Pasion Naranja!

It started out promisingly but it ended in agony. The Islanders scored first in what ended up being a 3-1 defeat against Saprissa.

Puerto Rico began this game surprisingly well. While Mediate’s inclusion in the starting lineup was a reason of concern at first, he ended up being one of the best players on the field. The Islanders started by absorbing Saprissa’s pressure while at the same time making sure to control possession and attack when they could. While Colin Clarke’s men looked organized and in control, Saprissa looked like a team with very few ideas other than attempting long range shots.

With the Islanders controlling most of the midfield, Saprissa began to attempt to recover some of the ground in the center but would still have many gaps in the defense. Exploiting one such defensive gap, Domenic Mediate would receive a pass, break free of his defender and send a shot to the back of the net. To the surprise of many, the Islanders were ahead 1-0 in the 25th minute.

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After taking the time to let the match sink in, to watch the replays and whatnot – I guess it’s time for some sober thoughts on the Islanders’ loss at Columbus on Tuesday night.

The current MLS champions defended their home well and the 2-0 was a decisive victory for the home team. While the Islanders did not look like the better team, the Crew didn’t look like a much better team either. To me, the match in Toronto was much more one sided – where Puerto Rico continued to bunker in and absorb the TFC pressure. In Columbus, the Islanders actually looked at times like they could have taken the match directly to the Crew and come out victorious.

The first half ended in a deserved 0-0 score line. While the ball was mostly in the Crew’s possession, the Islanders were well organized in the defense and successfully absorbed the pressure with even a few chances at goal. Columbus also got close to scoring but couldn’t manage to get through the Puerto Rico defense.

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Toronto: 'I Am Your Father'!

It wasn’t pretty but it was enough. With a 0-0 score in Bayamon, the Puerto Rico Islanders eliminated Canadian champion Toronto FC via a 1-0 aggregate score (home + away) and now advance to the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) group stages for a second year in a row.

Toronto FC came into this match needing a goal to at least take the match into overtime. Unfortunately for them, TFC was wasn’t very successful in breaking down the Islanders defense. While many expected the Islanders to bunker down again and wait for the counter-attack, Colin Clarke’s men actually controlled possession and were in the driving seat for the first half. Puerto Rico had a couple of good opportunities during the first 45 minutes but were unable to convert.

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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.

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