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PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP)—Fidel Cesar scored in the 40th minute to lift Panama
club Arabe Unido to a 1-0 victory over Canada’s Toronto in Group A of the
CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday.

Both teams have three points from the first two matches of group play.

Toronto lost a good chance to rebound in the second half when Nick LaBrocca
was shown a red card in the 50th after a collision with Arabe Unido goalkeeper
Jose Calderon. Toronto went down to nine men in the 88th when Faud Ibrahim was
sent off for his second yellow card.

Cesar scored off a corner from Oscar Londono. The ball landed in the area
where Rolan de la Cruz headed on to Cesar, who got the ball in behind defender
O’Brian White who failed to clear the shot off the line.

Real Salt Lake defeated Arabe Unido 2-1 in the first group match and can
take the Group A lead with a win or draw Wednesday at Mexico’s Cruz Azul.
Toronto defeated Cruz Azul 2-1 in the first match.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP)—Honduran club Marathon beat the Seattle
Sounders 2-1 on Thursday in the opening Group C game of the CONCACAF Champions
League.

Roger Levesque gave Seattle a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute but Marathon
replied with a 27th-minute equalizer from Orvin Paz at the edge of the area.

Nicolas Cardozo scored from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time.

The victory gives Marathon three points in Group C, along with Mexican club
Monterrey, which beat Costa Rica’s Saprissa 1-0.

SANDY, Utah—Real Salt Lake fell behind early in the match and experienced plenty of frustration along the way, but they were able to patiently work their way back into the game and snatch a crucial three points from Arabe Unido in their first CONCACAF Champions League match, by a final score of 2-1. Alvaro Saborio scored both RSL goals to negate Armando Cooper’s early goal for the visitors.

First Half:

The opening minutes belonged to RSL as Arabe struggled to find their shape. In the 6th minute, Robbie Findley dummied a square pass from Will Johnson at the top of the 18, which found its way to Saborio. Saborio shot first time with his left foot but put it just over the crossbar. In the 11th minute, Andy Williams got free on the right side and unleashed a shot that was destined to tuck inside the far post, but Unido goalkeeper Jose Calderon made a strong diving save. Finally, just a minute later Johnson again had a nice attempt on goal that was well-saved by Calderon.

Salt Lake was firmly in charge, but it was Arabe Unido who took the lead, scoring against the run of play in the 13th minute. A defensive breakdown left Cooper open on the Real back line, and when Victor Mendieta found him with a through ball, Cooper was in on goal with only Nat Borchers and Nick Rimando to beat. He stepped partially around Borchers and shot. Borchers got a foot on it, but his deflection only served to change the trajectory enough to prevent Rimando from getting to it, and it bounced slowly into the goal to give Unido the 1-0 lead.

In the 29th minute, the game changed in favor of Real Salt Lake when Arabe Unido’s Nahil Carroll went in on a very cynical studs-up tackle on Kyle Beckerman. The tackle left referee Paul Ward no choice but to go to his back pocket and show Carroll a red card.

With the man advantage, RSL pressed forward with little abandon, throwing everything they had at Arabe Unido’s goal. After several near misses and frustrating moments, Salt Lake finally broke through in the 44th minute. Chris Wingert brought the ball unimpeded up the left wing and crossed a beautiful driven ball onto the top of the 6-yard box. Saborio got behind his man and put just the right touch on the ball with his head to slide it by Calderon and bring Real level at 1-1.

Second Half:

The second period began much as the first one went for most of the half – with RSL firmly in control but unable to break the deadlock. With the game level, Arabe Unido put on a clinic in time-wasting for most of the half with the result that very little actual soccer was played. Saborio nearly added his second of the night in the 75th minute off another cross from Wingert, but his header flew just high.

Morales had a good look in the 77th minute as Salt Lake got its offense in a better rhythm. He took a pass and dribbled straight up the gut and hit a shot that went inches over the bar.

The frustration mounted for RSL, but their patience was rewarded in second half stoppage time as Nelson Gonzalez was taken down in the box by Andres Santamaria, who earned a yellow card for his tackle. Saborio stepped up to take the penalty and confidently buried it to the keeper’s left to give RSL the winning margin.

Santamaria subsequently picked up another yellow, and Arabe ended the match with just nine men.

CONCACAF Champions League Group A action rolls on next week as Arabe Unido host Toronto FC on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Real Salt Lake head to Mexico to do battle with Cruz Azul.

For the latest insider info on all things RSL, follow Jeremy on Twitter

MEXICO CITY (AP)—Aldo De Nigris scored in the 25th minute to lift Mexico’s
Monterrey to a 1-0 victory over Saprissa on Tuesday in the opening Group C match
of the CONCACAF Champions League.

De Nigris scored after a pass from Paraguay’s Osvaldo Martinez. The victory
gave the Mexican club three points in a group that also includes the MLS’s
Seattle Sounders and Marathon of Honduras.

The Costa Rica club has a chance to equalize in the 85th minute, but Walter
Centeno’s shot from outside the area was stopped by Monterrey ‘keeper Jonathan
Orozco.

PACHUCA, Mexico (AP)—Pachuca won the CONCACAF Champions League on Wednesday
night when Edgar Benitez scored in the third minute of stoppage time for a 1-0
win over rival Mexican club Cruz Azul.

The result tied the two-game final at 2-2 on aggregate, giving Pachuca its
third title in four years with more away goals.

Cruz Azul won the first leg 2-1 in its stadium in Mexico City.

Benitez scored on a bouncing shot that got past Cruz Azul goalkeeper Jesus
Corona.

The victory puts Pachuca into the Club World Cup later this year, as the top
team in the Caribbean, North America and Central America region.

American midfielder Jose Francisco Torres, vying for a place on the U.S
World Cup roster, started and played until the 80th minute for Pachuca.

Pachuca pressed hard in the final 10 minutes, forcing Corona to come up with
several key saves before he was finally beaten by the Paraguayan striker from
the left side.

Cruz Azul, lost last year’s CONCACAF final to Mexican club Atlante. The club
also lost three Mexican league finals in recent seasons, and was eliminated last
weekend from this season’s Mexican league playoffs.

Cruz Azul coach Enrique Meza, who coached Pachuca to two of its CONCACAF
titles, joined Cruz Azul this season.

Meza also coached Pachuca to the Copa Sudamericana title in 2006, the only
time a Mexican team won one of South America’s top club tournaments.