Marathon joins Champions League quarterfinals with 4-2 victory

October 23, 2009

Marathon claimed the next-to-last place in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League Thursday night, beating San Juan Jabloteth 4-2 on three second-half goals by Jerry Nelson Palacios.

The victory moved the Honduran side past D.C. United into second place in Group B behind Toluca and ended Jabloteh’s Champions League run with a sixth straight loss. Jabloteh, which finished with 10 men, was the only team in the Group Stage that failed to earn at least a draw in its six matches.

Marathon joined Mexican sides Pachuca, Toluca, Cruz Azul and Pumas as well as Arabe Unido of Panama and the Columbus Crew of U.S. Major League Soccer in the knockout round. It will learn its quarterfinal opponent when CONCACAF conducts its Championship Round draw on November 17 at its New York headquarters.

Marathon dominated from the outset, taking the lead in the 26th minute and hitting the bar twice in the first half while limiting Jabloteh to two shots on goal in the first 45 minutes, one of which it converted for a goal.

The Honduran side started early, forcing Jabloteh keeper Cleon John into a save in the fourth minute when Walter Martinez ran onto a ball over the top and tested him. Palacios side-footed a cross off the bar in the 17th from the edge of the six-yard box and Guillermo Ramirez twisted a shot from the top of the penalty area that John smothered at the near post.

Martinez finally converted for Marathon in the 26th, taking a ball out of the back and lobbing it from just inside the area over John.

Marathon continued to hold the majority of possession and create chances and appeared to have a second in the 37th when Ramirez raced down the middle and unleashed a right-footed shot that crashed off the underside of the crossbar, bounced down and out.

Jabloteh had not managed more than a shot from distance in the 35th that Marathon keeper Juan Angel Obelar easily handled, but the Caribbean islanders equalized in the 42nd when Cyrano Glen side-footed a looping ball that was put back across the goal from a corner by Joel Russell.

Palacios put Marathon back in front in the 47th, running down the left side and shooting high over John. He doubled the lead in the 69th, running completely unmarked at the right post and heading Ramirez’s cross past John.

Travis Mulraine gave Jabloteh some hope in the 74th, running onto a ball in the area and shooting between the near post and Obelar from eight meters.

But Palacios restored the advantage in the 81st. Ramirez’s corner kick came to the top of the area where Mario Rene Berrios hit a low shot that Palacios, standing in the middle of the area, flicked past John with touch of his heel.

Marathon won for the fourth time in five games in all competitions after suffering through a three-match losing streak when it was outscored 12-0. Jabloteh was playing its third game in five days having lost 3-1 on Tuesday at Joe Public and drawn 0-0 with Ma Pau on Saturday in the TT Pro League Big Six.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad

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