Superb Saprissa meet Pachuca in CONCACAF Final

Saprissa 3-0 Houston Dynamo (aggregate 3-0)

Saprissa took their home field advantage and used it to advance to their fifth CONCACAF Champions Cup final. The Purple Monster, champions of North America in 2005, took the lead in the 33rd minute when Houston defender Patrick Ianni put through his own goal after deflecting Saprissa midfielder Armando Alonso's shot under reserve goalkeeper Tony Caig. It was just one moment in a long, shaky night for the 33-year-old English goalkeeper.

Houston would have their chances to test Saprissa keeper Keilor Navas, but the man dubbed Costa Rica's goalkeeper of the future was solid and overall Houston were outshot 15-5.

In truth Houston were always going to be up against it after losing Craig Waibel to injury in the 6th minute, many will question Dominic Kinnear's logic in replacing Waibel with the right-sided midfielder Brian Mullan, who himself was carrying an injury, rather than a defender given Saprissa's attacking options.

After the second half kickoff it only took the Costa Ricans 3 minutes to put the Texans to the sword. Great interplay together with shoddy Houston defending eventually lead to Celso Borges firing in beautifully from the edge of the area. Celso Borges is only 19-years-old and is surely a player to keep an eye on in the future.

Late in the second half Houston would start to find it's legs and manage to put pressure on Saprissa, the best chance came when Brian Ching managed to shake his defender and get a shot on goal with Navas seemed to be out of position, miraculously the 21-year-old managed to make a wonderful save at full stretch to preserve the home advantage.

With 15 minutes to play Tony Caig's brain seemingly shut off as he inexplicably rushed out to meet Saprissa striker Jairo Arrieta who subsequently rounded him and tucked away his team's 3rd and final goal.

It was not all roses for Saprissa however as they lost Walter Centeno late in the second half through a freak leg injury. The extent as not yet known but the Costa Rican international was in agony as he was carried off.

While Costa Rica has recently endured a bad spell it's obvious that the future is bright for the Ticos. For all the focus on the Mexican Premera and MLS, it's worth noting that Costa Rican teams have won 2 of the last 4 Champions' Cups and could well win a fifth as Saprissa will prove a tough test for Pachuca in the final.