by Rod Hughes

They’ll be talking about the 2007 Saprissa magic under pressure for as long as local soccer fans gather around their frothy beverages. Compared with the Saprissa coup, Alajuela had a cakewalk.
Saprissa went into the final game of the semi-finals still stinging from their 2-0 defeat and with their backs against the wall. Just a victory by one goal would not do the trick and goals are scarce items against a motivated and well-balanced team like Heredia. And Heredia valiantly stood off 88 minutes of Saptrissa attacks.
But Jairo Arrieta blasted in a pass from Alejandro Alpizar. Still, no worry if Heredia could hold on, right? Then, in overtime, (93 minutes) Allan Aleman, assisted by Walter Centeno, broke through and the semi-finals were tied, a win for Heredia and one for Saprissa by identical scores.
This could only be resolved by a penalty shootout; Jose Francisco Porras, one of the best goal keepers in the business and a World Cup veteran, against Ricardo Gonzalez of Heredia, no slouch himself.
Not to prolong the agony, from the first penalty shot by Saprissa’s Centeno to the final one by Jorge Alonso Solis, there were surprises, such as the failure of Heredia’s Josef Miso (ex-Alajuela star and once First Division’s most dangerous goal-maker) when he hit the upright and not the net. The final score: 4-2 Saprissa.
Alajuela-Puntarenas Action
The Alajuela-Puntarenas game, although well-played by both, was positively sedate by comparison and even compared with the previous semi-final game that saw Puntarenas come from behind twice and finally tie 2-2. So both were under the gun equally and Puntarenas proved every bit as scrappy as in the first game–except that they could not overcome Carlos Hernadez’s goal, the only one of the match, that gave Alajuela the 1-0 score and a ticket into the finals.
So it winds up a so-called “classic” (as every Alajuela-Saprissa game is called) final.
But it wasn’t easy for either team to get where they are today.