ALAJUELA – The New England Revolution of MLS overcame a shaky start to close out their 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 series with Alajuelense with a 1-1 second leg draw on Thursday night at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
The Revolution earned a 5-1 win on aggregate to advance to the quarterfinals, where they will face seven-time Concacaf champions Club America.
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To the quarterfinals!@NERevolution advances to the next round! 🎉#ConcaChampions pic.twitter.com/5JxaNEiL2x
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) March 15, 2024
Down four goals to start the night, Alajuelense enjoyed a dream start by scoring in just the fourth minute of play when Carlos Mora turned in the rebound of a Celso Borges shot, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead.
The goal sparked Alajuelense even more, leading to a breathless sequence midway through the half that saw Johan Venegas strike the post, followed by a counterattack for the Revolution that nearly led to a goal, ending with Alajuelense breaking right back and almost scoring.
The pressure from the home side continued as the first half wore on, but the Revolution defense managed to hold firm to get to intermission unscathed any further.
Despite all the first half wobbles, New England still held a three-goal advantage on aggregate as played ticked into the final half-hour, as they started to limit the attacking threat coming from the hosts.
Alajuelense started committing more numbers in attack in a push for a goal and got good looks from Jonathan Moya and Joel Campbell, who each skidded shot wide with around a quarter-hour to play.
It all played into New England’s hands, as they gladly used the space left by the Alajuelense defense to strike in transition, with Giacomo Vrioni scoring in the 81’ to even the score at 1-1, putting the series to bed.
On Thursday, LD Alajuelense was coached by Alexander Guimaraes, father of Celso Borges, the captain of the champion of the 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup.
