Champions League Recap

The underwhelming start for MLS teams in the 2009-10 CONCACAF Champions League has to remind some fans of last season’s poor showing, when Chivas USA was eliminated by Panamanian side Tauro FC and Joe Public embarrassed the New England Revolution. With Toronto FC, DC United, and the New York Red Bulls all failing to pick up wins in the opening leg of the competition’s preliminary round, all three could easily see their Champions League hopes dashed by this time next week.

Tuesday night saw DC United play host to Salvadoran side LA Firpo. Firpo were awarded their spot in the competition when Chalatenango failed to file the participation agreement required by CONCACAF. The team from Usulután took advantage of their fortunate birth by taking a point in their opening game at RFK. Los Pamperos capitalized on some sloppy play in the back by DC, with a cool finish from Mario Benítez, who was one-on-one with Milos Kocic. DC was able to draw level before the end the half on a penalty kick from Jaime Moreno, but a goalless second half left the RFK faithful disappointed with the result. In order to advance, the Red and Black will have to either win or draw (with at least 1 goal scored to force extra time) in El Salvador next Tuesday.

On Wednesday night, Toronto FC made their debut in the CONCACAF Champions League, playing host to USL-1 side Puerto Rico. TFC managed to qualify for the tournament after their miraculous 6-1 win in Montreal won them the Canadian Championship. From the beginning, the game was not very pleasing to watch, with Puerto Rico bunkering in from the opening whistle. With all of the Islanders players behind the ball at times, Chris Cummin’s team had a difficult time breaking through. Play in the final third was not crisp, and attacks often ended with a thumping clearance from the Puerto Rico backline.

Though the Islanders made little effort to play attacking soccer, they took advantage of their opportunity to score in the second half. In the 67^th minute, Stefan Frei dropped an incoming cross, and Kendall Jadeosingh buried the loose ball. Though Frei’s miscue clearly played a huge part in the goal, credit must be given to Jadeosingh, who was able to turn and fire the bouncing ball into the far upper corner from an acute angle. Despite their best efforts, TFC were unable to equalize, as Puerto Rico frustrated both the Reds and their fans. Dwayne De Rosario and company will now have to win the second leg in Bayamón next Tuesday to have an opportunity to advance.

You know it wasn’t a great showing by MLS when the New York Red Bulls had the best result of the week. With their 2-2 draw in Trinidad against W Connection, the Red Bulls have put themselves in good position to advance to the group stage. Juan Carlos Osorio’s team had some lucky bounces go their way for what seems like the first time all season, scoring two away goals that could prove to be critical in deciding who moves on to the next round. With the MLS season a wash, Juan Pablo Angel and his teammates will look to salvage the year with a good performance in their first CONCACAF Champions League appearance.