A second-half onslaught widened Philadelphia Union’s margin of victory to 5-0 against Defence Force on Wednesday in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, during the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup opening-round series.
Barring an epic collapse in the second game of the two-leg, total-goal series on Feb. 26 in Chester, Pa., Philadelphia would advance to face Mexican powerhouse Club America in the round of 16 next month.
Milan Iloski curled a free kick inside the near post in the 30th minute, Ezekiel Alladoh doubled the lead with a 32nd-minute header.
Olwethu Makhanya skied high to head in Iloski’s corner kick at 64 minutes. Substitute Bruno Damiani proceeded to bag a brace, converting Cavan Sullivan’s sharp pass in the 69th minute and a penalty kick to the lower left corner in the 81st.
Philadelphia put eight shots on target to Defence Force’s one. Four players from the Trinidadian side were booked, and Joevin Jones saw a straight red in second-half stoppage time for fouling Sullivan on a breakaway.
FC Cincinnati 4, O&M FC 0
A pair of first-half goals and then two in the late going gave the Orange and Blue a comfortable victory at Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.
FC Cincinnati will attempt to clinch advancement at home on Feb. 25. The winner of the two-leg, total-goals series moves on to meet Tigres UANL, which advanced last week with a 4-0 aggregate victory over Forge FC of Hamilton, Ontario.
Ayoub Jabbari, a second-half Cincinnati substitute, sealed the first leg by scoring twice. He beat O&M goalkeeper Omry Bello inside the near post from a tight angle in the 86th minute, then blasted in a half-volley from close to the penalty spot in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.
Tom Barlow opened the scoring in the 12th minute, driving in a rebound with his left foot from long range. Kevin Denkey doubled the lead in the 33rd minute with a 20-yard shot that slipped through Bello’s legs.
Whitecaps 0, Cartagines 0
Vancouver dominated the possession and shooting stats but still came away with a scoreless draw against CS Cartagines in the teams’ opening leg at Cartago, Costa Rica.
The decisive second leg will be played on Feb. 25 at Vancouver, with the Seattle Sounders awaiting the victor in the round of 16.
The Whitecaps held the ball for three-quarters of the match and held a 17-7 edge in shots, including a 5-0 margin in shots on target. Cartagines goalkeeper Kevin Briceno was credited with four saves, while Yohei Takaoka didn’t have a stop to make.
–Field Level Media
