Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Quakes Can GM

Is Dominic Kinnear next?

This club last made the playoffs in 2012 when they won the Supporters' Shield.

The Quakes have made the playoffs twice in the eight years since returning in 2008 as an expansion club.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

MLS: Sunday Home Wins For Red Bulls, Timbers, Lions

Three games were contested in Major League Soccer on Sunday.

At Harrison, New Jersey:

Bradley Wright-Phillips scored the only goal of the match in the 55th minute as the New York Red Bulls defeated the visiting New England Revolution 1-0. The Revs' in-league winless run has now been stretched to six games and they have not scored in their last 362 minutes.

The Red Bulls' unbeaten streak has now reached nine games.

At Portland, Oregon:

Vytautas Vytas Andriuskevicius (16'), Fanendo Adi (21'), Lucas Melano (29'), and Steven Taylor (43') each scored once during a four-goal first half as the Portland Timbers coasted to a 4-2 Cascadia Cup home victory over the Seattle Sounders.

At Orlando, Florida:

Kaka scored twice (32', PK-63') as Orlando City knocked off visiting New York City 2-1.



MLS STANDINGS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

1.   Toronto FC (GP: 27; GD: +11; PTS: 43)
2.   New York City FC (GP: 27; GD: 0; PTS: 41)
3.   New York Red Bulls (GP: 27; GD: +11; PTS: 40)
4.   Philadelphia (GP: 27; GD: +6; PTS: 40)
5.   Montreal (GP: 26; GD: +2; PTS: 27)
6.   DC United (GP: 26; GD: 0; PTS: 32)
7.   Orlando City SC (GP: 26; GD: -3; PTS: 31)
8.   New England (GP: 27; GD: -18; PTS: 27)
9.   Columbus (GP: 25; GD: -6; PTS: 26)
10. Chicago (GP: 25; GD: -11; PTS: 23)

NOTE: With the New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia level on points (40) and wins (11), the Red Bulls have the superior goal differential (+11, to the Union's +6).



WESTERN CONFERENECE:

1.   FC Dallas (GP: 27; GD: +7; PTS: 48)
2.   Real Salt Lake (GP: 27; GD: +2; PTS: 43)
3.   Colorado (GP: 25; GD: +6; PTS: 43)
4.   Los Angeles (GP: 26; GD: +14; PTS: 40)
5.   Kansas City (GP: 28; GD: 0; PTS: 38)
6.   Portland (GP: 27; GD: 0; PTS: 35)
7.   San Jose (GP: 26; GD: -3; PTS: 32)
8.   Seattle (GP: 26; GD: -4; PTS: 31)
9.   Vancouver (GP: 27; GD: -9; PTS: 31)
10. Houston (GP: 26; GD: -5; PTS: 25)

NOTES:  With Real Salt Lake and Colorado level on points with 43, RSL have more wins than the Rapids (12-11); with Seattle and Vancouver level on points with 31, the Sounders have more wins than the Whitecaps (9-8).

Saturday, August 27, 2016

MLS: DCU, Philly, Impact, Crew, Hoops Gather Saturday Wins; Goose Eggs For Galaxy And Caps In SoCal

Six games were played on  Saturday in Major League Soccer.

At Washington:

Patrick Mullins produced a hat trick (40', 45'+1, 74') as DC United hammered the visiting Chicago Fire 6-2.

At Chester, Pennsylvania:

Roland Alberg (67') and Tranquillo Barnetta (90'+2) each scored once as the Philadelphia Union blanked visiting and nine-man Sporting Kansas City 2-0.

At Toronto:

Ignacio Piatti scored the only goal of the match in the 73rd minute as the Montreal Impact, despite finishing the contest with ten men, knocked off Toronto FC 1-0 on the road.

At Columbus, Ohio:

Justin Meram had a hand in both goals, assisting on Ethan Finlay's score in the 32nd minute and converting his own penalty kick in the 84th as the Columbus Crew blanked the injury-plagued San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 at home.

At Houston:

Michael Barrios scored twice (60', 79') and Mauro Diaz once (59') as FC Dallas defeated the Houston Dynamo 3-1 on the road.

At Carson, California:

The visiting Vancouver Whitecaps battled the Los Angeles Galaxy to a 0-0 stalemate.

Friday, August 26, 2016

MLS: Yura's Double Propels RSL Past Rapids (And To Rocky Mountain Cup Crown)

At Sandy, Utah:

In the lone Friday Major League Soccer contest, Yura Movsisyan scored twice (39', 48') as Real Salt Lake overcame an early deficit and upended the visiting Colorado Rapids 2-1 while laying claim to the Rocky Mountain Cup as a result.

Europa League Group-Stage Draw

At Nyon, Switzerland:

The draw for the group stage of the 2016-17 Europa League was conducted on Friday.

Group-stage play is set to open on Thursday, September 15.

GROUP A:

Manchester United (England)

Fenerbahce (Turkey)

Feyenoord Rotterdam (Netherlands)

Zorya Luhansk (Ukraine)



GROUP B:

Olympiacos (Greece)

APOEL FC (Cyprus)

BSC Young Boys (Switzerland)

Astana (Kazakhstan)



GROUP C:

RSC Anderlecht (Belgium)

Saint-Etienne (France)

Mainz 05 (Germany)

Gabala (Azerbaijan)



GROUP D:

Zenit Saint Petersburg (Russia)

AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands)

Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)

Dundalk FC (Republic of Ireland)



GROUP E:

FC Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)

AS Roma (Italy)

Austria Vienna (Austria)

Astra Giurgiu (Romania)



GROUP F:

Athletic Bilbao (Spain)

KRC Genk (Belgium)

Rapid Vienna (Austria)

Sassuolo (Italy)



GROUP G:

Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands)

Standard Liege (Belgium)

Celta Vigo (Spain)

Panathinaikos (Greece)



GROUP H:

Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)

SC Braga (Portugal)

KAA Gent (Belgium)

Konyaspor (Turkey)



GROUP I:

FC Schalke 04 (Germany)

FC Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)

FC Krasnodar (Russia)

Nice (France)



GROUP J:

Fiorentina (Italy)

PAOK FC (Greece)

Slovan Liberec (Czech Republic)

Qarabag (Azerbaijan)



GROUP K:

Inter Milan (Italy)

Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)

Southampton (England)

Hapoel Be'er Sheva (Israel)



GROUP L:

Villarreal (Spain)

Steaua Bucharest (Romania)

FC Zurich (Switzerland)

Osmanlispor (Turkey)

Thursday, August 25, 2016

CONCACAF Champions League: Two-Draw Thursday; CD Dragon Eliminated

Two games were contested in CONCACAF Champions League group-stage play on Thursday.

GROUP A:

At Couva, Trinidad and Tobago:

Angel Tejeda's successful penalty kick in the 50th minute lifted Honduras Progreso to a 1-1 road draw with W Connection. Malik St. Prix scored for the hosts in the 33rd minute.

Group A Standings:

1. UNAM Pumas (GP: 2; GD: +4; PTS: 6)
2. Honduras Progreso (GP: 2; GD: -2; PTS: 1)
3. W Connection (GP: 2; GD: -2; PTS: 1)

NOTE:  Honduras Progreso gained a 1-1 road draw with W Connection on August 25.



GROUP B:

At San Miguel, El Salvador:

Deportivo Saprissa held hosts CD Dragon to a 0-0 draw that knocked the Salvadoran club out of the tournament.

1.    Deportivo Saprissa (GP: 2; GD: +6; PTS: 4)
2.    Portland Timbers (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. z-CD Dragon (GP: 3; GD: -7; PTS: 1)

z-Eliminated from tournament 


UEFA Champions League Group-Stage Draw

The draw for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League was staged on Thursday at Nyon, Switzerland.

GROUP A:

Paris Saint-Germain (France)

Arsenal (England)

FC Basel (Switzerland)

Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria)



GROUP B:

SL Benfica (Portugal)

Napoli (Italy)

Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)

Besiktas (Turkey)



GROUP C:

Barcelona (Spain)

Manchester United (England)

Borussia Monchengladbach (Germany)

Celtic (Scotland)



GROUP D:

Bayern Munich (Germany)

Atletico Madrid (Spain)

PSV Eindoven (Netherlands)

FC Rostov (Russia)



GROUP E:

CSKA Moscow (Russia)

Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)

Tottenham Hotspur (England)

AS Monaco (France)



GROUP F:

Real Madrid (Spain; defending champions)

Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

Sporting CP (Portugal)

Legia Warsaw (Poland)



GROUP G:

Leicester City (England)

FC Porto (Portugal)

Club Brugge (Belgium)

FC Copenhagen (Denmark)



GROUP H:

Juventus (Italy)

Sevilla (Spain; won 2015-16 Europa League crown)

Lyon (France)

Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)



Group-stage play opens on September 13.

Europa League Qualifying

The playoff round of the Europa League concluded on Thursday with 22 games.

At Barysaw, Belarus:

Nemanja Maksimovic (50') and Patrick Twumasi (76') each scored once as Astana gained a 2-2 game-two road draw with FC BATE Borisov and won their series 4-2 on aggregate.

At Piraeus, Greece:

After Arouca topped Olympiacos 1-0 on the road in the regulation portion of game two, thus deadlocking the series at 1-1 on aggregate, Alejandro Dominguez (95') and Brown Ideye Aide (114') each scored an overtime goal as the home-standing Legend took the series 3-1 on aggregate.

At Ankara, Turkey:

Taigo Pinto scored twice (20', 50') as Osmanlispor blanked visiting FC Midtjylland 2-0 in game two and ousted the Danish club 3-0 on aggregate.

At Vienna, Austria:

Despite dropping a 2-0 game-two home decision to FK AS Trencin, Rapid Vienna still bested the Slovakian club 4-2 on aggregate.

At Genk, Belgium:

Mbwana Samatta (2') and Leon Bailey (50') each tallied once as KRC Genk blanked visiting Lokomotiva Zagreb 2-0 in game two and took out the Croatian club 4-2 on aggregate.

At Liberec, Czech Republic:

Jan Sykora produced a natural, first-half hat trick (8', 15', 41') as Slovan Liberec dominated visiting AEK Larnaca 3-0 in game two and took their series 4-0 on aggregate.

At Thessaloniki, Greece:

Garry Rodrigues (5') and Georgios Tzavellas (45') each scored once as PAOK FC blanked visiting Dinamo Tbilisi 2-0 in game two and eliminated the Georgian club 3-0 on aggregate.

At Trondheim, Norway:

Alexander Grunwald (58') and Olarenwaju Kayode (69') each delivered a second-half goal as Austria Vienna defeated Rosenborg BK 2-1 on the road in game two and took out the Trond Kids 4-2 on aggregate.

At Sainte-Etienne, France:

A 0-0 game-two home draw with Beitar Jerusalem was good enough for Saint-Etienne as the French club took their series with the Israeli club 2-1 on aggregate.

At Alkmaar, Netherlands:

A 0-0 game-two home stalemate with Vojvodina was more than good enough for AZ Alkmaar as the Dutch club took out the Serbian club 3-0 on aggregate.

At Maribor, Slovenia:

Despite dropping a 1-0 game-two road decision to NK Maribor, Gabala still won their series 3-2 on aggregate.

At Brussels, Belgium:

Youri Tielemans (PK-22'), Lukasz Teodorczyk (PK-40'), and Michael Heylen (61') each scored once as RSC Anderlecht registered a second 3-0 domination at Slavia Prague's expense, this time at home, as the Belgian club won their series 6-0 on aggregate.

At London:

Felipe Teixeira scored the only goal of the match in the 45th minute as Astra Giurgiu knocked off West Ham United 1-0 on the road in game two and upended the Hammers 2-1 on aggregate.

At Zurich, Switzerland:

Fernandao (77') and Miroslav Stoch (84') each scored once as Fenerbahce blanked Grasshoppers 2-0 on the road and finished the Swiss club's European campaign 5-0 on aggregate.

At Brondby, Denmark:

Ivan Ivanov scored in the 68th minute as Panathinaikos gained a game-two 1-1 road draw with Brondby and won their series 4-1 on aggregate.

At Elbasan, Albania:

A 0-0 game-two road deadlock with Partizani Tirana was more than good enough for FC Krasnodar as the Russian club won their series 4-0 on aggregate.

At Skopje, Macedonia:

Kalifa Coulibary scored twice (60', 69') as KAA Gent demolished Shkendija 4-0 on the road in game two and won their series 6-1 on aggregate.

At Lviv, Ukraine (due to ongoing war conditions in Eastern Ukraine):

Joseph Attamah (OG-23') and Marlos (PK-71') each scored once as Shaktar Donetsk blanked visiting Istanbul Basaksehir 2-0 in game two and took out the Turkish club 4-1 on aggregate.

At Prague, Czech Republic:

Jakub Brabec scored the winning goal in the 85th minute as Sparta Prague defeated visiting SonderjysE 3-2 in game two and won the series by the same score on aggregate.

At Belgrade, Serbia:

Domenico Berardi scored in the 28th minute to help Sassuolo gain a game-two 1-1 draw with Red Star Belgrade, good enough for the Italian club to take the series 4-1 on aggregate.

At Baku, Azerbaijan:

Rashad Sadygov (19'), Muarem Muarem (26'), and Dani Quintana (51') each scored once as Qarabag dominated visiting IFK Gothenburg 3-0 in game two and ousted the Swedish club 3-1 on aggregate.

At Split, Croatia:

After Hajduk Split outscored visiting Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-1 in regulation time of game two, thus deadlocking the series at 3-3 aggregate, 30 scoreless minutes of overtime were played, in the penalty-kick shootout, Barak Itzhaki, Orlando Carlos Braga de Sa, Haris Medunjanin, and Avi Rikan converted their spot kicks as the Israeli club took the shootout 4-3 and advanced to the group stage.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

CONCACAF Champions League: Hoops Gain Road Draw (And Eliminate Real Esteli); Wins For Tigres, Arabe Unido

CONCACAF Champions League group-stage play continued on Wednesday with the hosts listed first and all times Pacific.

GROUP D:

At Port-au-Prince, Haiti:

Amilcar Henriquez scored twice (4', 23') as Arabe Unido all but knocked Don Bosco FC out of the tournament with their 5-1 road demolition.

Group D Standings:

1. CD Arabe Unido (GP: 2; GD: +5; PTS: 6)
2. Monterrey (GP: 2; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Don Bosco FC (GP: 2; GD: -7; PTS: 0) 



GROUP G:

At San Nicolas de los Garza, Mexico:

Jonathan Espricueta (PK-44'), Fernando Fernandez (61'), and Julian Quinones (83') each scored once as Tigres all but locked up the Group G crown and a berth in the quarterfinal round after their 3-1 home victory over Plaza Amador.

Group G Standings:

1. UANL Tigres (GP: 2; GD: +4; PTS: 6)
2. CS Herediano (GP: 2; GD: -2; PTS: 1)
3. Plaza Amador (GP: 2; GD: -2; PTS: 1)

NOTE:  CS Herediano gained a 1-1 road draw withPlaza Amador on August 4.



GROUP H:

At Esteli, Nicaragua:

Atiba Harris' equalizer in the seventh minute enabled FC Dallas to gain a 1-1 road draw with Real Esteli.  Elvis Pinel scored for the hosts (who became the first club to be eliminated from the tournament) in the fifth minute.

Group H Standings:

1.   FC Dallas (GP: 2; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
2.   CD Suchitepequez (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. z-Real Esteli FC (GP: 3; GD: -2; PTS: 1)

z-Eliminated from tournament

MLS: Jozy Makes Things Rosy For TFC; Philly Top Crew In Columbus; Four Draws

Six games were contested on Wednesday in Major League Soccer.

At Orlando, Florida:

Jozy Altidore scored the winning goal in the 86th minute as Toronto FC defeated Orlando City 2-1 on the road to take over top spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

At Columbus, Ohio:

Keegan Rosenberry scored the game winner in the 74th minute as the Philadelphia Union downed the Columbus Crew 2-1 on the road.

At Montreal:

Hassoun Camara's equalizer in the  77th minute enabled the Montreal Impact to salvage a 1-1 home draw with DC United.  Lamar Neagle successfully converted a penalty kick for the guests' goal in the 39th minute.

At Bridgeview, Illinois:

Gyasi Zardes (31') and Giovani dos Santos (69') each scored a goal as the Los Angeles Galaxy gained a 2-2 road draw with the Chicago Fire.  Arturo Alvarez (34') and David Accam (PK-39') each scored once for the hosts.

At Houston:

Nicolas Lodeiro's stoppage-time equalizer (90'+4) lifted the Seattle Sounders to a 1-1 road draw with the Houston Dynamo, whose goal came in the 75th minute courtesy of Andrew (Don't Call Me Arsene) Wenger.

At San Jose, California:

The New England Revolution battled the hosts San Jose Earthquakes to a 0-0 stalemate.



MLS STANDINGS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

1.   Toronto FC (GP: 26; GD: +12; PTS: 43)
2.   New York City FC (GP: 26; GD: +1; PTS: 41)
3.   New York Red Bulls (GP: 26; GD: +10; PTS: 37)
4.   Philadelphia (GP: 26; GD: +4; PTS: 37)
5.   Montreal (GP: 25; GD: +1; PTS: 34)
6.   DC United (GP: 25; GD: -4; PTS: 29)
7.   Orlando City SC (GP: 25; GD: -4; PTS: 28)
8.   New England (GP: 26; GD: -17; PTS: 27)
9.   Chicago (GP: 24; GD: -7; PTS: 23)
10. Columbus (GP: 24; GD: -8; PTS: 23)

NOTE: With the New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia level on points (37) and wins (10), the Red Bulls have the superior goal differential (+10, to the Union's +4). 



WESTERN CONFERENCE:

1.   FC Dallas (GP: 26; GD: +5; PTS: 45)
2.   Colorado (GP: 24; GD: +7; PTS: 43)
3.   Real Salt Lake (GP: 26; GD: +1; PTS: 40)
4.   Los Angeles (GP: 25; GD: +14; PTS: 39)
5.   Kansas City (GP: 27; GD: +2; PTS: 38)
6.   Portland (GP: 26; GD: -2; PTS: 32)
7.   San Jose (GP: 25; GD: -1; PTS: 32)
8.   Seattle (GP: 25; GD: -2; PTS: 31)
9.   Vancouver (GP: 26; GD: -9; PTS: 30)
10. Houston (GP: 25; GD: -3; PTS: 25)

NOTE:  With Portland and San Jose level on points with 32, the Timbers have more wins than the Earthquakes (8-7). 

UEFA Champions League Qualifying: Copenhagen, Dinamo Zagreb, Citizens, Rostov, Gladbach Advance To Group Stage

The UEFA Champions League's playoff round concluded on Wednesday with five games.

At Nicosia, Cyprus:

Federico Santander scored the series-winning goal in the 86th minute as FC Copenhagen gained a 1-1 game-two road draw with APOEL FC and ousted the Cypriot club 2-1 on aggregate.

At Wals-Siezenheim, Austria:

After game two ended as a 1-1 draw after regulation (and with the series deadlocked at 2-2 on aggregate), El Arabi Hillel Soudani scored the series-winning goal in the 95th minute as Dinamo Zagreb took their series on the road with FC Red Bull Salzburg 3-2 on aggregate following overtime.  It was Junior Fernandes, whose goal in the 87th minute of regulation that forced overtime.

At Manchester, England:

Fabian Delph scored the only goal of the match in the 56th minute as Manchester City defeated visiting Steaua Bucharest 1-0 in game two, much more than good enough for the Citizens as they eliminated the Romanian club 6-0 on aggregate.

At Rostov-on-Don, Russia:

Sardar Azmoun (34'), Aleksandr Yerokhin (52'), Christian Noboa (60'), and Dmitry Poloz (66') each delivered a goal as FC Rostov dominated visiting Ajax Amsterdam 4-1 in game two and won their series 5-2 on aggregate.

At Monchengladbach, Germany:

Throgan Hazard (9', 64', 84') and Raffael Caetano de Araujo (33', 40', 77') each produced a hat trick as Borussia Monchengladbach destroyed visiting BSC Young Boys 6-1 in game two and completed their two-game frontier-styled fist-beating of the Swiss club 9-2 on aggregate.

CAF Champions League: Two Stalemates Make Conclusion Of Group-Stage Play

Two games, both in Group A, were contested on Wednesday as CAF Champions League group-stage concluded.

At Abidjan, Ivory Coast:

In the tournament finale for both clubs, ASEC Mimosas and visiting Al-Ahly battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Ndola, Zambia:

Chisom Chikatara's equalizer in the 56th minute lifted Wydad Casablanca to a 1-1 road deadlock with ZESCO United, enabling the Moroccan club to win Group A.  David Owino scored for the Zambian club at 16 minutes as both clubs had already clinched berths in the semifinal round.

Final Group A Standings:

1. Wydad Casablanca (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 11)
2. ZESCO United (GP: 6; GD: +1; PTS: 9)
3. Al-Ahly (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 6)
4. ASEC Mimosas (GP: 6; GD: -3; PTS: 5)

Wydad Casablanca and ZESCO United advanced to the semifinal round.

Wydad Casablanca will take on Zamalek in one two-game semifinal-round series with Mamelodi Sundowns will battle ZESCO United in the other.

The semifinals are set for September 16-18 with the return contests to take place September 23-25.

AFC Champions League: FC Seoul, Al-Nasr Take Series Openers

Two matches were contested on Wednesday as the AFC Champions League's quarterfinal round reached its' midway point.

EAST ZONE:

Park Chu-young scored the winning goal in FC Seoul's series-opening 3-1 home win over Shandong Luneng in the 31st minute.



WEST ZONE:

At Doha, Qatar:

Wanderley Santos Monteiro Junior scored twice (45', 86') as Al-Nasr knocked off El Jaish 3-0 on the road in the opening contest of their two-game series.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

AFC Champions League: Scoreless Start To Quarterfinal Round

Two games were contested on Tuesday as the quarterfinal round of the AFC Champions League commenced.

EAST ZONE:

At Shanghai, China:

The opening match between Shanghai SIPG and visiting Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors ended in a 0-0 stalemate.



WEST ZONE:

At Al Ain, United Arab Emirates:

The series opener between Al-Ain FC and visiting Lokomotiv Tashkent ended in a 0-0 deadlock.

Where Are The ATMs?

The Banc of California has plastered its' name to the new stadium as ground was broken on Tuesday morning.

It will become home to the Los Angeles Football Club when the MLS expansion club starts play year after next.

CAF Champions League:

At Port Harcourt, Nigeria:

In the lone Tuesday CAF Champions League contest, Mfon Udoh scored twice (45'+1, PK-60') as Enyimba bid farewell to the tournament after knocking off visiting Mamelodi Sundowns 3-1 in the final Group A match.

Final Group A Standings:

1. Mamelodi Sundowns (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 9)
2. Zamalek (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 6)
3. Enyimba International FC (GP: 4; GD -1; PTS: 3)

NOTES:  Mamelodi Sundowns and Zamalek advanced to the semifinal round; ES Setif of Algeria were disqualified from the tournament on June 23 in the wake of a pitch invasion and other incidents that took place in their June 18 home match against Mamelodi Sundowns with the results of that game (2-0 in the South African club's favor) expunged from the record book.

CONCACAF Champions League

Group-stage play in the CONCACAF Champions League resumed on Tuesday with three games.  

GROUP C:

At Vancouver, British Columbia:

Cristian Techera scored twice (8', 65') as the Vancouver Whitecaps all but salted away the Group C title and a berth in the quarterfinal round with a 3-0 home domination of Sporting Kansas City.

Group C Standings:

1. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (GP: 2; GD: +4; PTS: 6)
2. Sporting Kansas City (GP: 2; GD: -3; PTS: 1)
3. Central FC (GP: 2; GD: -1; PTS: 1)

NOTE: Sporting Kansas City gained a 2-2 road draw with Central FC on August 16.



GROUP E:

At Pachuca, Mexico:

Erick Aguirre (62'), Hirving Lozano (79'), and Jonathan Urretaviscaya (86') each scored once as Pachuca dominated visiting Police United 3-0, all but eliminating the club from Belize from the tournament.

Group E Standings:

1. Pachuca (GP: 2; GD: +4; PTS: 6)
2. CD Olimpia (GP: 2; GD: +3; PTS: 3)
3. Police United (GP: 2; GD: -7; PTS: 0)



GROUP F:

At San Salvador, El Salvador:

Mauro Portillo's equalizer in the 75th minute carried Antigua GFC to a 1-1 road draw with Alianza FC.  Oscar Guerrero scored for the Salvadoran club in the 58th minute.

Group F Standings:

1. New York Red Bulls (GP: 2; GD: +3; PTS: 4)
2. Alianza FC (GP: 2; GD: 0; PTS: 2)
3. Antigua GFC (GP: 2; GD: -3; PTS: 1)

UEFA Champions League: Bhoys, Legia, Ludogorets, Monaco, Dragons Advance To Group Stage

The second half of the playoff round of the UEFA Champions League commenced on Tuesday with five games.

At Plzen, Czech Republic:

Virgil Misidjan (17') and Claudiu Keseru (90'+5) each scored a goal as Ludogorets Razgrad gained a 2-2 game-two road draw with FC Viktoria Plzen, good enough for the Bulgarian club to win their series 4-2 on aggregate.

At Beersheba, Israel:

Despite dropping a 2-0 game-two road decision to Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Celtic still won their series with the Israeli club 5-4 on aggregate.

At Warsaw, Poland:

Michal Kucharczyk's second-half stoppage-time tally (90'+2) lifted Legia Warsaw to a 1-1 home draw with Dundalk, good enough for the Polish club to take out their Irish guests 3-1 on aggregate and advance to the group stage for the first time since 1995-96.

At Rome:

Felipe Augusto de Almeida Moreno (8'), Miguel Layun (73'), and Jesus Corona (75') produced the goal power as FC Porto dominated nine-man AS Roma 3-0 on the road in game two and won their series 4-1 on aggregate.

At Fontvieille, Monaco:

Fabinho scored the game's lone goal with his penalty kick in the opening minute of second-half stoppage time as AS Monaco defeated visiting Villarreal 1-0 in game two and ousted the Yellow Submarine 3-1 on aggregate.