Matchday 6 of Group Stage as it happens [Tuesday]

Tonight starts a decisive week in the CONCACAF Champions League, and if results go a certain way, we may not know all of the eight quarterfinalists until late next month.  Here were tonight's matches, with the highlight being the critical match in Group B:

[Group C] Olimpia 4-0 Joe Public F
[Group B] LA Firpo 1-1 Houston Dynamo F
[Group C] Atlante 2-1 Montreal Impact F

So Houston Dynamo give up a late goal but live to fight on in late November, after the conclusion of the MLS Cup playoffs.  Only a win in Houston will place the MLS side in the final eight.

Atlante get a late goal in the final minutes to secure top spot in Group C.  Montreal will be playing football in February, and I think they'll be happy with whoever they're playing.

That's it for tonight's action.  See you tomorrow with some more big games.

2101:  FULL TIME LA Firpo 1-1 Houston Dynamo
              FULL TIME Atlante 2-1 Montreal Impact

2058:  In the dying seconds, a Houston player commits a handball just outside the area.   Free kick to Firpo.  Alas, Alas decides to cannon the ball through the Houston wall and it's blocked and deflected away.

2054:  Into stoppage time.  Four minutes to go in the Firpo-Dynamo match; three minutes to be added in Atlante-Montreal.

2053:  Firpo are still attacking.  They know another goal will put them through.

2051:  GOAL LA Firpo 1-1 Houston Dynamo (87')
Agudo puts in a strong cross on the left, the Dynamo 'keeper Caig hesitates when Avila runs up to challenge, the ball goes to the ground, and Fernando Leguizamón is present to slot the ball into the net. 

2051:  Firpo are settling into the Houston end.  Less than three minutes to go.

2047:  GOAL Atlante 2-1 Montreal Impact (82')
Atlante had a corner, Luis Gabriel Rey put a header to it and the ball strikes the crossbar!  Weber parries the rebound away for a corner.  And on the ensuing play, Gabriel Pereyra puts his head to the ball and deflects it into the net. 

2044:  It's heating up big time in Cancún!  One of the Atlante players (Bermúdez) was fouled hard and the Montreal player responsible was shown a yellow card.  Then the referee shows cards to two Atlante players for lobbying for that previous yellow card.  And to top it all off, the Atlante manager José Cruz was sent off!

2039:  Holden and Cameron work well together...the ball gets to Holden inside the penalty area, he attempts a chip over Hernández but the captain Salazar knocks the ball off the line. 

2036:  Great shot by Ashe that Hernández is forced to deflect over the bar.  It looks like the ball would have hit the upper corner of the goal.

2034:  Still 1-1 in Cancún with 20 minutes to go.  Montreal is that much closer to top spot in Group C.

2032:  A cross from Velíz on the right finds Gómez who attempts an audacious overhead kick, but the ball goes wide of the near post.

2032:  Now Firpo are starting to push the tempo, and they're more dangerous on the left side.  The crowd is starting to get into it.

2029: Another warning from Firpo...they score a goal that is disallowed (wrongly, in my opinion) for offside.

2025:  Houston were starting to reassert themselves, but Firpo are able to launch a quick counterattack... Pedrano lays it off for Sánchez whose shot flies high and wide.  But that was Firpo's best effort of the match.

2018:  Suddenly a flurry of action from Houston - Wondolowski hits a weak effort on goal, and then a dispossession near the Firpo box and a shot that goes wide (Cameron I think).

2017:  Nice long pass to Ashe on the left, who puts in a well-weighted cross, but Kamara's header flies over the bar.

2016:  Firpo are playing better in the second half, but nothing in the way of goal-scoring chances.

2009:  Play resumes in the Champions League.

2008:  Houston and Firpo are back on the field, and we're almost ready to start the second half.  Atlante and Montreal should be on the field by now, if they aren't already.

A very good first half from the reserves leaves the Dynamo in command on their group match, while Montreal are 45 minutes away from a first-place finish in Group C.

1954:  HALF TIME LA Firpo 0-1 Houston Dynamo

1953:  HALF TIME Atlante 1-1 Montreal Impact

1951:  End-to-end action in Cancún right now.

1946:  Dynamo players may want to re-calibrate their tackles.  It appears that the Mexican referee is quick to blow his whistle and pull out yellow cards.

1940:  Wondolowski finds Kamara well, who makes a good turn and tries to powerfully strike it with his laces, but the ball sails powerfully over the top of the crossbar. 

1938:  Atlante are also making an early substitution.  I don't know if it's strategic or forced by injury.

1937:  Firpo finally make their first shot on goal, but Gómez's weak header in the box is easily saved.

1934:  These reserves are playing very well, and have frustrated the El Salvadoran side completely.

1933:  Great interchange work in the center of the field between Holden and Cameron, and Cameron's shot from the edge of the area takes a deflection and rolls wide of the post. 

1930:  Oscar Benítez is making an early substitution -- Medrano comes in for Calderón, which will mean a change in formation.  That's a big move and shows that the goal has put Firpo's plans into disarray.  Firpo really need a win tonight.

1924:  The commentators were mentioning the bumpiness of the pitch and that goal gave a good indication of that.

1923:  GOAL LA Firpo 0-1 Houston Dynamo (16')
Keystone Kops defending from Firpo - the ball bounces high off the throw-in over a pair of Firpo players, Calderón whiffs on it in the area, and Stuart Holden puts his left-footed shot away.

1921:  GOAL Atlante 1-1 Montreal Impact (13')
Clemente Ovalle nets the equalizer for los Potros.

1920:  Houston have had more of the chances on goal, but that backline pushes up very high...

1918:  That's a huge goal for Montreal, who are securing top spot in Group C with this performance.

1916:  GOAL Atlante 0-1 Montreal Impact (3')
Joey Gjertsen wins a ball in midfield and scores a long-range goal over the top of Atlante 'keeper Vilar.

1910:  Houston's back line has to be careful not to get caught out so high upfield.  Firpo were whistled for offside but it was a warning.

1907:  And we're off in tonight's matches.

1905:  I'd say that it's an average sized attendance at Estadio Cuscatlán, at least for the Champions League, but it looks tiny inside that cavernous stadium.

1903:  Now it's on to the late games.  Atlante and Montreal Impact are playing for first place in Group C, so that match is kind of important, but the big game is Firpo-Houston.  That will be tonight's featured game with periodic updates from the other match in Cancún.

1857:  Olimpia and Joe Public say goodbye to the Champions League in third and fourth places in Group C, respectively.

1857:  FULL TIME Olimpia 4-0 Joe Public

1856:  Now into stoppage time.  Olimpia very nearly get a fifth goal off a corner.

1854:  Looking at Joe Public play tonight, it's hard to believe that they defeated Atlante 1-0 away. 

1849:  GOAL Olimpia 4-0 Joe Public (87') 
That was just pathetic defending.  Free kick is taken, it goes off Scotland's head, not a single Joe Public player follows the ball, and one Olimpia player gets off a pass to Néstor Silva for an easy tap-in.  Silva doesn't even bother to celebrate it.

1848:  RED CARD Joe Public
Seon Powers received his second yellow card after a clumsy challenge on the edge of the box.

1848:  Very nearly  a penalty for Joe Public.

1847:  I missed the scorer of Olimpia's third goal, sorry.  It was a nice play, though.

1837:  GOAL Olimpia 3-0 Joe Public (72')

1835:  Firpo started their local championship and the Champions League very poorly, but have since recovered on both fronts.  Firpo played a league match on Sunday, so both teams will have had the same amount of rest time (the Dynamo reserves played their final match on Sunday).

1833:  Here are some previews...one from the Houston Chronicle, and the other from El Gráfico of El Salvador.

1830:  If the Dynamo lose tonight, it will mean that no MLS team will be represented in the last eight of the Champions League.  Bernardo Fallas wrote on his blog that such a failure might "give soccer fans here and abroad the impression that CONCACAF play is not important to MLS teams."  It might also give them the impression that MLS teams aren't very good in international competitions that require them to travel.

1828:  Meanwhile, Houston Dynamo are preparing for their important match against LA Firpo in El Salvador.  The big news is that the Dynamo will travel with their reserve squad that just won the MLS Reserve League championship.  That's a big task to ask of a second-string in international competition. 

1809:  The second half has started.  The match has no bearing on the Champions League, so don't expect a lot of updates.

1807:  Olimpia and Joe Public are playing right now before a crowd of hundreds in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.  Olimpia lead 2-0 at the half.

Come back later today for live commentary of the Firpo-Dynamo match.