It was a difficult week for the Central American clubs participating in the CONCACAF Champions League as parity continues to be a dominant factor throughout the region. Only two of the six earned wins midweek in the CCL with only one club picking up a win in domestic league competition over the weekend.
Municipal had the best results on the week, playing to a 2-2 draw at home against Santos Laguna and earning a victory over Comunicaciones in the Guatemalan Liga Nacional. Costa Rica’s Saprissa was unable to carry the win over Seattle back into domestic play, falling to league leader Barrio Mexico. After falling to Olimpia midweek, Arabe Unido was unable to get off the bottom in El Salvador, playing to a draw in a battle of the tied last-place clubs against Atletico Marte. In Panama, Arabe Unido lost its share of the league lead with a loss to Sporting San Miguelito after their midweek pounding at the hands of Cruz Azul. Olimpia and Marathon, losers to Monterrey, were both idle due to a dispute over the match logistics between the two Honduran giants that resulted in a postponement.
Outside of Costa Rica, the trend appears to be that no club is able to pull away from the pack in their respective leagues as the distances between the clubs still minimal between six to nine games into the campaigns. Panama features the tightest race as the top seven clubs (of 10) are separated by five points with only two points between the top five in the league. Two points separating the top five is also the case in Honduras where the top nine clubs (of 10) occupy a six-point margin.
In El Salvador, the top six (of 10) are separated by six points with the top four only three apart. Guatemala’s top 10 (of 12) are in a seven-point window with a stunning three-point gap between the clubs in second and 10th.
While Costa Rica has a breakout leader, Alajuelense and Barrio Mexico, in each of its two six-team groups, the race for second in each is rather close. Clubs two-four in Group A are separated by just two points and second through fifth are in a six-point margin in the other group.
COSTA RICA
A number of streaks came to an end, but the leaders of the two groups continued their winning ways. Barrio Mexico downed giants Saprissa for their fourth straight win and fifth consecutive without defeat, extending its lead in Group A to 10 points with Cartagines suffering its first loss in five games. In the other group it was unbeaten Alajuelense winning its seventh straight match. Basement side Perez Zeledon picked up its first win since the opener, ending a six-game losing streak. Santos de Guapiles also ended a four-game win drought.
Saturday, September 18
San Carlos 2-3 Santos de Guapiles
Scoring – SC: Alvaro Sanchez 45, Kenny Cunningham 89… SDG: Daniel Colindres 45, 85, Luis Sequeira 47
Sunday, September 19
Puntarenas 1-2 Perez Zeledon
Scoring – PUN: Rafael Nunez 90… PZ: Ever Alfaro pen 18, Alban Gomez 43
Universidad de Costa Rica 0-4 Herediano
Scoring – HER: Bismark Acosta 22, Jose Sanchez 75, Jose Cubero 86, Roberth Arias 87
Barrio Mexico 3-2 Deportivo Saprissa
Scoring – BM: James Scott 25, Maykol Ortiz 55, Jorge Barbosa 88… SAP: Alejandro Sequeira pen 40, Armando Alonso 85
Limon 2-1 Cartagines
Scoring – LIM: Kurt Bernard pen 35, Josimar Reid 62… CAR: Diego Pais 22
Monday, September 20
Alajuelense 3-2 Brujas
Scoring – ALA: Christian Oviedo pen 61, Leandrinho 63, Diego Estrada 80… BRU: Cristian Lagos 38, Andres Nunez 82
EL SALVADOR
The top four clubs all won on a busy Wednesday night as last-place FAS was in action in the Champions League. The results on the weekend though were a different matter. Firpo and Alianza finished level with their opposition while Aguila lost, allowing Isidro Metapan to shoot jump into sole possession of first. The return to league play for FAS was inconsequential as they drew on the road against Atletico Marte in a battle of the tied last-place clubs. The draw extended Atletico Marte’s winless stretch to seven games while Firpo is now unbeaten in five straight.
Wednesday, September 15
Aguila 1-0 Universidad de El Salvador
Scoring – AGU: Patricio Gomez 33
Firpo 2-0 Once Municipal
Scoring – FIR: Jaime Alas 12, Eliseo Quintanilla 16
Alianza 2-1 Atletico Marte
Scoring – ALI: Abraham Amaya 24, 59… AM: Dany Torres 86
Isidro Metapan 2-1 Vista Hermosa
Scoring – IM: Emerson Umana 82, Elias Montes 88… VH: John Castillo 51
Saturday, September 18
Vista Hermosa 0-0 Firpo
Isidro Metapan 2-1 Universidad de El Salvador
Scoring – IM: Emerson Umana 1, Oscar Jimenez 88… UES: Rafael Burgos 20
Sunday, September 19
Atletico Balboa 1-0 Aguila
Scoring – AB: Juan Campos 64
Atletico Marte 1-1 FAS
Scoring – AM: Alcides Bandera 45… FAS: Christian Alvarez 58
Once Municipal 0-0 Alianza
GUATEMALA
The top four kept their status in check as they were all unbeaten on the week, but a draw by Juventud Retalteca allowed Marguense to move level for second. Leader Municipal’s win over Comunicaciones permitted Heredia to catch them for a share of fourth. Another shift saw Suchitepequez and Mictlan move a point ahead of Xelaju and Xinabajul as both lost in a league that features the top 10 clubs separated by seven points with only three points between second and 10th.
Saturday, September 18
Marquense 2-1 Malacateco
Scoring – MAR: Jonny Brown 48, Francisco Aguilar 55… MAL: Oscar Isaula 40
Sunday, September 19
Mictlan 1-0 Xinabajul
Scoring – MIC: Carlos Esprilla 18
Suchitepequez 7-0 Universidad San Carlos
Scoring – SUC: Wilber Caal 6, Edwin Villatoro 19, 34, Allan Kardec 42, Evandro Ferreira 58, Wilson Lalin 70, Jhonny Cubero 92+
Heredia 3-2 Xelaju
Scoring – HER: Julian Chacon 23, Walter Linares 84, Henry Hernandez 89… XEL: Israel Silva 24, Minor Lopez 51
Penarol La Messilla 2-2 Juventud Retalteca
Scoring – PLM: Guilherme 17, Mario Mazariegos 76… Hetzon Pereira 41, Jorge Estrada 48
Comunicaciones 1-4 Municipal
Scoring – COM: Transito Montepeque 29… MUN: Guillermo Ramirez 12, 23, Mario Rodriguez 14, 36
HONDURAS
It was a tough week for the top three clubs as all three finished without a win. Promoted Necaxa lost its sole possession of second as real Espana’s draw combined with wins by Victoria and Deportes Savio created a four-way tie two points back of Platense. Savio’s victory over Hispano was the club’s third straight loss, keeping them winless. A dispute over the time and venue of their match, the two CCL clubs Olimpia and Marathon saw their seventh-week match postponed by the league with no resolution agreed upon and Champions League matches just a few days away. Olimpia, winless in their last five in the league, were unable to capitalize on their CCL win over FAS Wednesday that snapped a seven game stretch without a win.
Saturday, September 18
Victoria 1-0 Necaxa
Scoring – VIC: Saul Martinez 75
Platense 0-2 Vida
Scoring – VID: Bryan Beckele 12, Own goal 75
Sunday, September 19
Deportes Savio 1-0 Hispano
Scoring – DS: Elroy Smith 49
Motagua 1-1 Real Espana
Scoring – MOT: George Welcome 52… RE: Mario Martinez 67
PANAMA
There was upheaval in Panama as losses by co-leaders Chorrillo and Arabe Unido allowed San Francisco to jump into the top spot with its third straight win, extending an unbeaten streak to six games. The losses also gave Sporting San Miguelito the chance to move into a three-way tie for second with its victory over Arabe Unido. Chorrillo’s defeat was the biggest shock of the week as it not only ended the side’s five-game unbeaten run, but snapped last-place Plaza Amador’s five-game winless string. The game itself was a dramatic affair as the league-leaders found themselves down three goals on the road before rallying to pull level. They earned another equalizer in stoppage time only to see the cellar-dwellers answer right back for the stunning 5-4 win. Plaza Amador was not alone in ending a poor period of play as Atletico Chiriqui picked up its first win in seven games.
Friday, September 17
Plaza Amador 5-4 Chorrillo
Scoring - PA: Aramis Haywood 4, Armando Gun 40, 92+, Raul Moreno 46, Ricardo Buitrago 72... CHO: Julian Agresott 49, 69, Delano Welch 70, Julio Medina 82
San Francisco 1-0 Atletico Veraguense
Scoring - SF: Johan De Avila 44
Saturday, September 18
Arabe Unido 0-1 Sporting San Miguelito
Scoring - SSM: Alberto Zapata 15
Alianza 1-2 Tauro
Scoring - ALI: Eduameth Nimbley 46… TAU: Luis Renteria 8, 25
Sunday, September 19
Chepo 0-1 Atletico Chiriqui
AC: Gabriel Rios 62
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