CCL possibilities, unknown quantities provide fear, doubt

A bit of a short one today, as I'm off on a long drive and will be missing tomorrow's match (though I will be, of course, watching it — I'd have it no other way excepting being there). Anyhow, excuses out of the way, let's talk Champions League.

Let's take a look, first, at where things stand. We know we will almost certainly need nothing but wins to escape the group stage, and that's a little nerve-racking. I remain confident that we are capable of doing just this, but there's also a distinct possibility that goal difference could come into consideration, too. That's the frightening part.

So far, we've seen:
Herediano 1 - 0 RSL
RSL 2 - 0 Tauro
Tauro 0 - 1 Herediano

And we still need to see:
RSL v. Herediano
Herediano v. Tauro
Tauro v. RSL

Tauro's the pointless bunch from the ground, Herediano's at six points (with a GD of +2), and we're at three points with a GD of +1. From the remaining three matches, RSL could end up in the range of 3 to 9 points. Herediano could end up with up to 12 points, and Tauro could potentially reach 6. If Herediano were to lose their remaining matches and all others were to win, they'd end at six, while RSL would end at either 6, 7 or 9, and Tauro would end at 3, 4 or 6.

Now, I don't particularly think that's likely — Herediano at home against Tauro will likely be too much — but you can see that this is a tight group. It's institutionalized that way, too. Maybe they'd like us all to have cold sweats and palpitations as we watch the other group matches.

If Herediano defeats Tauro again, they'll be at nine points  — leaving us in a situation where we'd certainly be required to win our two remaining games to escape. If, by some miracle, Tauro pulls out a draw or even a win, we'd be in a significantly easier spot.

Anyhow, it's all a bit funny and scary at the same time. I'm not sure I'm a fan of this group stage in practice. In theory, I'm not much a fan either, but you know — that's how it goes. At least we didn't have to go through a qualification round, right? Right?

Right, a match preview will come your way tomorrow, so be on the watch for that. 'Til then.