I'm home way too late to give commentary on the early matches, but I should be able to comment on the late game. Here we go:
San Juan Jabloteh 3-0 San Francisco F (3-2 agg.)
Árabe Unido 1-0 Olimpia F (2-2 agg.)
Real España 6-0 Liberia Mía F (6-3 agg.)
Commentary after the jump.
Tonight has been a dramatic night throughout the region. Two huge comebacks and one very big upset round out the evening. So now the four groups in the Champions League are set. A very triumphant night from Trinidadian football as they place two teams in CONCACAF's showpiece event. A mixed bag for Panama and Honduras, a disaster for Costa Rica and MLS, and some traditional powers in Mexico return to the group stage. The national teams retake the stage next week, but the Champions League will be back in two weeks' time.
A historic turnaround as Real España surge into the group phase of the CONCACAF Champions League. Carlos Pavón and Douglas Cateano will get credit for their hat-trick and brace, respectively, but for me the man-of-the-match was Oscar Bonilla. The second heavy defeat suffered by a Costa Rican side in two weeks. Wow.
2059: FULL TIME Real España 6-0 Liberia Mía
(Real España win 6-3 on aggregate)
2057: GOAL Real España 6-0 Liberia Mía (90'+2) (6-3 agg.)
Another beautiful through ball puts Douglas Cateano one-on-one with Mésen, and he delicately chips over the 'keeper's head into the goal. Awesome. I have to applaud that.
2056: Entering stoppage time. Real are three minutes away from the group stage.
2054: Gorgeous pass from the Real España midfield, perfectly weighted for Medina, but his shot past Mésen just rolls past the far post. That would have been Real's sixth.
2051: Liberia are trying hard to get the ball, but Real aren't letting them. That fifth goal was a back-breaker. Three minutes to go.
2050: Honduras fans will hope that Pavón has a few more goals left in him when Costa Rica come to this stadium next Wednesday.
2049: I was saying that most of the dangerous action from Real appeared to be coming from the left, but all of the goals in this game have come in the end from that right side.
2045: GOAL Real España 5-0 Liberia Mía (81')
And that could just about clinch Real's place in the group stage. Big cross from the right by the Brazilian Mattoso, and the ball finds its way to Carlos Pavón to redirect into the net. Pavón's third goal and he leads Real España's locomotive which is chugging along at full speed.
2045: Ten minutes to go.
2040: Even with ten men, Liberia are able to get down the field, and a hard shot on goal forces a save from Macías. Remember that Liberia can still win the tie with a single goal.
2040: RED CARD Liberia Mia (75')
Walter Cheves brings down Bonilla I think right at the edge of the box. I thought it was a penalty for a second, but the replay shows that the foul occurred about a meter in front of the line. Very very close, but Cheves picked up his second yellow, and Liberia are down to ten men.
2037: GOAL Real España 4-0 Liberia Mía (73') (4-3 agg.)
What a great goal! Deep corner into the box by Bonilla, headed down by Martínez into the center of the area, and Carlos Pavón converts his second goal of the night with a scissor kick. Fantastic team effort, and Real are now ahead in the tie!
2036: There have been a couple from the right, but they have been closed down by the Liberia left back.
2035: Real are continuing to probe that left flank of the Costa Rican team. Just about every attack I've seen from them in the second half has come from there.
2034: Strong run by Henry Martínez into the Liberia box, and not a single defender approaches him. Mésen has to come out hard to cut him off.
2031: Liberia Mía are passing way too casually in the back, and taking way too long to build up into midfield. Real take possession inside the Olimpia flank, and Pavón's shot goes wide. But the series has swung emphatically toward the Honduran side.
2030: I really need a second monitor to watch the games while I type.
2026: I had to take a bio break, but now it's now 3-0 to Real España! Marlon Peña scored the third goal to even the tie. And now it's anyone's game!
2010: The second half kicks off in San Pedro Sula. Real España need one more goal to turn the tie around, but one goal from Liberia could change everything.
1953: HALF TIME Real España 2-0 Liberia Mía (2-3 agg.)
1926: GOAL Real España 2-0 Liberia Mía (16') (2-3 agg.)
Gorgeous cross from Bonilla on the right flank, and who else but Carlos Pavón -- Real España's all-time leading goalscorer -- to head the ball past Álvaro Mesen. Now Real España need one more goal to level the tie!
1918: I finally found the score of the Jabloteh-San Francisco match, and Jabloteh did indeed win 3-0. The CONCACAF website says that the final score was 3-2, but that doesn't make any sense at all, especially when you read the match summary.
1910: GOAL Real España 1-0 Liberia Mía (4') (1-3 agg.)
The Honduran side's first foray down the field, Carlos Pavón hits the post, and the Brazilian players Douglas Cateano collected the rebound.
1908: Real España and Liberia Mía have kicked off. The Hondurans need to score four times to turn around the series.
1905: Looking at the highlights, Árabe Unido were much closer to their second goal than Olimpia to the equalizer. What I can't believe is this incredible miss by one the Unido players (the black player with a blond dye job -- Victor Mendieta). All alone in front of goal, Perfect cross at his feet, he meets the ball and...falls backward without moving the ball at all!! You simply must see this; I'm almost certain it will be on YouTube very soon.
1905: Wild celebrations in Panama, as the fans, players, and staff of Árabe Unido celebrate their passage to the Champions League group stage. The Honduran announcers can't believe what has just happened, and frankly, neither can I.
1900: FULL TIME San Juan Jabloteh 3-0 San Francisco
(San Juan Jabloteh wins 3-2 on aggregate)
1900: FULL TIME Árabe Unido 1-0 Olimpia
(Series tied 2-2 on aggregate, Árabe Unido advance on away goals rule)
1858: And Olimpia are down to ten men after Edwin Ávila was shown a red card.
1857: Árabe Unido and Olimpia, now deep in stoppage time.
1853: An incredible match in Trinidad & Tobago, as Jabloteh have turned about the two-goal deficit from the away leg and now lead the series 3-2. Very little time left down there.
1848: Here I am. Looking around for updates, but the matches have to be close to finished by now. Assuming that the series is tied after 90 minutes tonight.
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