Match Report: RSL loses out to Herediano in CCL opener

Well, that was a bit disappointing, wasn't it? A 1-0 drop to Costa Rican side Herediano, a lackluster performance, and a general deficit of cutting edge play doomed us on the night.

It would seem entirely easy to fuss about the departure of Nat Borchers through a red card and Jamison Olave through an injury, but strangely, those didn't have the damning effect we'd feared. And that was a bit of a puzzler. That we played a side in Champions League group play — where goal difference can make or break a team — that seemed content up a goal against a dangerous side was odd at best.

Herediano, for their part, mastered the technical aspect. They pressed well during the first 60 minutes, and then they sat back, got compact, and didn't afford us many opportunities. While we might have been unlucky once or twice not to score, Herediano did well to stop anything dangerous breaking past their midfield.

I can complain about the nature of their tactical approach. They plopped 10 behind the ball and didn't put an ounce of pressure on our back line. As a result, our defensive line — after the departures of Borchers and Olave, leaving it looking a bit ragged around the edges (Beltran, Watson-Siriboe, Wingert, Mansally) — had all the time in the world to pass it around. We didn't look sure what to do tactically; there was little movement up front of note, which was always going to be the case without Fabian Espindola up top, and that may have been where we fell. But all told, Herediano started brightly, worked well, then retreated into a very negative shell, seemingly content with a 1-0 win. It was, at best, weird.

Of course, it's hard to talk about all this without at least mentioning the red card received by Nat Borchers and the effect that had on the side. Was it a justified red? Probably not, no. But the replays we have access to aren't conducive to discerning fact from fiction, and while I certainly believe Nat when he says it wasn't a red card, there'd hardly be somebody more biased about that, would there? Still, I don't think it was rightly a red, so there's that.

We could talk about the officiating, but for me, it's nothing more than an ancillary concern. It usually is. Tonight, it didn't stop any goals from us, it didn't concede any goals, and surprisingly, Nat's departure didn't have much impact on the back line. Indeed, even Olave's departure didn't. Perhaps that's because Herediano, strangely, had no attacking intention after that. Weird, I know.

Of course, it had an impact on our ability to play in the midfield and up front, what with our being down a man and all. Perhaps that's how we were most hurt by it. Already, Herediano was packing the midfield, but with essentially six in that area, getting past them was always going to be a difficult proposition.

At any rate, while we might feel a bit hard done by all of this, all is not lost. If we beat Tauro home and away and manage a good win against Herediano, we'll make it out of the group. The impetus is still on us; making it out relies only on our own abilities and skills.

And that's how we started our Champions League run. Ouch.