The Puntarenas played naughty hosts to Saprissa in the opening match of their playoff series, winning handily by a score of 2-0.  It was nearly 3-0, but goalie Jose Francisco Porras saved a score in the final minutes, winning a one-on-one duel with Rayner Robinson on a breakaway.

The superiority of Puntarenas on the field was evident.  Saprissa’s players and coaches did not make excuses, but local analysts wondered how much the fast turnaround after a long trip from Japan hurt them.   Saprissa will try to recover by Monday, while Puntarenas is confident that they can do what they need to advance. 

Puntarenas coach Ronald "El Macho" Mora put it nicely, "There are 90 minutes left, if we could do it today, we can take care of business in Tibas. Perez Zeledon did it, with only 1 goal difference against La Liga, why can’t we?". 

An eventual tourney final not involving either Saprissa or La Liga would be the first since the move to the current 2 phase tournament system.