The Beginning and the End

On successive nights fans across North America were treated to games representing the beginning and the end of three CONCACAF Champions League series. Major League Soccer continued its US Open Cup qualification tournament Tuesday and the Nutrilite Canadian Championship kicked off Wednesday to determine future CCL participants while the CCL itself crowned its third champion late Wednesday night.

On a historic night for MLS Wednesday, Real Salt Lake came up short in the championship of third edition of the CCL tournament, falling 1-0 at home in Rio Tinto Stadium on a Humberto Suazo goal just before halftime. Tied 2-2 after playing in Mexico, the MLS side had the better of play in the first half, stringing excellent series of passes together all over the pitch to elude Monterrey, but never found the go-ahead goal. The failure to find the back of the net proved costly as Suazo’s stunner seemed to throw RSL off mentally, coming out in the second half without the same touch on the ball they held before and ultimately resorting to the long ball when they realized that was the case. The goal would never come despite some anxious moments, denying MLS its first trip to the FIFA Club World Cup.

Earlier in the evening further north, the four professional Canadian sides squared off in the first legs of the semifinals for the NCC to determine the Canadian representative in the upcoming 2011-12 edition of the CCL. While RSL were on the wrong side in the CCL, the MLS clubs avoided upsets in Canada. MLS newcomer Vancouver Whitecaps snared a 1-0 victory in Montreal on a strike from Terry Dunfield and Toronto FC blanked expansion club FC Edmonton of the NASL, 3-0, on a pair of goals on the road from Maicon Santos and a third from Alan Gordon after the hosts saw Shaun Saiko sent off with a red card. The two series will conclude next week to determine the finalists.

Video:  Toronto-Edmonton  ::  Vancouver-Montreal  

Tuesday’s MLS play-in match for the US Open Cup is among the very first games to determine a participant in the 2012-13 CCL. Technically the fifth match of eight total that will be played to determine the final two MLS entrants into this year’s US Open Cup, the New England Revolution held on for a 3-2 victory against DC United despite a two-goal rally from the hosts.

Who knows, maybe two years from now the two-goal performance from Kheli Dube may be what started New England’s run to a CCL championship. After all, when Fabrice Noel scored the lone goal in the Caribbean Football Union’s Third Place series in 2008, I think it would be safe to say nobody expected the Islanders to later be a goal away from the CCL Final less than a year later.

Meanwhile, DC joins fellow American MLS clubs Chivas USA, Philadelphia Union, Houston Dynamo and Colorado Rapids as sides that will have to qualify for the 2012-13 CCL via only their play in the league this season.

Away Goal Dilemma

Something had to give Wednesday night in the CONCACAF Champions League. Monterrey had been unbeaten throughout the entire tournament and Real Salt Lake was on a 37-game unbeaten run in all competitions at home.

Well, maybe not. After all, a tie would have given RSL the championship and left both unbeaten records technically intact.

And that brings me to the often discussed Away Goals tiebreaker rule. Usually the argument surrounding this particular concept is the unintended affect it can have on the style of play utilized by the clubs playing in the series. But another detracting aspect would have been on display had RSL gotten the elusive equalizer. They would have won the championship without ever having led in the series. Granted, it is difficult to come from behind three times, but would it have really been a just result for the team that never led to win the title in a six-goal aggregate scoreline? Just a little something to consider.