Golden victory in Toronto – Islanders CCL opening match

July 31, 2009
Can't hear you know Toronto

Can't hear you now Toronto

John Krause in the above picture says it all perfectly. After many in the Toronto and the Canadian media (and even more fans) belittled the Puerto Rico team – the Islanders showed them how costly that can be. With a golden 1-0 victory over Toronto FC at BMO Stadium, the Islanders are now in great position to advance to the group stages of the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) when they face Toronto FC in Bayamon on Tuesday.

If you didn’t catch the game, you can see the highlights here:

http://torontofc.neulion.com/tfc/console.jsp?catid=2&id=944

or: see my previous post.

Well, what to say about the game? There’s not that much to be said that you haven’t probably already read in the media. I felt that I needed to take a step back, watch the game again, let it sink in, and then write about it. Certainly there were a lot of emotions going around in this game.

…Continue reading

Leave a Comment » | CCL, CONCACAF, Match Reports | Permalink
Posted by KVD

Islanders vs Toronto FC Highlights Video – From CONCACAF

July 31, 2009

Champions League | Video | Highlights Video | Highlights Video

Shared via AddThis

Leave a Comment » | Brief updates | Permalink
Posted by KVD

Brief update: Islanders win in Toronto

July 29, 2009

With some moments of great soccer, the Puerto Rico Islanders beat Toronto FC in their own home by a 1-0 margin. This important win on the road puts them in good standing to pass onto the CCL group stage.

More on this later…

Leave a Comment » | CCL | Permalink
Posted by KVD

Champions League time: PR Islanders vs Toronto FC match-preview

July 29, 2009

islanders-vs-torontofc

If you’re a longtime Islanders fan like me – this post needs no introduction. You’ve had this date marked on the calendar for a while now, you’ve run all kinds of scenarios in your head, and today you’ve barely been able to concentrate on anything else. Yes, it’s time for the Puerto Rico Islanders to begin once more their campaign in the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL).

The USL-1 darling team that was within an inch of last year’s CCL Final is back for more. Before the Islanders can make it into the group stage (into what is surely the most difficult group this year), they have to once again go through the motions of the preliminary round. In last year’s competition, the Islanders faced-off against Costa Rican giants L.D. Alajuelense in a very surprising and last minute win for the Puerto Rico club. This year, the men in orange travel to the north to face MLS club Toronto FC – the current club of ex-Islanders captain Marco Velez.

…Continue reading

Leave a Comment » | CCL, CONCACAF, Match Previews | Permalink
Posted by KVD

Brief update: CCL Opening Night

July 28, 2009

In the first night of this year’s CONCACAF Champions League we had a tie and a ‘goleada’.

>Luis Angel Firpo of El Salvador visited MLS side D.C. United. The final score was 1-1 even after D.C. dominated most of the second half of the match. With that important away goal, L.A. Firpo now will try to secure the win at home when D.C. United travels to El Salvador next week.

>As expected, Mexican side Pachuca didn’t have to worry much against the Guatemalan Jalapa. With a final score of 3-0, Pachuca pretty much sealed the deal. Don’t expect Jalapa to turn things around when Pachuca travels to Guatemala next week.

Leave a Comment » | Brief updates, CCL, CONCACAF | Permalink
Posted by KVD

CONCACAF Champions League – Preliminary round picks

July 28, 2009

4171

As promised earlier, here are my picks for the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) preliminary round match-ups.

The CCL starts tonight with Luis Angel Firpo at D.C. United and Jalapa at Pachuca.

Feel free to post your picks in the comment section. Thik any of these teams will make it into the final four?

_____

Pachuca (Mexico) vs Jalapa (Guatemala)

In what will probably be the least interesting match-up of the preliminary round, Mexican club Pachuca is a clear favorite to rollover the Guatemalan 2009 Clausura champions. Last year, Jalapa also participated in the CCL but bowed out in the preliminary round after going down 5-1 (in aggregate) against Panamanian side San Francisco.

Pachuca traditionally has done well in international competition, and this series should be no different for them. It’s not hard to see them making the final four of this tournament.

Pick: Pachuca

Dates: July 28th (Mexico) & August 4th (Guatemala)

…Continue reading

Leave a Comment » | CCL, CONCACAF | Permalink
Posted by KVD

Our Champions League is Back!

July 28, 2009

ev2tn9

Just a few months after crowning Mexican side Atlante the winner of the first edition of the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) – we once again have some great regional club action to look forward to.

For all effects and purposes, the first edition of the CCL was a success. As many expected, the Mexican clubs make it deep into the tournament with 3 out of the 4 semi-finalists clubs being from the Mexican First Division. The only non-Mexican side, and Cinderella story of the tournament, was the Puerto Rico Islanders. But that tournament is done with – Atlante will represent CONCACAF in December for the FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates – so now it’s time to focus on the 2009-2010 CCL edition.

…Continue reading

Leave a Comment » | CCL, CONCACAF | Permalink
Posted by KVD

New section: product reviews

July 27, 2009

I’m adding a new section to the website. It doesn’t take much to guess what would be featured there when the page title is ‘Product Reviews’. Yes, I will occasionally be posting reviews  on soccer related items – from books to soccer equipment.

I have recently been catching up with some good soccer related books so expect some reviews on those soon.

As always, you’re encouraged to let me know what you think.

You can see the new section here: Product Reviews

Leave a Comment » | Product Reviews | Permalink
Posted by KVD

Match Report: Meltdown in Vancouver – Islanders vs Whitecaps; and extended commentary

July 26, 2009

Before digging in and reading this post about the horrendous match witnessed last night – take a couple of minutes to review the (painful) video highlights below:

As I mentioned briefly in my match-preview: this was going to be a tough match for several reasons:

-the last of 8 straight USL-1 matches on the road

-playing last week in Montreal, then traveling all the way to Portland for a Thursday match

-playing on Thursday in Portland, traveling to Vancouver Friday, playing Saturday

-having to rest players for the CONCACAF Champions League match on Wednesday (which means flying all the way back to eastern Canada)

…Continue reading

2 Comments | Match Reports | Permalink
Posted by KVD

Brief update: Embarassment in Vancouver

July 26, 2009

With rain and lightning delaying the second half of the game for 2 hours – the Islanders played an extremely disappointing game in Vancouver where the Whitecaps won 4-2.

More on this later…

Leave a Comment » | Brief updates | Permalink
Posted by KVD

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