March 10 – Concacaf Champions Cup favourites, LAFC, will be disappointed after 90 minutes of frustration as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Costa Rica’s LD Alajuelense in the 1st leg of the round of 16.
The Black and Gold controlled possession, created chances, and spent much of the half attacking, and yet still found themselves a goal down at half-time after Alejandro Bran opened up the scoring against the run of play in the 44thminute. His stunning volley will be talked about for years to come in Costa Rica, as it was a strike that simply took the breath away.
In the home team’s dressing room, LAFC coach Marcos Dos Santos would’ve looked at the stat sheet and wondered how his team wasn’t in complete cruise control. The possession percentage was 75/25 in his team’s favor. The shot count was 13 to 1, and the expected goals were x1.8, but they would find Alajuelense goalkeeper, Washington Ortega, in inspired form. The Uruguayan played perhaps his best game ever for the club after a lengthy spell at La Equidad in Colombia.
Alajuelense boss, Óscar Antonio Ramírez, who has the club running through his DNA, having played with the team for 10 years, and three different spells in the hot seat, was fully aware of the value of an away goal, and instructed his team to keep LAFC shooting from distance.
With pressure building, LAFC began pressing but Ortega held firm until the duo of Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min combined to get Black and Gold on the scoresheet for Bouanga’s tournament-leading 4th goal.
With confidence and momentum now surging through the home side, it felt like the dam was ready to break, but Alajuelense refused to bend. The shots continued to come from all angles.
Son, Bouanga, Timothy Tillman and Artem Smoliakov all had sighters but wayward finishes, and the brilliance of Ortega kept the score at 1-1.
When Víctor Alfonso Cáceres Hernández blew for full-time, the realisation of what Alajuelense had achieved was clear to see on the faces of their players and coaching staff. This was the ultimate smash and grab, and clearly illustrated by LAFC goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris, who had a paltry 13 touches of the ball in 90 minutes compared to Ortega, who had 57 and 10 huge saves.
The teams will next meet on Tuesday, March 17, at Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Costa Rica for the second leg. LAFC must still be considered the favorites, but know that they must find a goal if they are to advance to face either Cruz Azul or Monterrey.
Leg 1: LAFC 1 LA Alajuense 1 – BMO Stadium
Leg 2: March 17 at 9 pm ET – Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto