Matchday 2 of Group Stage as it happened [Wednesday]

Time for tonight's Matchday 2 action in the CONCACAF Champions League

Marathón 2-0 DC United
UNAM 3-0 LA Firpo
Joe Public 1-3 Olimpia
Montreal Impact 0-0 Atlante

2105:  Well that's it for tonight.  USL and MLS continue in different directions in the Champions League, and the Honduran sides have a great night.  The second matchday concludes with Tauro-Municipal tomorrow.  Thanks for following tonight's action!

2104:  FULL TIME Marathón 2-0 DC United
The Hondurans take control of Group A, and DCU are bottom and in serious trouble.

2103:  Just playing out the last few seconds...

2100:  Perhaps with the injuries to the strikers and midfield players, this result by DC United should be expected.  It doesn't make it any less painful or depressing.

2100:  FULL TIME UNAM 3-0 LA Firpo

2059:  Now in stoppage time at Marathón-DCU; four minutes to be added.  And a fourth UNAM goal was disallowed in the dying moments of stoppage time.

2057:  In stoppage time in Mexico, and a minute away from doing so in Honduras.

2055:  It looks like MLS clubs will continue their winless streak in the Champions League.  Just two goals scored in the preliminary round, and none in the three group matches played.

2051:  GOAL Marathón 2-0 DC United
DCU falls asleep on the free kick, and Erick Norales rises up to head the ball past Crayton into the far corner.  That will certainly seal the three points for the Honduran side.

2050:  Less than ten minutes left in tonight's matches.

2045:  There's a fair amout of end-to-end action in Mexico, but Pumas are firmly in command.  The game's been over for 50 minutes, anyway.

2040:  Great double save by Crayton keeps DCU in the game, and it's a Marathón corner.

2035:  GOAL Marathón 1-0 DC United
Chávez makes a dangerous run to the top of the box against two defenders, is well-tackled by Thompson (I think), but the ball makes it to Milton Núñez who sidesteps Burch and shoots past Crayton into the near corner of the net.  DCU were playing well, but Marathón took advantage of their pace and attacking ability.

2028:  The commentators are saying that DCU had a twelve hour flight from LA to Honduras.  Twelve hours?!?  Did they fly from LA to DC and then to San Pedro Sula??

2027:  DCU have improved in the second half, but their passes still aren't crisp enough.  It's choppy but effective.

2024:  Finally a decent sequence from DC United.  They link together with some effectiveness (great pass from Simms), and Khumalo is in on goal, but he leans back while he shoots and the ball skies over the bar.

2022:  Pumas are picking up where they left off.  They just hit the post a minute ago.  It's going to be a challenge for Firpo to hold Pumas under five goals.

2020:  Tom Soehn has decided to deploy Emilio has a lone striker and dropping Dyachenko back into the midfield.  It's doing a good job of frustrating the Marathón attacks so far.

2014:  And the second half is underway in our evening Champions League matches.

2004:  And a correction on the Joe Public-Olimpia game...it was Robert Dwarika who was sent off, not Richardson.  Dwarika has the longer dreads.

1957:  HALFTIME Marathón 0-0 DC United

1956:  HALFTIME UNAM 3-0 LA Firpo

1956:  Now in injury time in our evening games.

1950:  Marathón were most dangerous on the right side against Cruz Azul, and they're most dangerous on the right against DCU tonight.  Hmmm, perhaps the DCU defense should pay more attention to that side.

1949:  In the middle of all the excitement in Mexico City, Marathón hit the post on a free kick.  And UNAM just hit the post a few seconds ago.

1947:  GOAL UNAM 3-0 LA Firpo
Off a corner, a series of wild Firpo deflections finds the ball at David Cabrera's feet, and he converts coolly into the far corner.  And now Pumas have broken the game wide open, and there are still 50 minutes left!

1945: GOAL UNAM 2-0 LA Firpo
UNAM break through after 10 minutes of sustained pressure.  Orlando Torres enters alone on the left side of goal and slots it home.

1942:  And once again, the local feed has dropped out (this time during the Marathón-DCU match).  This is getting to be embarrassing for CONCACAF.  Correction -- this is embarrassing for CONCACAF.

1941:  Lots of action all over.  Núñez fires in a shot wide of the near post, and UNAM is firing in shots from all over the field.

1936:  Marathón should be up 2-0.  Chávez on the right plays in Martínez with a beautiful pass, Martínez rounds Crayton, but his shot is deflected by Burch's toe onto the near post.

1934:  Raining hard in Mexico City.  A lot of the matches have been affected by rain -- one of the problems of playing in a tropical region during hurricane season.

1933:  Brian Dunseth comments that the passes from DCU aren't crisp and precise enough to make an impact on this game.  You could copy that statement and use it for any MLS team participating in international competition.

1932:  And DC United makes a run forward, a cross from the left is spilled by the Marathón 'keeper Gutiérrez, and Emilio gets in a tangle with the 'keeper's arms for the ball.  It's eventually cleared away,

1928:  Oooh, Firpo makes their first foray upfield in about 15 minutes and the UNAM 'keeper Bernal is forced to block the ball away at the near post.

1925: UNAM are winning comfortably, and Marathón are attacking comfortably.

1921: GOAL UNAM 1-0 LA Firpo
David Cabrera scores on a header off a UNAM corner.

1920:  It's early in Mexico City...UNAM have had more offensive action lately, but Firpo has produced the only shot on goal so far.

1916:  Marathón is now playing the same gameplan that they executed against Cruz Azul: blazing counterattacks.  Martínez was played in beautifully by a cross from the right and he really should have scored, but Crayton made an excellent save.

1913:  And we're off in San Pedro Sula.  And I believe we're also underway in Mexico City, too.

1912:  And the sideline seats are indeed nicely populated.  Maybe 8,000-10,000?

1910:  Marathón and DC United are on the field in San Pedro Sula right now.  Battle of the two-headed eagle versus the one-headed eagle!  I hope the sideline seats are filled because the end seats are totally empty.

1907:  There are four games scheduled for tonight which is unusual since they've scheduled three matches on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  So now there is only one match on Thursday when Tauro hosts Municipal.

1905:  The early games were wrapping up when I arrived home.  Olimpia defeated Joe Public on the road tonight to remain in contention in Group C.   Joe Public had a man sent off, it looked like Richardson but I'm not sure.