Matchday 4 is now in the books. Here are tonight's results:
(Grp A) Saprissa 2-2 DC United
(Grp B) Firpo 1-1 UNAM
Commentaries after the jump.
I think that if you asked DCU if they would take a point from Saprissa, they would be overjoyed. I don't believe they would have imagined leaving with a point in this manner. Nevertheless United are all but out of the Champions League. Saprissa are tied with Marathón and Cruz Azul on seven points but lie in third on goal difference. The Marathón-Saprissa match will be huge.
Firpo and UNAM combined for the fourth draw in seven matches played in Group B. UNAM has the inside track on a top two position, and Houston has the advantage over Firpo heading into the fifth matchday.
No one has clinched yet (Montreal hasn't done so mathematically) and no one has been eliminated, but in two weeks' time there will be a number of teams in both categories. Champions League returns later this month -- now it's time for World Cup qualifying!
2100: FULL TIME Saprissa 2-2 DC United
2059: But will DCU give the lead away? A corner to Saprissa, this has to be the last kick of the game. And it goes wayyyy wide, headed back toward the goal area, Wells catches it.
2057: GOAL Saprissa 2-2 DC United (90'+3)
And what a dramatic goal!!! A corner from the left side, and Rod Dyachenko chests -- yes, chests! -- the ball into the net past Porras.
2057: Hmmm, a free kick to DCU in Saprissa's half, and a corner to DCU.
2055: FULL TIME Firpo 1-1 UNAM
And it's over. Mercifully.
2054: I know I've said this before, but man is that field at Cuscatlán crap. Well into stoppage time now...I think everyone just wants this to end.
2052: Well, DC United were ten minutes away from leaving with all three points, but their lack of experience has shown in the final stages.
2050: GOAL Saprissa 2-1 DC United (86')
Keystone Kops in front of the net, Drummond heads it toward goal from the center of the penalty area, Alpízar hits the crossbar, and the substitute Cesar Elizondo rushes in unguarded to knock the ball into the net.
2049: Sorry for not providing updates on Firpo-UNAM, but it's really been stultifying. Only two more minutes in that game.
2047: That really wasn't good defending by DC United. They really struggled with the bounce on the artificial surface, and they left too much space to the Costa Rican players. And now they will have to deal with seven minutes of hell.
2046: And Tom Soehn has been asked to leave by the referee.
2045: GOAL Saprissa 1-1 DC United (82')
High bouncing ball whipped in, Carroll can't clear it, Wells comes out, and Jairo Arrieta knocks the ball into the net.
2043: Into the final ten minutes.
2041: That was a great tackle by DCU's Ryan Miller that saved a Saprissa advance on the right flank.
2040: DCU are dropping deeper into their half, Doe is even more isolated than he's been the entire match.
2037: The Saprissa partisans are starting to get disaffected with their team's effort. You can hear a growing chorus of whistles.
2036: About 15 minutes to go at Firpo-UNAM, and still no yellow cards.
2032: Also, the defensive line can't keep on leaving the posts unguarded. Arrieta was less than a foot away from Alpízar's deflected free kick.
2031: And one more free kick conceded by United. They can't keep on doing this.
2029: Another free kick conceded by United in front of their own penalty area. Alpízar's effort deflects off the head of Thompson for a corner. DCU can't clear their lines off the corner, and Alpízar takes a fierce shot from the left that Wells deflects away.
2028: Into the last half hour. UNAM and Firpo are scrapping about on Cuscatlán's muddy turf, and DCU are hanging on to a narrow lead at Saprissa's plastic pitch.
2017: GOAL LA Firpo 1-1 UNAM (53')
Pumas get the equalizer almost immediately. Ismael Iñíguez makes a good run on the right and his through ball finds Martín Bravo, who swivels and fires the ball past Hernández into the far corner.
2015: Looking at the replay, I'm not sure why the goal was disallowed. DCU got caught out on an offside trap but left the players on the far post onside. There was a player offside on the near post but he wasn't in the play.
2014: GOAL LA Firpo 1-0 UNAM (51')
Mauricio Quintanilla opens the scoring, on a header from a corner kick.
2013: HUGE dodge for DCU. Alpízar takes a great free kick that drifts wide of the far post, and Michael Barrantes is left alone to head it into the net, but it's waved off for offside.
2012: Saprissa have taken the initiative and drawn a couple of corner kicks, but those efforts are just dreadful.
2010: The second half of tonight's Champions League matches kicks off.
1956: HALFTIME Saprissa 0-1 DC United
Just a minute of time added on, and DCU take an unlikely lead into the locker room.
1954: Now into stoppage time at Saprissa.
1951: HALFTIME Firpo 0-0 UNAM
Mercifully there's no stoppage time added, and a tedious first half comes to an end.
1949: I know that CONCACAF mandates that teams play their strongest lineup possible for Champions League matches, but is it too much to ask that CONCACAF not defeat its own regulation by scheduling matches so close to World Cup qualifiers?
1947: Needless to say, the Firpo-UNAM match is not a good one. Both teams are struggling to string passes together.
1946: Good Lord is the field at Cuscatlán in bad shape. You'd think that with the fancy video board they have that they could spend some money on a field with a decent drainage system.
1944: DC United have been lucky, and they've taken advantage of their luck, but they are not doing a good job of managing this game. Way too many holes in the back and too little possession.
1942: PENALTY MISSED
Wow. Just wow. Alejandro Alpízar was aiming at the far post, Zach Wells had gone the other way...but Alpízar pushed it wide of the post.
1941: And it was a clear penalty. Rod Dyachenko tripped a player in the box during Alejandro Alpízar's free kick.
1941: PENALTY TO SAPRISSA
1937: The Saprissa-DCU scoreline does not in any way reflect the balance of play in the first half. Saprissa have been the dominant team, but it remains to be seen whether they can translate that dominance into goals.
1930: DCU really cannot continue to give up attacking free kicks to Saprissa. They have too much talent in the air against United's back line. Saprissa's speed is also taking advantage of the center backs being out of position.
1929: Free kick to Saprissa. Michael Barrantes puts in a great free kick, but the header is deflected away for a corner. The corner is even better, but Ronald Gómez's free header goes wide.
1926: Pumas get a corner, Bravo makes a fine turn and half-volley that is deflected brilliantly by Henry Hernández. Pumas have had the most dangerous chances up to now.
1924: And at the other end, Quintanilla floats a ball into the box that Leguizamón gets a head onto, but the ball falls wide of the far post.
1923: A strong run by Martín Bravo in the box, he crosses from the left and it passes too far in front of the advancing Pumas striker. Firpo dodged a huge one there.
1921: Saprissa have had more of the possession, but DCU took advantage of their lone opportunity.
1918: I propose a drinking game for every time Christian Miles uses the words "cosh" or "verve".
1915: GOAL Saprissa 0-1 DC United (6')
Francis Doe scores, off a defensive error deep in the Saprissa end, and DCU scores first(?!) in Central America!
1909: Finally underway at Saprissa. The audience might not be large in number, but they're certainly noisy!
1907: And we're off in El Salvador. Still going through the preliminaries in Saprissa.
1906: Not much of a crowd in Saprissa, and not much bigger at Estadio Cuscatlán. There can't be more than a few thousand at either venue.
1903: Back to the CCL...the teams are out, and we should be underway very shortly.
1900: Non-CCL related, but I'm watching the teams coming onto the pitch for Real Salt Lake's home opener. What a gorgeous stadium, and a great reception from the fans.
1855: Here's a preview from the Washington Post. And La Nación of Costa Rica.
1853: In addition, Firpo have three players suspended for this match -- Francisco Medrano (red card against San Francisco), Dennis Alas (second yellow card), and Patricio Gómez (second yellow card). UNAM will have some second-string players in the lineup, in preparation for their weekend league match against Cruz Azul. Here's a preview from El Salvador's El Gráfico.
1827: LA Firpo have three players in the El Salvador national team (Gómez, Salazar, and Monteagudo), while UNAM have no players represented in the Mexican national team, although four players have been called up in the past 12 months (Cacho, Barrera, Augusto, and Castro).
1822: I really don't understand why CONCACAF, with World Cup qualifiers on Saturday, scheduled these two matches on Thursday. Why not have matches on Tuesday and Wednesday? In future competitions, CONCACAF needs to push back the preliminary round by a couple of weeks and stretch the group stage by the same time period to allow for World Cup qualifier dates.
1818: A season with so much promise is about to come to an ignominious end for DC United. Only 16 players are making the trip to Costa Rica, and it will be far from a first-choice squad. Saprissa will be without several players due to World Cup qualifiers on the weekend, but I don't think the final result will be any different.
Comments