Concacaf Champions League Thread.

[JRtheWriter]

Connection has to beat Guadalajara to get out this group....simple as that. No draw

[D.H.W]

leh we hope AIA get the job done

[D.H.W]

sounders  1nil

[Dynamite Warrior]

Cato looking good so far

[D.H.W]

cato ripping AIA apart

2nil Sounders

[100% Barataria]

I good, see all yuh tomorrow for T&F and 50m freestyle final

[trini supporter]

Cali boys pelting too much wild tackles but had a good couple movements up front though...

[Cocorite]

So this AIA team is Caribbean Champs??

What happened to their passing game?

Every man still want to beat his man and then look up to see who is available.

 

[Football supporter]

I will be in attendance for this game, link me if allyuh going.

I will have on a Birchall T&T shirt.

Sam, I looked everywhere for you at the game, but couldn't see a Birchall jersey! Would have been good to link with yuh!

[Flex]

Xelaju rallies late for 2-2 draw.
CONCACAF.COM.

Edgar Chinchilla scored twice in the final 16 minutes and Xelaju rallied for a 2-2 draw with DirecTV W Connection on Thursday in a game that marked both teams' return to the CONCACAF Champions League.

Chinchilla tallied his second in the 89th minute with a left-footed drive from 23 meters that spoiled the Trinidadian's first game in the Champions League in three years.

The second-half substitute, who had played only 43 minutes in Xelaju's four Guatemalan league matches this season, started the club's rally with a goal in the 74th.

Each team had the better of play in one half with W Connection jumping ahead 2-0 in the first and Xelaju storming back in the second.

Hachim Arcia scored in the 23rd and Rennie Britto added his in the 34th as the Trinidadian side played its first competitive match since losing the Caribbean Club Championship final to Caledonia in June and its first match in the Champions League in nearly three years.

The match was a key opener for both sides, which will have to play 11-time Mexican league champion Chivas de Guadalajara later in Group 8.

W Connection had most of the play in the first half and went ahead after Andrei Pacheco sprinted down the left side to the byline, was able to get around Xelaju defender Fredy Taylor and sent a cross back in front of the goal.

Britto was able to get a slight deflection of the ball before it rolled to Arcia, who retreated a step outside the six before knocking a left-footed shot inside the right post.

The Trinidadians created several more chances and doubled their lead Johny Giron blocked Clyde Leon's cross, but the Xelaju defender was unable to clear the ball. Jerrel Britto ran on to the loose ball, touched it to his right to an unmarked Rennie Britto, and he finished easily from the middle of the area.

Xelaju started the second half brighter - testing W Connection keeper Jan-Michael Williams with Israel Silva's shot from distance in the 69th --- and scored when Chinchilla headed a ball that Joevin Jones was unable to clear with his head.

Chinchilla followed the ball and volleyed it as it fell at the top of the box, sending it in off the underside of the crossbar.

He equalized by settling a ball out of the back, dribbling to the top of the 18, touching it to his left and unleashing a fierce drive that Williams never touched.

Highlights: - Click Here

Teams

W Connection: - 18 Jan-Michael Williams; 13.Kern Cupid, 12.Gerard Williams, 19.Leslie Russell (Yellow 66) (3.Akeem Benjamin 73rd), 4.Daneil Cyrus, 36.Joevin Jones, 17.Andrei Pacheco (20.Silvio Spann 71st), 8.Clyde Leon, 7.Rennie Britto, 14.Hachim Arcia (Yellow 58) (40.Shahdon Winchester 72nd) (Yellow 77), 31.Jerrel Britto.

Coach: -Stuart Charles-Fevrier (St Lucia).

Xelajú: - 1.Fernando Patterson; 5.Fredy Santiago, 2.Johny Girón, 12.Alexander Cifuentes, 7.Edwin Villatoro, 18.Manuel León, 6.Julio Estacuy , 15.Kevin Arriola (Edgar Chinchilla 60th), 24.Alejandro Alpízar, 9.Israel Silva, 8.Edgar Greaves (10.Sergio Morales 36th).

Coach: - Herman Medford (Costa Rica).

Referee: - Marlon Mejia (El Salvador).

Venue: - Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Trinidad.

Standings

GP  W  T  L  GF  GA  GD  Pts
W Connection  1  0  1  0  2  2  +0  1   
Xelajú  1  0  1  0  2  2  +0  1
Guadalajara  0  0  0  0  0  0  +0  0

[Flex]

Seattle beats Caledonia 3-1 in CCL opener.
CONCACAF.COM.

The Seattle Sounders jumped ahead with three first-half goals and cruised to a 3-1 victory over CONCACAF Champions League newcomer Caledonia AIA on Thursday night.

Sammy Ochoa, Fredy Montero and Andy Rose all tallied in a 24-minute stretch to give the American side a comfortable cushion by the interval.

Kareem Joseph converted a penalty for Caledonia after Jhon Kennedy Hurtado bundled Jamal Gay to the ground five minutes after halftime, but Seattle held out for the remainder of the match to secure the victory.

Seattle squandered several set-piece opportunities inside the first 15 minutes before Ochoa finally put the home side in front in the 19th minute. Alex Caskey collected a deep cross into the left wing corner and supplied a ball back into the penalty area. Rose corralled the service and sent it to Ochoa to slot home from close range.

Joseph nearly engineered an immediate response for the Trindad and Tobago side - managed by assistant Jerry Moe in the absence of manager Jamaal Shabazz - six minutes later and forced a reaction save from Sounders FC goalkeeper Andrew Weber, playing only his fourth game of the season.

Weber's stop preserved the advantage and set the stage for Montero to extend the lead in the 30th minute. Former TT Pro League standout Cordell Cato played a neat ball into the penalty area to start the move. Rose made a darting run from midfield to latch onto the pass before sliding the ball back toward the penalty spot. Montero arrived at the perfect time to glance his first-time effort inside the far post.

Rose grabbed a goal of his own two minutes before halftime. Osvaldo Alonso's feed slipped through several players to the unmarked Montero inside the penalty area. Caledonia goalkeeper Glenroy Samuel knocked away Montero's far post shot, but the rebound fell kindly for Rose to turn home.

Caledonia reduced the deficit five minutes into the second half after referee Stanley Lancaster ruled Jhon Kennedy Hurtado wrestled Jamal Gay to the ground as a corner kick sailed into the area.

The goal did little to spark Caledonia, or ruffle Seattle, as both sides exchanged only occasional chances before the final whistle.

Caledonia will hope to secure its first points in Champions League play in a home match against Honduras' Marathón on August 22, while the Sounders will look to duplicate their victory against Caledonia when they visit Manny Ramjohn Stadium eight days later.

Highlights: - Click Here

Teams

Caledonia AIA: - 33.Glenroy Samuel; 29.Radanfah Abu Bakr, 2.Aubrey David, 3.Nuru Muhammad, 15.Walter Moore, 12 Kareem Joseph, 10.Conrad Smith (8.Cornelius Stewart 58th), 7.Stephen David, 13.Trayon Bobb (6.Trevin Caesar 58th), 9.Keyon Edwards (Yellow 39), 23.Jamal Gay (28.Sheldon Holder 82nd).

Coach: - Jerry Moe (T&T).

Seattle Sounders: - 33.Andrew Weber; 8.Marc Burch, 31.Jeffrey Parke, 34.Jhon Hurtado, 3.Bradley Evans, 6.Osvaldo Alonso (23.Servando Carrasco 46th), 27.Alexander Caskey (12.Leonardo González 75th), 25.Andrew Rose, 26.Samuel Ochoa, 17.Fredy Montero (Yellow 56) (5.Adam Johansson 90th), 21.Cordell Cato.

Coach: - Siegfried Schmid (Germany).

Referee: - Stanley Lancaster (Guyana).

Venue: - CenturyLink FieldSeattle, Washington.

Standings

GP  W  T  L  GF  GA  GD  Pts    
Seattle Sounders  1  1  0  0  3  1  +2  3
Marathón  0  0  0  0  0  0  +0  0   
Caledonia AIA  1  0  0  1  1  3  -2  0

[Football supporter]

One element of this game that shocked me was that the floodlights were so poor, WConnection had to pay $60,000 to hire additional light units to bring the stadium to CONCACAF standards. The floodlight pylons had around 50% of the lamps not working. As the game was promoting not just T&T football, but the nation, I felt this debacle reflected poorly on this country. Could not SPORTT or MSYA not have made more of an effort?

In comparison, WConnection did a fantastic job of offering a big match experience. Lots of radio ads and there were lots of banners down South advertising the game. The VIP area was superb and there were special CONCACAF T shirts for sale.

Good effort by W.Connection. 

[Sam]

Caledonia played ok, but like all Caribbean players they have no discipline and I dont mean fighting, they just not organise and smart footballers.

The Caribbean coaches really need to upgrade they level of coaching to.

[Sam]

This could come back and bite W Connection in they ass, now they only make it harder for themselves.

You dont fall asleep because you leading.

[Tallman]

Musing on the W Connection *defeat* draw with Guatemala’s Xelaju from my coverage last night in the CONCACAF Champions League
taylorsportsoutlook.wordpress.com

On February 11th 2009, the Soca Warriors drew 2-2 at the Estadio Cuscatián, San Salvador. Carlos Edwards and Dwightie put us 2-0 up in the first half. Stern John missed a second-half penalty, Kenwyne Jones EPL monolith, was out-muscled by players half his size and Romero’s late double pegged the match back 2-2. At the time it was considered a harmless result by a lot of the locals, but it set the precedent for a poor Hexagonal campaign.

The Central American opponents last night were not El Salvadorian, but they could have been mistaken for some as the many parallels could be drawn from the final result. W Connection took on Xelaju MC from Guatemala (don’t ask me how to pronounce that). The reigning Pro League Champs were probably fancying their chances and had the general backing from a local crowd who probably thought this was a walk in the park. The visitors came into this CL match as reigning Guatemala Clausura Champion and won five league titles back home.

They were tidy and organised throughout (Xelaju that is) as their playing style matched their neat kit. For a long spell in the first half though, it seemed as if Connection were in control. Biting in the tackle, they hustled and harried their opponents who were unwilling to mix it physically. Thus it the 2-0 score line at the half was inevitable seemingly.

The goals came from defensive errors; both times the Xelaju central defence failed to deal with straightforward balls into the box. The W Connection goals were deserved based on their superiority, but were not well-made in my opinion. But goals are goals, and the Trinidadian in me said: “Good Job!” The half time whistle seemed to interrupt the flow as the Savonnetta Boys were on a rampage at that point. But with timid opposition like this they would easily pick up where they left off in the second half, right?

Wrong. The second half brought two different teams seemingly. Xelaju looked unaccustomed to the pitch and playing style of their hosts. With the number of under-weighed passes they made it is reasonable to assume, they are accustomed to watered pitches back home. It required a minor adjustment in their approach, and they had the better second half. Tap-tap-tap-tap: the ball ping-ponged through the Connection midfield. Chasing shadows took the sting out of their attack, and they started to catch more man than ball with their tackling as frustration started to mount.

The Brazilian captain Israel Silva had a few cracks at Jan Michael Williams, and a few step-overs as well. But the score remained at 2-0. Anyone who came into the stadium at this point could have been forgiven for assuming that Xelaju were the team ahead, as the run of play suggested. Then it happened; Edgar Chinchilla came to life and volleyed in from outside the 18. Nothing the visitors did before in terms of shooting suggested that they carried this threat, but one shot was all they needed to start the comeback as this was their first shot on target. Connection were more panicked than urgent at this point, but were still good enough for the win as Shadon Winchester’s invention created the third goal. Jerrel Britto refused to score it however, as he missed an open goal when he stretched to meet it. So with opportunities to kill the match going begging Chinchilla latched on to a flicked header, cut inside and punished every Trinibagonian in the venue with his equalising rocket.

Like the national team three and a half years prior, Connection failed to beat a very beatable opponent. Even Connection’s Champions League all-time record was better (3-2-3) to Xelaju (0-1-1). But a lack of professionalism cost them as they failed to consolidate their advantage. Another talking point was their lethargy in the second half; they seemed to be running on fumes at the end, which is curious as the match was never played at a high tempo. So what was supposed to be a valuable three points turned into one solitary point. The most important thing is that the Savonnetta Boys need to bounce back and quickly as they head to Mexico next to face Guadalajara. The Marabella team is not short on talent by any stretch, but have to show more character when things do not go their way.

Overall though, it was an entertaining match; fun and adventurous. I am looking forward to the match when we host the Mexicans on September 26th – that should be an epic clash. Hopefully Connection will still be in the tournament and not just playing for pride. The Pro League team for a long period, looked more physically and tactically capable in this match but were beaten for sustained skill, determination and Chinchilla’s left foot. Best of luck to the boys in Mexico.

[Sando]

Nice report.

So W Connection sign some big goal scorer from Suriname and them eh use him.

What they waiting for, after they eliminated.

Steups.... come on W........

[frico]

WE WILL NEVER LEARN NEVER EVER.

[soccerrama]

Nice report.

So W Connection sign some big goal scorer from Suriname and them eh use him.

What they waiting for, after they eliminated.

Steups.... come on W........

W Connection are still awaiting International Clearance for this player despite their best efforts, so it is not that they signed the player & didn't use him, they couldn't.

[Jack Horner]

W Connection is basically out.

Joe Public is the only team from T&T to won a game in Mexico, I doubt W Connection can do it, especially with a bunch of kids.

They lost their home game, that is not good.

Xelaju cannot run like W Connection but they will beat them with sense, they are more experience and uses the ball intelligently.

W Connection got fooled in the first half but Xelaju plan worked.

[Deeks]

Yes, JP is the only club to win in Mex., but that game was at sea level. I did remember the game. And yes they did play well with Gregory Richardson at forward.  ButbHad they met Toluca, America or Pumas at altitude you would not be too-tooing your horn so.

[Tallman]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/7Lg3iO6w5qY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/7Lg3iO6w5qY</a>

[Tallman]

Connection coach: We should have won easily against Xelaju
ttproleague.com

“As coach of the team I am disappointed,” revealed DIRECTV W Connection Head Coach Stuart Charles Fevrier on Thursday night after letting a two-goal cushion slip against Guatemalan club Xelaju MC at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium in their opening 2012-2013 CONCACAF Champions’ League match.

A scintillating first half by Connection was celebrated with two goals, Hashim Arcia(23rd minute) and Rennie Britto(34th minute), however the Digicel Pro League Champions allowed two late goals by Xelaju substitute Edgar Chinchilla(74th and 89th minutes) tying the game at 2-2.

“I thought we should have won it despite the fact that we didn’t get the preparation games we wanted,” continued Fevrier. “I still felt at that level …and being in the position we were in …and getting the opportunities we got, we should have won the game easily.”

The Connection coach explained, “We had a lot of difficulties with our preparation. We weren’t able to travel to South America (Colombia) to get some strong games because we had problems with flights.

So we went to Tobago and got some games which really didn’t challenge us. I always knew, especially the second half would be very challenging for us because of the match fitness of our players. But I thought we had done enough in the first half to come out on top. In the second half our concentration dropped at critical moments.”

Fevrier defended three second half changes he made adding that striker Arcia complained with a groin pain and defender Joel Leslie Russell picked up a knee injury which led to his decision to introduce Shahdon Winchester and Akeem Benjamin respectively. While midfielder Andrei Pacheco was replaced by Silvio Spann to add fresh legs and experience in the middle.

“I don’t think the changes impacted much,” he said. “I think our staying power in the second half was definitely a challenge for us. And I thought we weren’t able to maintain the same intensity in the second half as we did in the first half. And I put it down to lack of serious games before (the match).

“This was always my main concern going into the game and we saw our players fading in the second half a bit. I don’t think the changes had much to do with what happened in the second half. Obviously we should have gone a little more offensive in the second half, but if you watched the game, they (Xelaju) never created a clear cut opportunity in the entire game. We created at least four clear cut chances and were only able to score two. Their first goal was a scrimmage and their second goal was a good shot from distance.

“We have shown and demonstrated that we are capable of playing against teams, playing at that level. I believe what’s needed now is to try and improve our league so that our players can be competing at a higher level locally, week in, week out. We need to try and improve the local professional league to a higher level of play.”

Connection will travel to Mexico for its next Group 8 match against home-team Chivas Guadalajara on Wednesday 29 August, then to Guatemala against Xelaju on Tuesday 18 September, and hosts Guadalajara on Wednesday 26 September in Trinidad. Following the Group stage, only the top team advances into the quarter-final round.

“We will definitely try to pick it up from here,” assured Fevrier. “We have three more difficult games. I know the entire world would not give us a chance going into those countries to try and win. But we have to believe in our ability, in ourselves and work hard to try and win the three games.

“I know the entire world wouldn’t believe we could win these games. The Caribbean is always looked at as underdogs. Rightly so, because the Caribbean is the only part of the world that is seemingly amateur, while in Trinidad and Tobago we are trying to keep professional football alive. But the beauty of football is that even the underdogs have a chance. We will be going to play in Mexico (in our next match) but we believe we have an equal chance.

“The main task for us now is to prepare …prepare focused, very serious and very professional. This is what we have to focus on. I believe that in the Caribbean we have players with the quality to compete against those teams. We just need to work on the mentality of our players, obviously, and to help them believe that they can do well at that level. I think it’s more psychological than anything else.

“We obviously would be working towards improving, because we have to. We know we are not where we can be. We are not as consistent throughout the ninety minutes as we ought to be. We have three weeks to try and improve. This is the task ahead for us now. We have to try and improve the team, so that the team can be more consistent throughout the ninety minutes.”

[maxg]

Yup..ah still like this coach (Fevrier). Don't know why he is not the National Coach.

[Tallman]

Yup..ah still like this coach (Fevrier). Don't know why he is not the National Coach.

He was de coach at one point, but he wanted to do it properly and asked for patience. In response, Jack run him, and brought back Bertille. As far as I remember, dey didn't even make an official announcement.

[Tallman]

The battle isn’t over for wounded Caledonia
ttproleague.com

Caledonia AIA suffered a disappointing 3-1 defeat in its debut CONCACAF Champions’ League match against home-side Seattle Sounders last Thursday, however the Morvant/Laventille based TT Pro League club remains very optimistic over advancing out of the group stage.

Sammy Ochoa, Fredy Montero and Andy Rose all scored in the first half for the Major League Soccer (MLS) club, Sounders, and five minutes after the break Kareem Joseph pulled back a goal from the penalty spot for Caledonia after striker Jamal Gay was bundled inside the area.

“I think we didn't play well in the first half, and didn’t play individually. And sometimes we need a kick up the pants when we are not doing well,” said coach Jerry Moe, who marched the touch line in absence of Head Coach and Technical Director Jamaal Shabazz on Thursday night in Seattle.

“We can’t make excuses,” continued Moe.

“But our biggest challenge is that we aren’t playing competitive matches at this point, only little practice matches, and we are still without a couple injured players (Ataulla Guerra and Akim Armstrong).”

The 2012 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Champions and Digicel Pro League Championship third place finishers will next host Honduran club CD Marathon on Tuesday 21 August in its second Group 4 match.

Caledonia then hosts Sounders in the second leg on the Wednesday 29 August, and finally visits Marathon on Wednesday 26 September. The winner of the group advances to the quarter-final round.

“We should be able to do better,” added Moe. “We have to be confident. We have three games still. We won the second half against Seattle and that should give us some confidence. So it’s just for us to play our remaining matches with the right discipline and attitude.”

[Big Magician]

make dem run 70 laps Stweartie

[Flex]

One minuted they could do it without the injured players and now that they lost, they using the excuses.

Caledonia played GREAT and like a team for the first five minutes of the game and after than they resorted to individual football while eliminating their midfield.

And I am fed up hearing the excuse that we dont have a #10 on the team, because not every team has a number 10, Sounders didn't have one but made adjustments, they made sure all their players where involved.

This team is not technically good at all. Even though they had some decent one/two's they just could not get that 3/4 touches.

Walter Moore was Cali's best player and he fought hard despite not having the legs to stop Cordell Cato who turned him and Cali defence inside out especially in the first half, but I like the attitude from Moore and he made some good overlapping runs.

David was ok in central.

Gay did not get much service, I canot understand why would they use one striker and they know the team cannot provide.

Ceaser was a good sub.

Radanfah Abu Bakr speed has improved but his free kicks is terrible.

Aubrey David is now a Guyanese international and to be honest, T&T will not miss him.

Glenroy Samuel hesitates to much.

Conrad Smith was having an ok game in the beginning and seemed like he would have scored, but fell off quite quickly.

Overall, I doubt Cali making it out of this group. The simple things these players cannot do. I cant believe they won 4 cups in T&T, makes me wonder about the T&T league.

They play like a typical team from T&T, score one goal on them and they collapse.

The team played with no plan.

Lets see what will happen next game.

[Tallman]

Date: Wednesday, August 22 2012
Venue: Ato Boldon Stadium
Location: Couva, Trinidad and Tobago


OFFICIALS FOR THE MATCH

Referee: Kevin Morrison (JAM)
Assistant: Keble Williams (JAM)
Assistant: Kedlee Powell (JAM)
Fourth: Raymond Bogle (JAM)

[Tallman]

Marathon replaces Maradiaga with Keosseian
CONCACAF.com

CD Marathon said Friday it had parted ways with manager Ramon Maradiaga by "mutual consent", and hired former coach Manuel Keosseian to replace him.

The announcement made via the club's Twitter account comes a day after the eight-time Honduran league champion lost its fourth straight, 2-1 to Atletico Choloma, to open its Apertura season and fell alone into last place in the 10-team first division.

The 57-year-old Maradiaga, who coached Motagua last year before being dismissed in September, departed Marathon after it had been outscored 9-2 this season including a 4-0 loss to arch rival Olimpia on Sunday.

Marathon will play Real Espana on Saturday before opening its Champions League schedule in Trinidad against Caribbean club champion Caledonia AIA on Wednesday.

Keosseian, who turned 59 on Friday, led Marathon to Apertura league titles in 2007, 2008 and 2009, coached Municipal to the Guatemalan Clausura championship in 2010 and also had been manager at Penarol in his native Uruguay.

[Flex]

Shabazz names Ferguson for Marathon test
T&T Guardian reports.

Former T&T striker Kerlon Ferguson has been included in Neal & Massy Caledonia’s 21-man squad for their Concacaf Champions League Group Four home clash with Honduran club, CD Marathon at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva tomorrow from 8 pm.

The “Morvant/Laventille Stallions” needed to boost their attack, after going down to US Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders in their opener last month in Washington. Ferguson or his fellow Tobago-born striker Trevin Caesar is expected to lead the attack with Jamal Gay for Caledonia which cannot afford a loss.

“Ferguson is the perfect fit for our attacking options, that’s why we signed him on a twoyear deal” stated Caledonia technical director, Jamaal Shabazz. “He can play with his back to the goal and he can make powerful runs into the spaces as well.

I think we got us another Lalonde Gordon,” joked Shabazz as he compared his new signing to London Olympic Games 400m final bronze medal winner, who also hails from Tobago.

For tomorrow’s match, Shabazz said he will be giving more of an attacking license to offensive- minded right back Kareem Joseph by pushing him up in a midfield role while employing new signing Aubrey David at right back. Joseph was the scorer of Caledonia’s lone goal, from the penalty spot in the loss to Seattle.

The speedy Joseph, Gay and Conrad Smith were able to get behind the Sounders’ defence on several occasions in the first half of their match, but lacked the numbers to finish off chances.

However, it is in the defensive third that Shabazz must make his biggest adjustments with goalkeeper Glenroy Samuel, and defenders Radanfah Abu Bakr, Nuru Muhammad, Walter Moore and David needing to improve on their last display with a more disciplined approach against a marathon squad which is noted for its potency.

Shabazz said: “Of course we have to up our game but I think it’s more mental than physical. Technically and tactically we are up to the task, but we must believe in ourselves more and in our right to be playing at this level.”

“I believe in this Caledonia squad. They have created history for the club and we are going to push them to give all that they have in this game. “It’s vital for us to pick up points.”

TEAM

Goalkeepers: Glenroy Samuel, Colin Ewards

Defenders: Aubrey David, Radanfah Abu Bakr, Nuru Muhammad, Walter Moore, Aquil Selby, Colin Nelson.

Midfielders: Kareem Joseph, Stephan David, Keyon Edwards, Abdallah Phillips, Trayon Bobb, Conrad Smith, Nathan Lewis, Kemron Purcell, Cornelius Stewart.

Forwards: Jamal Gay, Trevin Ceasar, Kerlon Ferguson, Sheldon Holder.