by Rod Hughes

Not with a bang but with a whimper did Saprissa lose the final game of the CONCACAF regional soccer tourney final, 2-1. So it will be Pachuca of Mexico that goes to the World Tourney of Clubs and wins a cool million dollars in prize money. And Saprissa head coach Jeaustin Campos must probe further into why his club, coming off a winning streak of nine matches, has fallen into a nose dive and has not won in the last five encounters.

Saprissa did show brief flashes of its fast, aggressive attack but the rest of the time, they played like a second-class side hoping for a scoreless tie and the game-of-chance possibilities of a penalty shootout. Pachuca, playing on its own home pitch, by contrast scored after only three minutes of play when striker Christian Giménez got one pass a surprised Saprissa goalie Keylor Navaqs on a pass from Gabriel Rey. The Rey added insurance early in the second stanza when he took a pass from Julio Manzur.

Saprissa’s brilliance sparkled in the final 10 minutes of the first half but strikes by Gabriela Badilla and Ronald Gómez found only the capable hands of Pachuca goalie Miguel Calero. At minute 86, Jairo Arrieta registered the only success Saprissa had before the goal. The sclub from Tibás mostly demonstrated, not the explosive attack of yore, but a palid, predictable approach.

This is not the first time the big purple S has suffered a meltdown at the last minute. I remember years ago during a so-called classic, when Saprissa started the second half leading 3-0 over Alajuela. The defense suffered a collapse and Alajuela won 4-3. But a million bucks weren’t riding on that match…