MIAMI, Florida – The 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup will know its first finalist on Wednesday night when Costa Rican rivals Alajuelense and Herediano meet in their semifinal second leg at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
The two teams played to a breathtaking 2-2 draw in the first leg in which three goals were scored in the first five minutes of the second half.
In the end, Alajuelense emerged with the slight advantage via the away goal tiebreaker, but long-time followers of these two clubs know that anything can happen in the 90 minutes on Wednesday.
Not only did Alajuelense and Herediano meet in the semifinal first leg last week, but they were also opponents over the weekend in Costa Rica’s domestic league in which Alajuelense earned a 1-0 win.
Alajuelense got their goals in the first leg from Carlos Mora and Johan Venegas, two players who have starred in this tournament. Mora has a goal and three assists, while Venegas has three goals and two assists.
Alajuelense have also gotten a lot of help in midfield from Alexander Lopez and Alexis Gamboa, with Lopez chipping in with two goals and serving as the fulcrum of the Alajuelense attack, while Gamboa completed a team-leading 59 passes last week.
Match Officials Alajuelense vs Herediano
Herediano’s two goals came courtesy of Allan Cruz and Jesus Godinez, two players who will be relied upon to provide more punch on Wednesday. Godinez has three goals in the tournament.
Other attacking weapons for Herediano include David Sayago, who has two goals and took three shots in the first leg, and Haxzel Quiros with three assists.
