the talent of the Puntarenas side may have been overlooked. Puntarenas were fast and composed Thursday night, suggesting their 1-0 win last week wasn't only the result of a subpar pitch.
The quality of the Central American team made the narrow victory that much sweeter for Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear.
"We feel that Puntarenas is a very good team," Kinnear said. "They played the ball well. They came trying to attack us, but our team never let down.
"We played with confidence, poise, and determination on the field, and we're very happy with the result tonight."
At the same time, Kinnear lauded the condition of the field.
"The field was a little bit hard, so the ball ran a little fast, but compared to the field we played on in Puntarenas, it was a 180-degree turnaround," he said.
Puntarenas, an historically small club in Costa Rica, proved their mettle on the big stage, matching Dynamo in possession and surpassing them in fitness.
Where Puntarenas lacked, however, was in the attacking third. Dynamo goalkeeper Zach Wells was forced into a handful of good saves, but for the most part, his goal went unthreatened.
At the other end, Dynamo took advantage of the spacious pitch, using the wings to stretch the Puntarenas defense. The home side also benefited from an advantage in size; they clattered two headers off the post from corner kicks, and the series-winning goal came off a rebound from a headed free kick. The reward: a two-leg semifinal series against Mexico's Pachuca, beginning on March 14.
"I thought the result did us justice. I thought our team played hard, and we definitely deserved to win," said Dynamo defender Kelly Gray, who scored the winner. "We came here playing on the offensive throughout the game. We now brace for Pachuca, which we feel is a better team than Puntarenas, no disrespect to tonight's opponent."
For Puntarenas, the loss is a massive let-down. For all of their efforts, the "other orange team" lost out thanks to a pair of defensive miscues. Brad Davis and Paul Dalglish were both left wide open on the far post on Dalglish's game-opening goal, and the Puntarenas defenders allowed Gray to be the first to arrive to the rebound of Brian Ching's header on the second.
"Tonight's game was just a bad experience for us," said Puntarenas star Kurt Bernard. "We didn't play to our level. We didn't play to our standards. They caught us off guard on a couple of plays, and they made us pay for it dearly."
Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
