2022 Concacaf League Preliminary Round (Leg 2)
CS Herediano vs. Pacific FC (1-0 agg.)
**August 23, 2022 at 8:15 p.m. ET/5:15 p.m. PT
** Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in San José, Costa Rica
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Pacific FC look to keep their Concacaf League dreams alive on Tuesday night, as they head down to the Costa Rican capital for Leg 2 of their round of 16 tie with CS Herediano. James Merriman and the Tridents enter the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in San José knowing they have their work cut out for them. If they’re to advance to the quarter-finals, they’ll need to win Tuesday night’s match outright, having lost 1-0 at home in the first leg last week thanks to a late Jefferson Brenes goal. A 1-0 win for Pacific would send the tie directly to penalties, while a victory by any other scoreline would see Pacific through on away goals. A draw or loss to Herediano would mean the Costa Rican side advance to play either Cartaginés of Costa Rica or Real España of Honduras. Pacific enter this match having lost their last two games across all competitions, falling 1-0 on the road against HFX Wanderers on Saturday in a match where the Tridents spent much of the 90 minutes defending, especially after Manny Aparicio was sent off in the first half. Nonetheless, they remain competitive near the top of the CPL standings, currently tied on points for second place with Forge FC — though technically behind them with one fewer win. They arrived in the round of 16 after beating Jamaican side Waterhouse FC, beating them 6-0 in the home leg after a scoreless opening match in Kingston. Pacific are playing in their first-ever continental competition, earning their spot in the Concacaf League after winning the CPL championship in 2021. Herediano, on the other hand, are veterans of this tournament, having lifted the trophy in 2018. They qualified this year by winning the 2021 Apertura title in Costa Rica, and they’re now making their fourth appearance in the Concacaf League. El Team, as they’re sometimes called, have started the 2022 Apertura campaign in blistering form, with six wins, one draw and zero defeats so far since beginning their season in mid-July. They sit atop the table with a league-best +10 goal differential, outscoring opponents 15-5 so far. As the third-highest seed in the Concacaf League, Herediano earned a bye past the preliminary round, so their match at Starlight Stadium last week was their first foray into this year’s competition. Like Pacific, Herediano played a league match over the weekend, as they beat Santos de Guápiles 2-1 away from home, thanks to yet another second-half winner from Jefferson Brenes. Tuesday’s game will be played at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa — the home of one of Herediano’s fiercest rivals, Deportivo Saprissa — because Herediano’s regular home stadium, the Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero, is undergoing renovations and the Costa Rican national stadium remains in use for the ongoing FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup. This trip to Costa Rica will undoubtedly be difficult for Pacific, who have a serious mountain to climb in what’s easily their most challenging away game ever. Nonetheless, their attacking players are never short for confidence; they’ll take to the pitch with plenty of belief that they can score an early goal and turn this tie on its head.
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3 THINGS TO WATCH
- Well-rested Pacific stars hope for joy in transition: James Merriman, unsurprisingly, rotated his side significantly for their trip to Halifax on Saturday. He made five changes to his squad, swapping out both fullbacks as well as captain Jamar Dixon and goalkeeper Callum Irving. Josh Heard was suspended due to card accumulation, so his rest was forced — as was that of Manny Aparicio, who did start the match but sat out the final hour of it after a 29th-minute red card sent him to the showers early. So, by a combination of planning and good fortune, Pacific have some fresh legs to use in Costa Rica, in a match where they will likely be hoping for explosive attacking play in transition. Aparicio and Dixon will surely have to cover a lot of ground to press without the ball, and Heard — along with Djenairo Daniels, who came off after 57 minutes in Halifax — will need to be dynamic in attack. Nathan Mavila and Kunle Dada-Luke should return to their fullback spots as well, and they’ll likely push forward regularly as Pacific chase an early goal. Energy will be key, especially in the late stages of this game, and San José’s altitude is similar to Calgary’s so fitness will be even more important for the Tridents to keep pace. On coming out of that Halifax game, Pacific coach James Merriman said: “We still feel strong, we still feel very confident in our group. We were able to rest some players, but those guys coming in still had to do a lot of work down one man. But what we lost physically I think we gained in character and the mentality and focus for this match. This is the stage the players want to play on. Everyone’s hungry, everyone’s up for it, everyone’s motivated.” * Herediano may open up more at home: The Costa Rican outfit were somewhat surprising in how they set up last week at Starlight Stadium, where they played with a conservative back five and sought to defend and counter-attack. They clearly hoped to keep the first leg tight, perhaps nick a goal or two, and then see things out at home in the second leg — much like Pacific did against Waterhouse. Often in home-and-away ties like this, teams are much more likely to open up and try to attack when playing at home, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Herediano turn to a more aggressive 4-4-2 formation or something otherwise attack-minded. That could, in fact, work in Pacific’s favour if they get their own tactics right; they’re more likely to find space behind the opposing fullbacks if they push higher, so wingers Marco Bustos and Josh Heard could find pockets to advance the ball, and direct players like Djenairo Daniels or Gianni Dos Santos could find joy on the counter-attack against a high line. “The last three games, I think defensively we’ve been very solid and very sound,” Merriman said. “Doing a better job in those transition moments as well. When we do win the ball we look to attack. I’m not sure exactly what to expect or how they’ll set up, but we’ve been very, very good the last few matches. The players have done an excellent job of executing plans.” * Individual quality could make difference: In a game where the margins are thin and goals may be difficult to come by for either team, often it’s a moment or two of magic that can make the difference. Pacific’s attackers all have the individual talent to seize control of this game: Marco Bustos is always capable of an outrageous assist or goal, Josh Heard has a knack for a lung-busting run into the box, and both Manny Aparicio and Gianni Dos Santos have been known to hit a pinpoint screamer from distance. It’s unlikely Pacific have more of the ball than their opponents in this game, so it’s imperative that they make the best possible use of whatever limited opportunities they have. Sharpness and focus have particular importance; they cannot afford to waste an opportunity to counter, and everything they do with the ball will need to be done with a high tempo.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Herediano wins: 1 || Pacific wins: 0 || Draws: 0
Last meeting:
August 16, 2022 — Pacific 0-1 Herediano
****KEY QUOTES
“We feel strong in the way that we’ve been playing with the ball and what we’ve been doing without the ball. We’ve shown versatility, we’ve shown that we’ve been able to adapt… Most important we know we need to score.” — Pacific FC head coach James Merriman “[Herediano] are a very disciplined team. They’ve been in this tournament before, they’ve won this tournament as well. They’re a good team, so it’s a matter of knowing which areas of the pitch to exploit. We had some chances, they had some chances, and at the end of the day they had one better chance than we did and they put it away, so we just have to be disciplined defensively.” —** Pacific FC captain Jamar Dixon**