Monteiro moves fast to help take out Deportivo Saprissa
CHESTER » Patience is normally the name of the game in a knockout tie. Higher stakes make for cagey soccer as both teams feel each other out, until one determines it’s time to go for it.
The switch flipped at halftime for the Union Wednesday night. They started the fourth and final half of their two-leg CONCACAF Champions League tie against Deportivo Saprissa with three goals in seven minutes. Inspired by a transcendent performance by Jamiro Monteiro, they cruised past the Costa Rican side for a 4-0 win Wednesday night at Subaru Park.
With a 5-0 aggregate score across both legs, the Union advance to the quarterfinals in the club’s first taste of continental competition.
The Union will take on Atlanta United, which Tuesday night defeated Costa Rican leaders Alajuelense, 2-0 on aggregate. The first leg will be at Mercedes Benz Stadium in the final week in April with the return leg in Chester between May 4 and 6. The Union are the fourth of four MLS teams to advance to the quarters this season with Columbus to play Thursday.
The Union were content to wind down the clock in the first half, creating turnovers and defending solidly without taking undue risks. But whatever was said at halftime had instant impact.
“I’m really proud of the team’s performance over both legs,” manager Jim Curtin said. “We set ourselves up with a good result in Costa Rica. We knew tonight’s match would be very difficult. … They put a team on the field that was very hard to break down in the first half.”
Any sluggishness was eradicated literally seconds after the break. Barely 30 seconds had passed, and most of the 5,000 or so Union fans had yet to return to their seats, when Anthony Fontana bulled into the area and was tripped at the top of the box by Michael Barrantes. Referee Fernando Guerrero of Mexico pointed to the spot without hesitation.
Monteiro stepped up and buried it down the middle, goalie Aaron Cruz diving to his left and able only to flap at it.
That goal might as well as have put the game away, since Saprissa is winless in its last 10 in all competitions. It would’ve had to do
something it hasn’t in 10 games dating to Feb. 14: Score multiple goals in a game.
But the Union added on. Alejandro Bedoya won a corner kick with his diligence down the right side, and Kacper Przybylko planted an authoritative header on Monteiro’s delivery, his second goal of the competition. Fontana, who has struggled in a new role as a second striker, walked the back line and darted forward at the perfect moment, meeting a Monteiro slipped-in ball to fire low and to Cruz’s right, the goalie with no chance.
“At halftime, the message was just more of the same,” Fontana said. “If you look in the first half, they really didn’t have any chances and we were creating a lot of opportunities. We just needed to put the ball in the back of the net. Right out of half, we got forward and we knew once we scored the first goal, a lot of them were going to quit. And that’s what you saw, so happy days.”
Cruz prevented it from getting even worse with three tremendous
saves; smothering a Fontana shot in alone in the 70th, batting away a Monteiro header to the far post in the 77th and denying rookie Quinn Sullivan in the 82nd. But Monteiro headmanned what became a 4-on-3 break, danced around a defender and buried one just before the final whistle to complete his magnificent performance.
“Amazing,” Curtin said of Monteiro. “We’ve had good discussions, and I know Jamiro’s talent. Jamiro knows how good he is. The players know how good he is, the staff knows how good he is. When Jamiro is at his max, he’s not defendable. You can’t stop him. Even a couple of the players at Saprissa after the match, that was the first thing they all spoke about. … It’s no secret about how good this guy is.”
The Union didn’t do a ton in the first half, but then they didn’t need to thanks to the Leg 1 advantage. They limited Saprissa to just five shots on the night, Andre Blake not having to make a save.
For their flawlessness in the
middle and defensive thirds, the Union took a while to figure things out in the attack. They nearly found the breakthrough in the sixth minute off a corner kick, but Jakob Glesnes’ effort rattled off the post on Bedoya’s flicked-on header. Przybylko, who scored in San Jose, had an opportunity on the 40th minute but his back-heel attempt with his right foot only managed to hit his standing leg.
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NOTES » MLS clubs have advanced from eight of nine two-legged ties against Costa Rican clubs since 2008-09. The matchup of American teams in the next round will be the first in the knockout round in 11 years. … Saprissa was without captain Marciano Torres and two of their starting center backs from Leg 1, Aubrey David and Kendall Waston, due to COVID-19 and visa issues, respectively. … Stuart Findlay and Jack McGlynn both made their Union debuts, McGlynn his pro debut, coming on in the 70th minute . ... Sergio Santos returned from a toe injury to play the final 15 minutes.