BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, CMC – Gregory Richardson followed up a double strike from David Foley with a stoppage time item to propel the Puerto Rico Islanders to a 3-1 victory over Isidro Metapan last Wednesday in the CONCACAF Champions League.
The Guyanese striker scored in the fifth minute of second-half injury time for the Islanders, but a 56th minute score from Lester Blanco was enough to advance Isidro to the league stage of the competition for the first time in two years.
The result meant that Puerto Rico narrowly missed out on becoming the only team to reach the group stage of the tournament for a fourth straight year.
A soggy Ramon Loubriel Stadium field caused by the passage of Tropical Storm Emily meant neither side could get their offence into meaningful action.
Both sides had their chances in the first half, but neither could find the back of the nets, leaving the score tied 0-0 at halftime.
Blanco broke the deadlock in the 56th minute, when he picked up an innocuous ball, and drove a rasping left-footed shot past Islanders goalkeeper Ray Burse.
The home team equalised four minutes later, when Alfredo Pacheco bundled an Islanders’ player off the ball, and Foley stepped up to strike his first penalty.
He grabbed a second, when his cross struck the trailing hand of Pacheco eight minutes later, and stepped to the spot to convert.
Richardson then rose to redirect Nick Addlery’s cross from inside the six-yard box, but the Islanders failed to get the other goal needed to advance.
