Posted on August 1, 2012
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Herediano got off on the right foot in the CONCACAF Champions League, stopping 10-man Real Salt Lake at Nacional Stadium on Tuesday night.
Elias Aguilar gave the the Costa Rican side all the scoring it needed in the 14th minute en route to a 1-0 victory.
Herediano won its third of its last four CCL matches. It was a second straight win for the club, which opened the Costa Rican league season with a loss and a victory.
“This is a very good team,” RSL coach Jason Kreis said. “I think it’s a very technically gifted team, I think it’s a team that’s very gifted in the attack with some very mature players that obviously can create some real problems for us, as they did tonight.”
RSL had won three of its last four Major League Soccer games.
Aguilar took advantage of a defensive mistake by captain and midfielder Kyle Beckerman, who slipped to the ground.
“Our guys came out a little bit low on energy,” Kreis said. “We struggled to get possession of the ball and we’re a team that likes to have possession of it, control the tempo of the match and we struggled to do that. And then we got punished for it, I think rightly so when Herediano scored a very scored a very good goal.”
RSL was forced to play the final 32 minutes a man down after central defender Nat Borchers was red-carded for a two-footed tackle on Aguilar in the 58th minute.
“It was definitely a tough one for sure,” Borcher said. “I took a bad touch, went in hard on the tackle and you know I think maybe another place, another time that’s a yellow card, if anything. I think it’s really, really harsh to get sent off for that.”
Appearing in its first CCL action since losing to Monterrey in the 2011-11 final, RSL next will play in the competition at home against Tauro (Panama) on Aug. 21.
“We were still very upbeat in the locker room,” Borchers said. “After the game we talked about how it’s really a home-and-away series. We just have to take care of business at home. We have to take these guys down and we also have to take care of Tauro FC,
Herediano travels to Tauro on Aug. 30.
Photo: Kyle Beckherman’s mistake led to Herediano’s goal. Andy Mead/YCJ
Categories: Central America, Champions League, Costa Rica, North America, U.S.A.
Tags: CONCACAF Champions League, Elias Aguilar, Herediano, Kyle Beckerman, Major League Soccer, Nat Borchers, Real Salt Lake
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