… Alpha draw 2-2 with Herediano
ALPHA United held Costa Rica’s Club Sport Herediano to a 2-2 draw in the return match of the CONCACAF Champions League on Thursday night at the Guyana National Stadium, but have been eliminated from the tournament following their 8-0 drubbing in the first match, leaving no Caribbean team in the tournament.
This is the first time the Champions League is without a Caribbean side in the Group Stage in four seasons of the tournament. The other Caribbean teams Puerto Rico Islanders and Tempete FC of Haiti were also eliminated on Wednesday. Alpha United coach Wayne Dover had said that following their first encounter with Herediano, they would like to just put on a better performance in front of their home crowd and their performance was somewhat a reputable one.
On the other hand, Herediano had promised the Guyanese spectators a night of entertaining football, and they delivered with superior ball control, attacking and the ability to function consistently as a unit.
Herediano’s victory in San Jose a week ago along with this draw has led them to qualify for Group D and will face defending champions Monterrey, Comunicaciones of Guatemala and the Seattle Sounders.
On Thursday night, the national stadium witnessed Anthony Abrams and Travis Grant draw first blood then extend the lead to 2-0 at the 75th even though they were down one man from the 46th minute when defender Kelvin McKenzie received the red card treatment.
Three minutes after Grant’s goal Carlos Hernandez pulled Herediano within one  then Jorge Barbosa found the equaliser in the 84th minute. Barbosa added that goal to the three he scored in the first-leg victory.