The Sporty Saprissa was crowned this Saturday for the thirty-seventh time soccer champion of Costa Rica when enduring the pressure of a Heredian who won the game 1-0, but was unable to come back from the 2-0 loss he conceded in the first leg despite playing with another player for almost an hour.
Jefferson Brenes’s goal in the 8th minute gave Herediano the motivation to come back and even more so in the 36th minute, when Saprissa defender Kendall Waston, a stronghold of his team and a dangerous offensive weapon in the aerial game, was sent off .
Herediano took to the field with the intention of overcoming the 2-0 loss they conceded in the first leg and dominated the entire match on their pitch at the Coyella Fonseca stadium, but could not find the necessary spaces to win the match more forcefully.
Just after 8 minutes, a center by Keysher Fuller found the head of Jefferson Brenes, who scored the 1-0 and made the red and yellow fans dream. Herediano continued to press, while Saprissa dedicated themselves to defending solidly and looking for some counterattack play with the Argentine Mariano Torres or the Cuban Luis Paradela.
Saprissa suffered Kendall Waston’s dismissal in the 36th minute and lost a defensive stalwart and one of the team’s main offensive weapons due to his 1.96 meter height.
From then on, the game was a monologue by Herediano, who kept trying to attack Kevin Chamorro’s goal, but without the necessary clarity to create real dangerous plays.
Coach Jeaustin Campos reinforced Saprissa’s defense and better ordered the team to not allow clear chances and to hold the ball more for time to pass.
Coach Hernán Medford sent all the forwards he had on Herediano’s bench to the field in pursuit of the second goal that would extend the game into overtime.
However, Saprissa withstood the pressure until the end of the game to achieve their 37th title with a 2-1 aggregate victory and consolidate themselves as the most successful team in Costa Rica, ahead of Alajuelense (30) and Herediano (29).
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