by Rod Hughes

Poor Alajuela. In two games, they had given up but two goals and had played far better in this match, leading for much of the time 1-0. Then, seconds into injury overtime in the second half, Wallace was unable to control the ball and Alejandro Alpizar was at his elbow, darting ahead of the defender and kicking a grass-cutter into the netting. Alajuela goalie Wardy Alfaro had no chance at blocking it.

For those counting, this is the 11th “classic” with Saprissa without an Alajuela victory. Alajuela wears black and red uniforms, it was the day after Halloween when such colors are appropriate but the hex continues working against the team from the country’s second city. Have they tried voodoo?

The first half was good for the home team, with excellent footwork and two near-successes by Mario Viquez with the ball rebounding from the horizontal and by and early shot by, of all people, Wallace. After only 15 minutes of play, Kenny Cunningham evaded Saprissa’s Celso Borges and Try Bennett and served the ball beautifully to Leonardo Martins who fed the ball into the goal, despite spirited blocking by Gabriel Badilla.

Then Saprissa’s midfield got tougher and tougher (despite the absense of Walter Centeno) as the pitch got muddier and muddier. (The longer than usual rainy season had saturated the sod despite appearing pristine before the match.) In the second half, Saprissa controled the ball as the match went on, until the stunning conclusion, which opens the door for Saprissa to play the finals with Motagua of Honduras.

And Alajuela? A consolation game with Municpal de Guatemala for third place. As a certain ex-president of the U.S. would say, “Ah feel yore pain.”