MIAMI, Florida – Alajuelense are through to the Final of the 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup by defeating fellow Costa Rican side Herediano 5-4 in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw in the second leg of the semifinals on Wednesday night at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
The 2-2 scoreline made for a 4-4 draw on aggregate, resulting in a penalty shootout in which Alajuelense converted all five attempts to seal their passage to the Final.
Alajuelense raced out of the gates and it was a familiar face who put them up early, as veteran MF Celso Borges thumped home a header off a corner kick in the 8’ to make it 1-0 to Alajuelense.
Herediano looked to get back on even terms in the match and Gerson Torres dutifully delivered in the 40’ with a sensational left-footed strike, as he collected a cross-field pass, cut to his left and unfurled a rocket that went blazing into the top left corner to bring Herediano level at 1-1.
Another big moment came in the 50’ when Alajuelense’s Edward Cedeno was sent off for a second yellow card, leaving the hosts with 10 men for nearly the entire second half and clinging to the away goal tiebreaker advantage with a 3-3 aggregate scoreline.
On the hour mark a handball in the Alajuelense area led to a penalty for Herediano, and Everardo Rubio did not hesitate to fire past GK Leonel Moreira, giving Herediano a 2-1 lead in the 64’ and swinging the tie in their favor.
Even playing a man down, Alajuelense started created chances in the late going and came within a whisker of an equalizer in the 82’ when Freddy Gondola barely missed the target.
Alajuelense kept pushing and in the second minute of second half stoppage time, Gondola was fouled in the Herediano area, resulting in a penalty in favor of the hosts. Joel Campbell stepped up and powered home the spot kick to even the score at 2-2 and the aggregate at 4-4.
Matters had to be settled in a penalty shootout. In the penalty shootout, CS Herediano started by taking the first shot, and Miguel Basulto's shot was saved by Alajuelense's goalkeeper Leonel Moreira. Johan Venegas scored to make it 1-0, Elias Aguilar equalized 1-1, Michael Barrantes netted the 2-1, Everardo Rubio equalized again at 2-2, Giancarlo González restored the lead at 3-2, Jesús Godínez leveled it at 3-3, Alexis Gamboa brought Alajuelense closer to victory with the 4-3, Fernán Faerron kept Herediano's hopes alive by equalizing at 4-4, but Joel Campbell, who had scored in injury time, secured the definitive 5-4 to seal Alajuelense's spot in the final.
