Sydney FC goes down fighting From correspondents in Toyota, Japan 12dec05 Deportivo Saprissa 1, Sydney FC 0 CONCACAF champion Deportivo Saprissa has set up a dream match against Liverpool with a hard-fought victory over Sydney FC at the World Club Championships.
Midfielder Christian Bolanos scored the decisive goal two minutes into the second half when he chested down a long ball and drilled a right-foot shot past the outstretched arms of Sydney goalkeeper Clint Bolton.
Bolanos was overcome by emotion and broke down in tears as his teammates swamped him.
His strike set up a semi-final showdown against on-form Liverpool in Yokohama on Thursday.
Fortress Football 826So who came close to winning the title in 2002 if we didn't? Was there some little team of invisible dwarfs sandwiched there between first and second place that nobody...
The Reds arrived in Japan earlier Monday and said they knew little about either of their likely opponents, and would have been keenly watching the match from their luxury hotel.
Instituting a policy of employing only native-born or naturalised Costa Rica players, Saprissa has become a regional giant under owner Jorge Vergara and its victory will be considered one of its biggest ever.
For Sydney, a club less than a year old, the learning curve continues.
It will now play Africa champions Al Ahly in the fifth place playoff, but will be without defender Alvin Ceccoli who was sent off in the 81st minute for a feet-first challenge on Saprissa goalkeeper Jose Porras.
Sydney had the better of a dreary first half with its best chance coming after four minutes when evergreen striker Dwight Yorke dragged a right foot shot past the upright.
The Sydney defence largely kept Saprissa at bay in the first 45 minutes, with midfield dynamo Randall Azofeifa's long range drive its only sniff of goal.
But it came out in the second half with a new lease of life and the match took on a frantic pace.
Gabriel Badilla nearly gave Sydney a lifeline in the 73rd minute when he narrowly missed an own goal with a powerful header that flew past his own far post.
The San Jose outfit, winners of 23 Costa Rican league titles, soaked up intense Sydney pressure in a scrappy last quarter but despite having crowd support Australia had to settle for second best.
