by Rod Hughes

Alajuela and Puntarenas battled each other and a pitch that degenerated into a giant mud pie Sunday and gave soccer fans their money’s worth. It was Alajuela 2-0 but it wans’t easy. The officiating was a trifle muddy, as well.

The slippery surface at Alejandro Morera Soto Stadum in Alajuela should not have been conducive to lightning attacks but fancy footwork made up for much. Still, it wasn’t until deep in the second half that scoring opened and that a penalty kick by Victor Nunez after Puntarenas’s Kevin Sancho committed a non-no against Pablo Herrera. Then, with six minutes to play in regulation time, Nunez put the frosting on the cake from a pass by Pablo Nassar.

No account, no matter how brief, of this match is complete without mentioning excellent work by midfielders Rodrigo “Batata” Pinhierro (Alajuela) and Josimar Arias (Puntarenas). No should it be doubted that Puntarenas came to win. When Rodrigo Cordero’s free kick rebounded from the horizontal of Wardy Alfaro’s goal, it was signal enough.

In other results Sunday, Heredia eased by University of Costa Rica 1-0. The sole goal was Mauricio Solis’s mid-distance shot from a pass by Gerald Drummond.

Perez Zeledon won amid frequent rain showers over a scrappy Liberia team, 2-1, in its home pitch. After only 12 minutes of play, Diego Pais score for the home side. But Jacques Remy tied it late in the first half. At minute 76, Bill Gonzalez took Marvin Calvo’s pass and turned it into gold.