Haiti's Violette embarrass Austin, Union and Atlas go through

Violette beat Austin 3-0 in the first leg last week and were rewarded for their valiant defensive display in the return game with a place in the quarter-finals of the competition. There was better news for last season's MLS Cup runner-up Philadelphia Union who had little trouble beating El Salvador's Alianza 4-0 after their first leg had ended goalless.

Philadelphia will face Atlas after the Mexicans blew away a 4-1 first-leg deficit with an impressive 4-0 win over Olimpia in Guadalajara. Austin, whose budget dwarfs that of their Caribbean opponents, ultimately paid the price for not fielding their strongest side in the opening leg, held in the Dominican Republic last week due to ongoing security concerns in Haiti.

Violette, a largely semi-professional team, only named 14 players for the game because of visa entry problems but they battled their way to half-time without reducing their three-goal advantage. They had goalkeeper Paul Decius to thank for that after he pulled off excellent saves to keep out early efforts from Austin's Argentine Sebastian Driussi.

Driussi had an effort ruled out in the 28th minute after a VAR review found that Ethan Finlay had handled the ball before crossing for the Argentine striker to turn in. Decius then got down superbly to keep out a firm downward header, again from Driussi and then Gyasi Zardes also had the ball in the net only to see the flag raised for offside.

The Texans finally got on the scoresheet six minutes after the restart with Emiliano Rigoni picking out his compatriot Driussi to volley forcefully home. Driussi added a second with a header in the 63rd minute which Decius made a mess off, allowing the ball to slip through his hands and his body and move the MLS team within a goal of taking the game to penalties.

There was a lengthy VAR review after Zardes went down under challenge in the box but the referee opted to stick with his on-field decision and not even 12 minutes of added time was enough for Austin to add a third. Violette were rewarded with a last eight meeting with the winners of Wednesday's tie between Panama's Tauro and Mexico's Leon.

 

March 15, 2023

Snoods don't help

If that result was embarrassing for an MLS team with facilities and resources and a level of talent that should have secured easy passage, Philadelphia took care of business at a cold and windy Subaru Park. Wearing snoods and looking disturbed by the temperatures, Alianza were unable to find the rhythm they showed in the first leg as Jim Curtin's team dominated.

Hungarian Daniel Gazdag had an early effort ruled out for offside but then the Salvadoreans had defender Alexis Renderos sent off for a second yellow card. Jamaican defender Damion Lowe glanced in a Kai Wagner corner to break the deadlock before the break and then Gazdag, who had another effort ruled out, made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the 62nd minute.

Andres Perea added two late goals to complete a comfortable win for Philadelphia, who will now have a mouth-watering last eight tie with Atlas. The Mexicans knew they had to score three and keep a clean sheet and they were put on their way when Colombian striker Julian Quinones headed home on 38 minutes.

Jonathan Herrera made it 2-0 in the 62nd minute after a scramble in the box before Aldo Roche fired in a third to leave Atlas 3-0 up and ahead on away goals. Quinones then wrapped up the win, winning the ball back on the edge of the box before delivering an ice-cool chip to set off the celebrations.

Wednesday sees MLS side Orlando City host Liga-MX's Tigres after a goalless draw in the first leg. Real Espana try to overturn a 5-0 first-leg loss at Vancouver Whitecaps and MLS champions Los Angeles FC aim to finish off the job against Alajuelense after winning 3-0 in Costa Rica.