Islanders are in the land of Soccer Giants

By: BoriQa | April 7th, 2009

Tonight is the Islanders biggest game yet!

They meet Cruz Azul in Mexico City for the 2nd leg of the semifinals fo the CONCACAF Champions League!

The New York Times said it, not me: The Islanders are in the land of Soccer Giants! And the Islanders are on their way to slay another Giant, this time Cruz Azul, who can’t do anything but lose these days. Just this weekend they lost 3-2 to Pumas UNAM, the same team that Cruz Azul eliminated with a pair of 1-0 wins in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

Some call the Islanders the last American hope in the Champions League. The CONCACAF site calls it the way they see it: The Islanders are looking to foil an all-Mexican party in Champions League final. And so they are, coming in with a 2-0 lead, the Islanders have very good chances of terminating Cruz Azul tonight!

Let us not forget what happened to our USL sister team Montreal Impact against Santos Laguna… But with that thought in mind, our tough squad, our reinforsements, St. Gaudette (yes, in Puerto Rico Bill has already been elevated to Sainthood) and General Clarke, an “impactada” is unlikely to happen.

The facts are that Cruz Azul (C.A.) needs to score 3 goals more than the Islanders, plus 2 more for each Islanders goal scored at Estadio Azul; to revert the damage done in Borinquen. One goal for the Islanders will need 4 by C.A. Two Islander goals will require 5 by C.A. 3 Islanders goals will require a 6 goal thrumping by Cruz Azul, and so on. Cruz Azul hasn’t thrumped (win by 3 goals or more) anybody at Estadio Azul in years. And tonight they ain’t going to break that streak.

Any win or draw for the Islanders, and they will be back in Mexico to dispute the game that will send the Boricuas to the World Clubs Championships… Cruz Azul can win by 1 or 2 goals (i.e. 3-1, 3-2, 4-2, but not 2-0) and they are still going to the gallows.

A 2-0 Cruz Azul win is the least desirable result to the Islanders, so they will go with all it takes to score first and stun the Mexicans, who will then just perish by a slow death.

Lets not talk about the World Club Championships, and the chance to play the best European team yet. Although on a recent UEFA preview they actually said and I quote: “How amazing would it be that the Islanders from USL-1 would face off against the European Champions in January?”

I’m just going to keep it simple and say: Cruz Azul, it’s checkmate tonight!