Caledonia AIA crashed out of contention for the knockout stages of the Concacaf Champions League after suffering another 3-1 defeat to travelling American MLS club Seattle Sounders in a sloppy encounter at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, on Thursday night. It was the same result inflicted on the TT Pro League team, after its loss to Seattle in the opening match of the group stage. The result means that Caledonia has recorded only one point from three matches, after the opening-day loss and goalless draw with Marathon. Only one team will advance out of the group, and Seattle now leads the table with a perfect two wins from two matches, while Marathon will need two wins over the American club to advance.
Caledonia remains with one match left, against Marathon, but regardless of the result, will be unable to advance to the next stage. Caledonia started well, but was put on the back foot after conceding a goal just before the hour mark. Sounders' midfielder Alex Caskey tapped in the opening goal in a simple finish, after being found with a sliding right-sided pass from Zach Scott. Sounders got its second goal on the hour mark, when Mexican striker Samuel Ochoa smashed the ball into the top right corner, following a series of excellent passes from the midfield of the American club. It was his second against Caledonia in as many matches. Caledonia got a lifeline in the 65th minute, when Jamal Gay was adjudged to have been pulled down in the penalty box by Scott. Kareem Joseph confidently stepped up to also score his second in as many matches against the same opposition (both from the penalty spot).
However, less than two minutes later, Seattle restored its two-goal lead, when Alex Caskey beat a host of Caledonia defenders before sending a left-sided cross into an open Fredy Montero, who tapped in past a clearly out-of-position Glenroy Samuel in the Caledonia goal. Both teams had their chances to influence a different scoreline, with both teams finishing with 17 attempts. Caledonia, however, allowed its defence to spread naively on too many occasions, in what was overall an uninspired performance. Caledonia will meet Marathon in its final match, away in Honduras, on September 26.
Caledonia:
Glenroy Samuel (GK), Aubrey David, Nuru Abdullah Muhammad, Kareem Joseph, Walter Moore, Radanfah Abu Bakr, Stephan David, Cornelius Stewart (Conrad Smith 72nd), Densil Theobald, Kerlon Ferguson (Trevin Caesar 63rd), Jamal Gay (Abdallah Phillips 84th).
Seattle Sounders:
Michael Gspurning, Patrick Lanni, Marc Burch, Zach Scott, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Alex Caskey, Mario Martinez (Cordell Cato 60th), Fredy Montero (Leonardo Gonzales 74th), Samuel Ochoa (Christian Tiffert 86th)
Seattle Sounders 3 (Alex Caskey 45th, Samuel Ochoa 60th, Fredy Montero 68th) v Caledonia AIA 1 (Kareem Joseph 66th)
Standings
Teams P W D L F A Pts
Seattle Sounders 2 2 0 0 6 2 6
Caledonia AIA 3 0 1 2 2 6 1
Marathon 1 0 1 0 0 0 1