MIAMI, Florida – Alajuelense are heading to the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup after vanquishing Cartagines in the second leg of the 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup quarterfinals, 3-0, on Thursday night at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
With the result, Alajuelense defeat Cartagines 6-1 on aggregate and will advance to the Champions Cup for the second straight year.
Cartagines can still advance to the 2024 Champions Cup via the 2023 Central American Cup Play-In.
Alajuelense came out hungry to try to put the tie to bed early and they took a big step toward that goal with the game’s opening score in the 8’ when Alexander Lopez guided home a right-footed half-volley for a 1-0 lead.
The home side could start to sense that they were closing in on a Champions Cup berth in the 35’ when Aaron Suarez ran onto a flicked-on header from Joshua Navarro and tucked away a shot to double the advantage to 2-0.
With a four-goal cushion on aggregate, Alajuelense could play to their liking in the second half and Suarez almost tallied his second of the night in the 54’ when his shot off a rebound skirted just wide of the post.
Alajuelense never lost control of things and Freddy Gondola put an exclamation point on the series for the hosts with a rocket from long-range in the 89’ to complete the 3-0 scoreline.
