T&T international defender Aubrey David and his Deportivo Saprissa will go into their semifinal playoff the Costa Rican Premier Division ‘Clausura’ against CS Cartagines with some concerns after ending the regular season, winless in four matches.
This after the 29-year-old Guyana-born David was an unused substitute in his team's final round 2-0 loss at cellar-placed on La U Universitarios on Wednesday.
When the Costa Rica league resumed on May 20, the first to do so in Latin America, Deportivo Saprissa won their first three matches against CS Herediano (1-0), Santos De Guapiles (4-2) and Limon FC (1-0).
However, Saprissa was then held to three straight 2-2 draw by LD Alajuelense, ADR Jicaral Sercoba and Municipal before going down the bottom-placed team to raise alarms ahead of the semifinals.
Despite the loss, Deportivo Saprissa ended the 22-rounds regular-season with 45 points, five clear of Apertura Division winners' CS Herediano and bitter-rival LD Alajuelense while CS Cartagines ended fourth with 35 points.
When the semifinal round home-and-away series kicks off tomorrow, Cartagines will be at home for the first match against Saprissa at the Estadio Jose Rafael "Fello" Meza Ivankovich, Cartago from 3 pm (TT time) with the return-leg set for Wednesday at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Ayma, San Jose.
Saprissa will start as favourites despite the poor run of form to end the season having won both their Clausura encounters 2-1 on January 19 and 3-1, March 7.
By finishing as regular-season winners, Saprissa now has two chances at getting to the "Big final". Should Saprissa win the home-and-away semifinal series they will qualify straight to the "Big-Final" against the winner of the other series between Apertura champion CS Herediano and runner-up LD Alajuelense which also takes place tomorrow, and Wednesday.
However, if Saprissa loses in the semifinal playoffs, the two semifinal winners will then meet in a ‘Small-Final’ with the winner to meet regular-season table-topper Saprissa in the "Big Final" to determine the overall champion of the Clausura.