March 17 – Standing-only crowds have been a rarity in this season’s Concacaf Champions Cup, but the visit of high-flying LAFC sent fans of Costa Rica’s LD Alajuelense to the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in their thousands, turning the venue into a bear pit for their 2nd leg of their round of 16 clash.
With a pulsating atmosphere, Alajuelense flew out of the gates and put Hugo Lloris in the LAFC goal under immediate pressure. Celso Borges stung the palms of the French World Cup winner in the 4th minute, leading to a corner, and from the set-piece, Santiago van der Putten sent the stadium into a frenzy.
LAFC couldn’t clear the ball, and after another Lloris save, van der Putten headed home from close range.
LD Alajuelense were ahead on aggregate 2-1 and suddenly looked a realistic prospect for the quarter finals.
The goal was the wake-up call for the visitors, who looked somewhat shell-shocked. Son Heung-Min, Nkosi Tafari, and Timothy Tillman all had opportunities, but their shooting was wayward and didn’t trouble Washington Ortega in the Alajuelense goal.
The pace of the match was breathtaking, leading to a high degree of physicality. Match referee, Marco Antonio Ortíz Nava became a busy man issuing yellow cards to Guillermo Villalobos, and Creichel Pérez, from Alajuelense, while Eddie Segura and Denis Bouanga also found the referee’s notebook for LAFC.
More chances fell LAFC’s way as the clock moved towards half-time. Denis Bouanga started to become more of an influence, creating opportunities for Tafari, Nathan Ordaz, and Segura in quick succession, but Alajuelense held firm.
The second half began with no changes from either Marcos Dos Santos or Óscar Ramírez, and there was no change in the pace and intensity either.
The foul count continued to climb. In the 50th minute, Aarón Salazar sliced Son Heung-Min in two with a brutal tackle. The South Korean retaliated, and a melee ensued. Both players found their way into Nava’s overflowing notebook.
Alajuelense’s tactics were clear. Unsettle the opponent, however, LAFC rammed it back in the faces with a goal of wonderful quality.
Just a minute after the fracas, Mark Delgado found Nathan Ordaz, whose first-time shot had pace, bend, and whip flying past Washington to tie the game and the tie, 1-1, 2-2 on aggregate.
Back came Alajuelense with Ceslo Borges, whose long-range effort brought out the best in Lloris.
With ten minutes left, both sides went for the win. Alejandro Boras narrowly missed wide for the home side, followed by Joel Campbell and then Ángel Zaldívar. The Alajuelense supporters could sense the opportunity for the upset victory, and the noise level increased to unprecedented levels.
LAFC are favorites for this competition for a reason, though, and in Bouanga and second-half substitute, David Martínez, they possess players who can produce the unexpected, and it was Martínez who would break the hearts of the home side.
With just a minute before full-time and the possibility of extra-time and penalties, the youngster picked up the ball thirty yards from goal before unleashing a rocket past Washington to win the game with almost the last kick of the ball. A brilliant strike and immediate contender for the goal of the round.
For Alajuelense, the end of the road and massive disappointment, but they can hold their heads high for everything they gave to both legs of the tie. The Black and Gold now march on and will face the Mexican heavyweights and current Champions Cup holders Cruz Azul.
LD Alajuelense 1 v 2 LAFC (2-3 agg)