Damn Islanders! They did it again…

By: BoriQa | March 4th, 2009

Damned by most experts all over the soccer world and against all odds, the Puerto Rico Islanders did it again! They won when they were not supposed to, again!!!

An Orange Tsunami hit Honduran sea shores today taking down the mighty Green Monster and pushing the way clear for the Fantastic Islanders to move on to the CONCACAF Champions League Semi-Finals!

The Islanders could not have found better timing to win their first road game in the tournament (1-3-1 on the road and 5-3-2 overall [W-T-L] in the CCL).

The last Puerto Rican “international” road win was a 7-1 trumping of 4-time Surinamese champion SV Leo Victor at the 2007-08 CFU Champions Cup quarterfinals in Trinidad & Tobago. After that “goleada” the Islanders went 0-4-2 [W-T-L] on the road in the CFU & CCL combined, before defeating Marathon tonight at San Pedro Sula.

Puerto Rico accomplished something that no other team was able to do before in the 2008-09 Champions League, score and defeat the 6-time Honduran Champion CD Marathon at their home at the Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, in San Pedro Sulá.

As part of action in the 1st round, in the “Group of Death” Marathon shutout Mexican powerhouse Cruz Azul 2-0 and DC United from the MLS by the same score. In the battle of Central American Monsters, the Green Monster killed the Purple Monster of Saprissa (Costa Rica) also 2-0. The only team to score against Marathon at the Olímpico was El Salvador’s Isidro Metapan in their 2-1 loss to the Green Monster in the preliminary round.

The Islanders came into the game with a 2-1 lead in the 1st leg, and would have been perfectly comfortable to go back home and to the semifinals with a nil-nil draw. But the unimaginable happened…

The Islanders had held Marathon off for the full 90 minutes, and were waiting for the final couple of minutes to tick away, when…

…seconds into extra-time they put the dagger in the Green Monster’ throat on a counter attack, where newly acquired Jamaican striker Nicholas Addlery scored an “alajuelazo” [a late 85+ minute game result-changing goal] for the game’s only goal, to give the Islanders a late 1-0 win over Marathon, and advance the Boricuas to the semifinals. Addlery also scored the first goal in the Islanders win over Marathon last week in Bayamón.

Puerto Rico goalkeeper Bill “The Wall” Gaudette, who led the USL with 10 shutouts last year, was brilliant as usual; and was kept very active by the Green Monster, as he earned his first clean sheet of the tournament. Great timing Bill!!!

At the end, the USL’s 2008 Goalkeeper of the Year, justifiably could not contain his emotions.

The Islanders are now 2-1-0 [W-T-L] on elimination games in the 2008-09 Champions League. (2-1 win over Liga Alajuelense on the 2nd leg of the preliminary round, 2-2 draw with Tauro FC in the final game of the group stage, and this 1-0 win in the quartefinals against Marathon).