minutes to go!
- De Rosario will have to walk off...he's clutching the upper part of his hamstring. Kevin Goldthwaite will enter the game - so Houston's getting defensive.
- Another attacking free kick conceded by Houston, and a yellow card to Mullan. The free kick by Sánchez is really bad, however, so Dynamo get a break.
- Ooooh, Dalglish makes a great run and cuts inside, but his series-deciding shot hits the post. Punta goes right down the field and drives down to the penalty area, but Guerrero's shot skies over. Ten minutes to go...
- Two minutes to go. I know that Dynamo are into defend mode right now, but there have to be better ways to play defense.
- Three minutes of stoppage time, three minutes from a USA vs. Mexico showdown in the CONCACAF semis...
- Punta's starting to run out of ideas. I don't expect Dynamo to hold on to the ball for the rest of the match so Punta might have one more chance.
- Well they don't get one more chance, that's it! SuperLiga comes five months early as the US and Mexican teams are the last four standing in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Houston Dynamo are the first MLS side to win a series against a Costa Rican club, and now they and DC United will try to be the
firstsecond to defeat a Mexican league side home and away.
CORRECTION (3/3/07, 21:57 CST): I checked the records for the CCC and found out that the Kansas City Wizards had won a series against Santos Laguna in the 2002 competition (3-2 on aggregate, 1-2 away and 2-0 at home). I have corrected the text above.
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