A champion was crowned this weekend in Panama, while finalists were determined in Honduras and Nicaragua. Elsewhere, league semifinals are down to the decisive pairings set to be played in the coming week.
PANAMA
A stellar Arabe Unido ran away with the title of the Panamanian Apertura, winning convincingly 4-1 over Chepo Sunday afternoon at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City.
The Blue Express got an early double from Orlando Rodriguez (24', 26') to send them on their way to a record twelfth Panamanian title. Ricardo Romero (29') pulled one back for Chepo in the first half, but Abdiel Arroyo (42') restored Arabe Unido's two-goal cushion before the stroke of half-time.
A Jose Gonzalez capper in the 60th minute sent Arabe Unido's fans back to Colon in ecstasy, as Chepo fell at the final hurdle for the second straight tournament, coming up just short of its first-ever title.
Arabe Unido instead secured its twelfth star, one better than Tauro on the all-time Panamanian list. With the crown, the Blue Express also locked down a bid to the 2013/14 CONCACAF Champions League.
HONDURAS
The regular season's two best teams will meet in the Honduran final, as Victoria held on at home, while Olimpia mounted a comeback following a first leg defeat and progressed as well.
In La Ceiba, Victoria had its hands full with a surging Motagua side. Nery Medina scored for the visitors just two minutes in, temporarily giving the Eagles a 2-1 aggregate lead after the first match in Tegucigalpa had ended in a 1-1 draw. Ruben Licona tied matters later in the first half for the Crabs, but Cesar Oseguera gave the visitors the lead for the second time on the hour mark.
That set up a dramatic conclusion at the Estadio Ceibeño. After Motagua was reduced to ten men for the second straight match, David Molina put the ball in his own net with just 15 minutes remaining, sending Victoria through to the final by virtue of its superior regular season position.
Back in the capital, Olimpia got just what it needed in a 2-0 win over Atletico Choloma, reversing a 1-0 defeat on the road midweek. Douglas Caetano Mattoso headed home in the 33rd minute to even the aggregate score, before Johnny Palacios doubled the lead in the second half to book another finals date for the reigning Honduran champion.
NICARAGUA
Real Esteli and Walter Ferretti are set to dispute a new edition of the final in Nicaragua, but not before a dramatic final semifinal match day left matters undecided to the very end.
Managua FC traveled to Esteli with dreams of a first ever final, and took the lead on the defending champion with an Erick Sierra goal in the 12th minute. Esteli mounted a comeback through Elmer Mejia (28') and Manuel Rosas (32'), who provided the goals that would send the Tren del Norte on to the final in search of a fourth straight title.
The other most recent champion, Walter Ferretti, will get a chance to repeat that 2010 Apertura feat when it takes on Real Esteli in a home-and-away final starting next weekend in Managua. The rojinegros edged Managua FC to a finals spot with a back-and-forth 2-2 draw with Juventus FC. Juventus twice took the lead through Ronny Colon (35') and Henry Garcia (73'), but Ferretti responded with goals from Ricardo Vega (54') and Juan Rosales (78') to go through.
EL SALVADOR
Isidro Metapan took a huge step towards another final, while FAS and Alianza will resolve everything on Wednesday night in San Salvador.
In a showdown of last tournament's finalists in San Miguel, Metapan secured an invaluable away win to kick-off the semifinals. The visitors got a pair of quick fire first half goals from Nicolas Munoz (36') and Hector Mejia (38') to put defending champion Aguila on its heels. The host struck back in the 44th minute through Irza Santos, but will need to go to the northwest and pull out a win on Wednesday to maintain hopes of defending the Clausura 2012 title.
In the other semifinal, in Santa Ana, FAS and visiting Alianza played to a 1-1 tie. The visitors took a first half lead through Jose Garcia (41'), but the Tigrillos struck back half an hour into the second period, via a strike from Ricardo Ulloa (75'). The second leg, to be played in the capital on Wednesday, will decide which team moves on.
GUATEMALA
Three of the regular season's top four made it through to the semifinals, but not without some trouble, while defending champion Xelaju found a first leg deficit too much to overcome against a surprise Malacateco side.
National champion and CONCACAF Champions League quarter finalist Xelaju fell at the first playoff hurdle, despite beating Malacateco, 3-0, in Quetzaltenango. Goals from Sergio Morales (10'), Allan Aleman (66') and Alejandro Alpizar (80') weren't enough to overcome a 5-0 defeat suffered in the opening leg.
Malacateco will face overall leader Comunicaciones, which saw off Marquense, 3-0. The Cremas left it late after a 2-2 tie on the road, as defender Carlos Castrillo opened the scoring in the 73rd minute. The gates opened from there, with Jairo Arreola (80') and Marcelo Guerrero (89') finishing the job for the capital side.
On the other half of the draw, Municipal survived a scare from Suchitepequez, advancing on superior table position after a 3-3 draw left the series square on aggregate at four apiece. The Rojos were up two early when Saul Phillips (3') and Mario Rodriguez (10') opened the scoring, before Adrian Apellaniz (27') pulled one back for Suchi. Three minutes later, Leandro Barrios added a third for the home team, which advanced despite late goals from Fabricio Ronchetti (83') and Wilber Perez (84') for the Deer.
The Reds will now face Heredia, which stormed back from a two-goal disadvantage to eliminate Halcones. Andres Marquez (14') opened the scoring early for the host and Nelson Miranda (25') doubled the lead. A brace from regular season goal scoring champ Robin Betancourt (34', 54') then gave the Jaguars some breathing room on the way to a comfortable 5-1 win and a date with Municipal in the semifinals.
COSTA RICA
In the first leg of their semifinal, host Heredia and Saprissa played to a 1-1 draw in Cordero. Douglas Sequeira (30') struck first for the visitors, before Yendrick Ruiz (54') leveled the series, which is headed back to the capital for next week's deciding match.
The semifinal between Limon and Alajuelense kicks off Wednesday at the Estadio Nacional in San Jose.
