There is no varnishing the task that awaits Pacific FC this evening at 5:15 PT in the second leg of their CONCACAF League Round of 16 game in San Jose. The defending Canadian Premier League champions must defeat, on the road, a C.S. Herediano team that has six players on the Costa Rican national team that has qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“You cannot underestimate the level of talent of that group,” admitted PFC head coach James Merriman.
PFC will need to rally from its 1-0 deficit on aggregate following its wrenching late loss to C.S. Herediano last week at Starlight Stadium in Langford.
“We took a lot of growth from that game,” said Merriman.
“We deserved more and took a lot of confidence from that game. These games come down to little moments. They took their chance in the last game and we had a few chances but didn’t take them. We know we need to score [today].”
But that won’t be easy.
C.S. Herediano has won the Primera División de Costa Rica, that nation’s top league, 29 times since 1921 and has contributed many players over the years to Costa Rica’s 1990 Sweet Sixteen, 2002, 2006, 2014 quarter-finalist, 2018 and now 2022 FIFA World Cup teams.
PFC will have logged a lot of air miles getting to Costa Rica following its cross-country flight to Halifax, which resulted in another late 1-0 loss in CPL play to the HFX Wanderers. Travel legs or not, PFC is going to have to fight through it.
“It’s going to take all 18 players, and that’s the mindset we have going into the game,” said veteran PFC defender Jordan Haynes.
Herediano midfielders Yeltsin Tejeda, Keysher Fuller, Gerson Torres, Orlando Galo, Jewison Bennette and goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado were on the roster for Costa Rica’s 1-0 victory over New Zealand in the Intercontinental playoff in June that clinched for the Ticos their sixth World Cup berth since 1990. sa国际传媒 is also going to the 2022 World Cup but for only the second time in its history. The question is will that historic imbalance be reflected tonight at the club level?
“Our group has been in a positive way and spirits are high. We know what we have to do and are ready to go,” said sa国际传媒-capped PFC captain Jamar Dixon.
“We were disappointed in the first game. They had one better chance than we did and put it away. We need to be clinical in front of the net.”
Today’s game will be played on Herediano’s home pitch, Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero in Heredia, which is 10 kilometres north of the capital, San Jose.
PFC defeated Jamaican National Premier League regular-season champion Waterhouse FC 6-0 on aggregate in the first round of the CONCACAF League by scoring six goals in the second leg at Starlight Stadium following a scoreless draw in Kingston.
The first tie-breaker of the two-legged sets is away goals, which could lead to several scenarios in Heredia.
For instance, a 1-0 PFC win tonight in regulation would send it to penalty kicks to be decided. A 2-1 PFC victory or greater, however, would see the Island side advance to the CONCACAF League quarter-final round. C.S. Herediano will advance with any win or a draw.
The quarter-finals are Sept. 6-8 for the first legs and Sept. 13-15 for the second legs. The semifinals are Oct. 4-6 and Oct. 11-13. The finals are Oct. 25-27 and Nov. 1-3.
Six teams — the semifinalists and top two quarter-finalists — will advance to the 22-team 2023 CONCACAF Champions League featuring the big-league clubs of the region. C.S. Herediano has played in the Champions League on many occasions and is looking to get back.
