Toluca earns fourth Mexican spot in CCL quarters
October 21, 2009
A second-half penalty kick by Israel Lopez forged a 1-1 draw for Toluca against D.C. United on Tuesday and clinched the Mexican squad’s berth in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals at Estadio Nemesio Diez.
Los Diablos join fellow Mexican sides Cruz Azul, Pachuca and Pumas in the knockout stage, as well as the Columbus Crew. Meanwhile, D.C. United, which became the second Major League Soccer team to earn a point on Mexican soil, will have to wait for Thursday’s Group B finale between Marathon and San Juan Jabloteh in Trinidad to know if it will advance.
Marathon needs a victory to advance, or D.C. will claim the second berth from Group B.
D.C. United jumped in front six minutes after the opening kickoff on Chris Pontius’ second goal of the Group Stage. Luciano Emilio latched onto a long punt from goalkeeper Steve Cronin and, after one bounce, headed back to Pontius. The rookie took the ball off his chest and unleashed a blast inside the near post.
For a while it appeared Los Diablos wouldn’t solve D.C. goalkeeper Steve Cronin, who was pressed into action early and often.
In the 37th minute, the recently acquired keeper dived to his right to snare Issac Brizuela’s low, hard shot from distance and in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Raul Nava headed Brizuela’s cross off the crossbar.
Toluca equalizeD in the 62nd minute after Trinidadian referee Geoffrey Hospedales pointed to the spot for a clumsy challenge by Lawson Vaughn that sent Lopez tumbling to the ground near the end line.
Lopez, who came on for Vladimir Marin just three minutes earlier, put a low shot past Cronin, who dived to his left in vain.
Two minutes later, the visitors had their best chance to regain the lead, but Devon McTavish’s diving header from 10 meters was wide of the net.
Toluca was safe to advance with a draw, but the hosts still pressed for the winning goal. Diego De La Torre’s bouncing shot in the 66th minute was wide to Cronin’s left and then Cronin came up with a diving save at the edge of the six-yard box on Nava in the 73rd minute.
Toluca completed the group stage with a 4-1-1 record atop Group B with 13 points. D.C. United was next with 10 points, one better than Marathon. But while Toluca is through, D.C. United must wait until Thursday to learn its fate.
TOLUCA, Mexico
Tags: B. D.C. United, brizuela, champions league quarterfinals, columbus crew, concacaf champions league, cruz azul pachuca, Devon, devon mctavish, Diego De La, diego de la torre, estadio nemesio diez, Geoffrey Hospedales, israel, knockout stage, Lawson Vaughn, luciano emilio, Major League Soccer, marathon, Mexico, nemesio, Nemesio Diez, penalty kick, Raul Nava, san juan, san juan jabloteh, steve cronin, stoppage time, Toluca, Trinidad, Vladimir MarinRelated posts
Cruz Azul leads way into CCL quarterfinals
September 26, 2009
Cruz Azul is in the quarterfinals. And its fellow Mexican clubs are not far behind.
La Maquina, which played in last year’s final, became the first team to book its spot into the CONCACAF Champions League knockout stage with a 2-0 win against the Columbus Crew on Wednesday at Crew Stadium.
Toluca and Pumas are a point away from the final eight and Pachuca is sitting atop its group.
Pablo Zeballos and Alejandro Vela struck for Cruz Azul, which sit atop Group C with 10 points from four matches.
“We did enough to merit the win,” Cruz Azul coach Enrique Meza said. “They did a lot offensively, but we did enough defensively. We defended well despite the offensive intensity they were coming with and the domination they had at the end. Our defense and our goalkeeper did very well. We lost the ball, but a lot of it was due to the pressure they had. But we were able to withstand that.”
Despite seeing its unbeaten streak at Crew Stadium snapped at 24 games, Columbus remains alone in second place, two points clear of Saprissa ahead of next week’s clash against the Costa Rican side in Columbus. With two points from four matches, the Puerto Rico Islanders, which tied Saprissa 1-1 in Bayamon Tuesday, are still alive. The United Soccer League First Division squad will play at Estadio Azul next week.
After beating San Juan Jabloteh, 3-0, at Nemesio Diaz Wednesday night, Toluca just needed a Marathon win or draw against D.C. United to join Cruz Azul in the quarterfinals.
But the Major League Soccer club stayed alive in Group B with a convincing 3-0 victory against Marathon on Thursday at RFK Stadium thanks to a pair of goals by Luciano Emilio and one by veteran Jaime Moreno, who was sent off late. D.C. United is now level with Marathon with six points from four matches, but D.C., which had a rare nine-day stretch without a game, currently has the edge in goal difference.
“We had a little while to prepare. It almost felt like a month compared to what we’ve been going through,” D.C. United coach Tommy Soehn said. “You can feel that there was a little more energy from our guys. It still wasn’t perfect, but it was more of a complete performance than we’ve had in a while.”
With Honduran airports closed amid political strife, Marathon’s long journey to Washington included a six-hour bus ride to Guatemala, a flight to Miami and a connection to Reagan National Airport, where the exhausted team arrived at 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
“Without taking anything away from D.C. United, Marathon only played 45 minutes,” Marathon coach Manuel Keosseian said through an interpreter. “The other 45 minutes were a valiant effort, but we really didn’t have much energy…We felt the wear and tear of the travel.”
Marathon is scheduled to host Toluca in San Pedro Sula on October 1, while D.C. United hosts Jabloteh — which has been eliminated from contention — a day earlier.
Pachuca still leads Group A, but the Mexican squad is just two points clear of the Houston Dynamo and Arabe Unido with two games left in the Group Stage. CONCACAF Champions League scoring leader Ulises Mendivil tallied twice for Pachuca in a 4-0 win against Metapan, which dashed the quarterfinal hopes of the El Salvadoran Clausura champion.
Houston is in second on goal difference after thrashing Arabe Unido 5-1, the Panamanian’s first loss of the Group Stage. Second-half substitute Stuart Holden struck twice, Eddie Robinson, Cam Weaver and Corey Ashe also scored for the Dynamo, who host Pachuca on Wednesday at Robertson Stadium. Arabe Unido will meet winless Metapan at home a day earlier.
In Group D, Pumas crushed Real Espana 4-0 at home Thursday night. Pumas, which has only one victory in the Mexican Apertura and is 16th in the 18-team league, can claim its place with a draw at home on Wednesday against W Connection.
Thanks to a Jonathan Frias second-half hat trick, the Trinidad & Tobago club defeated Comunicaciones 3-0 in Guatemala City Wednesday night to move into third place with four points, three behind group leader Pumas and two behind Comunicaciones.
Pumas hosts W Connection Wednesday, while Real Espana, which has three points from four matches, is home against Comunicaciones.
By Dylan Butler
Tags: columbus crew, concacaf champions league, crew stadium, cruz azul, d c united, Enrique Meza, goal difference, jaime moreno, knockout stage, luciano emilio, Major League Soccer, pachuca, puerto rico islanders, rfk stadium, san juan jabloteh, saprissa, soccer club, united soccer leagueRelated posts
D.C. tops Marathon 3-0 to re-ignite CCL chances
September 25, 2009
Luciano Emilo scored a pair of second-half goals to give D.C. United a 3-0 victory over Marathon Thursday night, re-igniting the U.S. Major League Soccer club’s chances of reaching the quarterfinals in the CONCACAF Champions League.
The result left both D.C. United and Marathon, the only Central American club to advance to the knockout stage last year, with six points, six behind Group B leader Toluca with two matches remaining. The Mexican side has all but clinched its place in the quarterfinals, but needed a win or draw by Marathon on Thursday to assure itself of joining Cruz Azul in the final eight.
Only two teams from each group advance. If D.C. and Marathon finished tied on points, D.C. would advance on goal difference, having scored in a 3-1 loss in Honduras on August 19. Marathon was coming off a 7-0 thrashing by Toluca last week in Mexico.
Despite playing without several regulars due to chronic injury problems, D.C. was the more aggressive from the start. Luciano Emilio put a final touch wide from the edge of the goal box in the sixth minute after being sent in from combination play by Santino Quaranta and Chris Pontius.
Emilio volleyed a corner kick high in the 19th and Rodney Wallace was high with a header in the 32nd. D.C. goalkeeper Josh Wicks needed a diving save to his right to punch wide Carlos Mejia’s 23-meter drive in the 14th and had to tap Arnol Solorzano’s free kick from 30 meters over the bar in the 42nd in Marathon’s best opportunities of the first 45 minutes.
D.C. coach Tommy Soehn made a fortuitous substitution two minutes before halftime, replacing rookie Tiyiselani Shipalane with Moreno, who made an impact almost immediately to start the second half.
D.C. continued to create chances and finally converted in the 47th when Pontius sprinted in from his left side position and Avery John pushed up from his defensive spot to find time and space. His low driven cross found Emilio, who put himself between Mario Beata and Mario Berrios, leaping from the edge of the goal box to drive a header back across just inside the left post.
Eight minutes later, Emilio worked his way free on the right edge of the penalty area and sent a cross that Quaranta dropped into the path of Moreno, who used his left foot to strike the side netting from 10 meters.
Emilio capped his performance with a second goal in the 71st, taking a ball from Ben Olsen 45 yards from goal, turning and driving on Marathon keeper Juan Obelar before scoring.
Marathon will host Toluca next week before finishing away against San Juan Jabloteh on October 22. D.C. will host Jabloteh next week before completing its Group Stage schedule against Toluca on October 20.
WASHINGTON
Tags: carlos mejia, chris pontius, chronic injury, cruz azul, d c united, emilo, free kick, goal difference, knockout stage, luciano emilio, Major League Soccer, quarterfinals, santino quaranta, side position, six points, soccer club, solorzano, Toluca, week in mexicoRelated posts
D.C. United ends skid with 1-0 victory over Jabloteh
September 16, 2009
Christian Gomez’s first-half penalty kick lifted D.C. United to a 1-0 victory against San Juan Jabloteh in a CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage match at Hasley Crawford Stadium in Trinidad Tuesday night.
It was D.C. United’s first-ever CONCACAF Champions League group stage victory and one that keeps the Major League Soccer team alive in the competition. Winless Jabloteh is all but eliminated from advancing out of Group B.
Gomez stepped to the spot after referee Trevor Taylor ruled Noel Williams handled a cross in the box when he slid and tackled the ball away from Luciano Emilio. After a slight hesitation, Gomez beat Jabloteh goalkeeper Cleon John low and to the right of the keeper to give D.C. United a 1-0 lead in the 14 minutes.
Williams attempted to atone for his mistake, but his shot from distance sailed wide to D.C. United goalkeeper Milos Kocic’s right in the 21st minute.
Four minutes later, Kocic came up big, making three saves at the near post, twice denying Lester Peltier. Moments later, Ataulla Guerra’s attempt from 16 meters skipped wide of the far post for the hosts.
Off a D.C. United giveaway in the midfield, San Juan Jabloteh’s Jason Marcano lobbed the ball at the open net after Kocic came off his line, but Julius James tracked back and cleared the ball off the line in the 42nd minute.
Peltier was played behind the D.C. defense on the hour mark, but his left-footed shot from the top of the 18-yard box sailed over the crossbar.
Emilio nearly added to United’s lead, hitting a low, hard shot from distance in the 64th minute that eluded a diving John but was just wide of the far post.
Twice midway through the second half, Jabloteh had open headers in the box, but Devon Jamerson and Jerrel Britto both missed the target with their attempts five minutes apart.
With a quarter hour remaining, Jabloteh was given a chance to equalize when Taylor apparently ruled Kocic violated the six-second rule, but Williams badly mis-hit his attempt from the top of the 18-yard box.
One minute later, Devon McTavish played a great ball inside the area that Gomez latched onto, but John bobbled the shot before it was cleared away for the game’s first corner kick.
In the 83rd minute, Gomez played the ball over the top to Danny Szetela, who was unable to get off a shot.
Peltier had Jabloteh’s final chance to equalize in the 87th minute when he took James’ bad touch and raced inside the box. But James recovered nicely and blocked the attempt with a sliding tackle.
Both teams resume group play next week, with D.C. United hosting co-leader Marathon at RFK Stadium on Thursday, while Jabloteh will head to Mexico to take on Toluca the day before.
PORT-of-SPAIN
Tags: concacaf champions league, Crawford Stadium, crossbar, d c united, D.C., Devon, Emilio, far post, group stage, Jason Marcano, jerrel, lester peltier, luciano emilio, Major League Soccer, marcano, Mexico, Milos Kocic, Noel Williams, penalty kick, san juan, soccer team, Spain, target, trevor taylor, Trinidad TuesdayRelated posts
Toluca, Marathon battle for Group B lead
September 15, 2009
It’s still early in the CONCACAF Champions League group stage, but a battle for Group B supremacy will take place at Nemesio Diaz as Toluca host Marathon on Thursday night.
Both teams have won their first two matches and are two of four teams among the final 16 to have secured the full six points from their first two matches.
Toluca comes into the match off a 1-0 victory against Indios in Ciudad Juarez in the Mexican Apertura on Saturday. Chilean Hector Mancilla scored the game’s lone goal, heading in Antonio Naelson’s cross two minutes before halftime.
Indios, which was reduced to 10 men in the 63rd minute when Juan Ramon Curbelo was sent off for a late challenge on Naelson, had an equalizer disallowed by the referee in the second half.
Toluca is eight points clear of San Luis in Apertura’s Group 1 and is atop the entire league with six wins in its first eight matches.
But Los Choriceros also received a bit of bad news Saturday when goalkeeper Hernan Cristante was replaced in the final quarter hour after suffering a dislocated patella in his left knee.
Marathon also sits atop the Honduran Apertura, two points clear of rival Olimpia after 10 rounds. Mitchell Brown struck for a pair to lift Marathon to a 2-0 win at Hispano on Saturday, stretching his team’s league unbeaten streak to four straight.
In what is essentially an elimination match, D.C. United travels to Trinidad & Tobago to take on San Juan Jabloteh in a meeting of winless teams in Group B at Hasley Crawford Stadium Tuesday night in Port-of-Spain.
D.C., which secured just one point in last year’s group stage, will be playing its third match in six days. On Wednesday, United defeated the Kansas City Wizards 1-0 with Luciano Emilio scoring his ninth goal of the year.
On Saturday,however , D.C. fell to the Seattle Sounders FC for the second time in 10 days at RFK Stadium with Colombian Fredy Montero striking the decisive goal six minutes from full time. Montero also scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final, a win that clinched the Sounders FC berth in next year’s CONCACAF Champions League.
It was D.C.’s first Major League Soccer home loss of the season.
Jabloteh is currently second in the Digicel Pro League, two points behind Joe Public. The two sides played to a goalless draw on Tuesday. Jabloteh bolstered its defense by adding Glenton Wolfe from W Connection, where he was used mostly for the Savonetta Boys reserves.
However, having been listed on W Connection’s roster as far back as the Preliminary Round, he is ineligible to play for Jabloteh in the Champions League this season.
“I want to be more active,” Wolfe told the Digicel Pro League website. “I wasn’t getting that at Connection.”
By Dylan Butler
Tags: Antonio Naelson, champions league group, ciudad juarez, concacaf champions league, Crawford Stadium, curbelo, decisive goal, dislocated patella, Dylan Butler, entire league, group stage, hasley crawford, hector mancilla, joe public, juan ramon, Juan Ramon Curbelo, Kansas City, kansas city wizards, Lamar Hunt, lone goal, luciano emilio, mexican apertura, mitchell brown, nemesio, Nemesio Diaz, ninth goal, port of spain, rfk stadium, san juan, san juan jabloteh, seattle sounders, Tobago, Trinidad, U.S., W. ConnectionRelated posts
Late pair lifts Marathon over D.C. 3-1
August 19, 2009
Marathon scored a pair of goals in the final seven minutes to defeat D.C. United 3-1 in the opening game of Group C in the CONCACAF Champions League Tuesday night at Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano.
Jerry Palacios scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 83rd minute when he moved inside of D.C. defender Greg Janicki, took a touch off of Glen Brown’s flicked header and tapped the ball past goalkeeper Josh Wicks and inside the far post.
Five minutes later, Salvadorian referee Elmer Bonilla pointed to the spot after a trip by Janicki in the box and Mario Berrios added the insurance, putting his penalty high and to Wicks’ right.
Wicks saved Berrios’ first attempt, a low shot to his right, but Bonilla ruled Clyde Simms had encroached and allowed Berrios to take a second shot.
Janicki had a difficult match. His gaffe led to Marathon’s first goal in the 23rd minute as the defender missed attempting to clear Mauricio Sabillon’s open cross from the right, and Walter Martinez pounced, tapping the ball into the net.
Late in the first half, Marathon’s Uruguayan goalkeeper goalkeeper Juan Obelar tipped Andrew Jacobson’s shot from 30 meters as United had another corner. Following a second corner, Ben Olsen attempted to chip the goalkeeper from the edge of the 18-yard box, but his attempt was over the bar.
D.C. United coach Tommy Soehn made his first change at the half, bringing on Santino Quaranta for Jaime Moreno.
Three minutes later, Quaranta’s corner led to D.C.’s equalizer as Luciano Emilio headed the ball past Obelar after Julius James initial downward header was saved. Emilio headed in the rebound before being bloodied as a result of a clash of heads with defender Erick Norales.
In the 55th minute, Andrew Jacobson’s low shot from 22 yards out rolled just wide to Obelar’s right.
Quaranta played another great ball in toward the back post in the 63rd minute, but Obelar parried away Devon McTavish’s diving header for another D.C. corner.
The visitors appeared to tire late and Marathon took full advantage, dominating in the final quarter hour.
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras
Both teams resume Group C action next Wednesday with Marathon hosting Trinidad & Tobago’s San Juan Jabloteh and D.C. United taking on Mexican side Toluca at RFK Stadium.
Tags: andrew jacobson, ben olsen, bonilla, clyde simms, d c united, D.C., devon mctavish, Elmer Bonilla, Emilio, Erick Norales, far post, first half marathon, gaffe, Glen Brown, Goalkeeper, Greg Janicki, Honduras, Jabloteh, janicki, Josh Wicks, Juan, Julius James, luciano emilio, Mario Berrios, Mauricio Sabillon, rfk stadium, san juan, san pedro sula, Tobago, Tommy Soehn, Trinidad, uruguayan, Walter MartinezRelated posts
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