Honduras tops Belize in CONCACAF play
Normally, viewers would have to wait until Monday for their regular helping of sports, but the CONCACAF action in Orange Walk on Thursday night was so exciting, James Adderley just had to bring it to you tonight.
James Adderley, Reporting
Game two of the CONCACAF Champions Cup series between Eagles of Belize and Olympia of Honduras, who came in with a one-game lead after blanking the Jewellites three-zip last week at Tegucigalpa, Honduras, was staged last night inside the massive People?s Stadium O.W.
Only two Belize teams, Coke Milpros and La Victoria of Corozal, have advanced to the second round of this annual regional football tournament in our history. And at the kick off today F.F.B.?s A League sub-champion Eagles would have to come up with four goal margin of win to move on; it?s as simple as that people.
Even so, it is all Olympia on the first half and here?s a look at their very first foray into the danger zone. In the meantime this right to left move allows the visitors to launch a sneaky left foot at goal, but Charlie Slusher reads.
When Charlie Slusher tries to position himself outside his goal, Olympia attacks the back door, but Slusher recovers. We must also give Slusher maximum credit for this diving save that really should have put the visitors on to the scoreboard.
I?m a Belizean and I know you are too, so we?ll just have to agree to call this sequence of play a highlight for the Eagles team. At the intermission we do have a scoreless ballgame.
As we roll into second half, Olympia works this give and go to perfection, only to be foiled by Slusher?s timely intervention.
Will somebody please stand up and give Charlie Slusher a hand for this world class game? Okay, we do (claps).
It?s late second half when the Eagles get a legitimate offensive highlight. Donnie Tun fires this dangerous grasshead burner that almost catches the Olympia keeper, but Ricardo Jimenez does enough to keep this ballgame scoreless. We?ll have to give Christopher Hendricks an A for effort on this swing around volley, but the scoreboard remains unimpressed.
Nevertheless, here?s the best save of the night. It?s a shot from point-blank range, but Charlie Slusher?s reflex is on top of things tonight and this dive denies the goal.
Of course Slusher can?t stop them all, but this one he could have and should have but didn?t as Olympia takes a 1-zip lead thanks to the boots of Maynor Figueroa. But that?s no time to lick one?s wound and Slusher is forced to come up with yet another save.
The one-zip leads holds up to regulation as Olympia of Honduras wins by a total of four to nothing in the two-game series to move on to the next round of this CONCACAF Champions Cup.
The only Belize team seeing CONCACAF play this year is the A League champion Placencia, who lost 4-1 at home and then 6-zip to Alajuela at Costa Rica to lose the series in a 10-1 total. Both Belize teams have now exited in the first round. I guess we?ll just have to try it again next year.
James Adderley reporting for News Five.
