ALAJUELA, COSTA RICA — David Martínez shattered Alajuelense's dreams of a famous Concacaf Champions Cup victory, drilling a left-footed thunderbolt from outside the box into the top right corner in the 90'+2' to seal a stunning 1-2 comeback win for LAFC at the Alejandro Morera Soto. The Costa Rican faithful had roared their side into an electric early lead and dared to believe for long stretches of a fiery, pulsating evening, only to be silenced in the cruelest of fashions as the visitors snatched the points deep into stoppage time.
Santiago van der Putten had given the home crowd every reason to dream, powering a header from close range into the top left corner in just the fourth minute following a corner kick. The Alejandro Morera Soto erupted as Alajuelense seized the initiative, and the noise that greeted that early goal set the tone for a tense, combative contest that would keep supporters on the edge of their seats throughout.
LAFC, however, refused to be rattled. The visitors gradually worked their way back into the match, and the equalizer arrived six minutes into the second half. Nathan Ordaz latched onto a precise delivery from the industrious Mark Delgado and slotted a composed left-footed finish from the centre of the box straight down the middle, beating Washington Ortega to level the tie at 1-1. The goal silenced the stadium and shifted the momentum decisively toward the visitors.
The match had already been punctuated by a series of flashpoints that underscored its intensity. Six yellow cards were distributed across both sides — Guillermo Villalobos and Creichel Pérez for Alajuelense, Eddie Segura, Denis Bouanga, and Son Heung-Min for LAFC — painting a picture of a fiercely contested encounter where neither side was willing to concede an inch. Villalobos had entered the fray as early as the 16th minute, replacing the injured Alexis Gamboa, only to be booked almost immediately for a reckless challenge.
Washington Ortega kept Alajuelense in contention with a sharp stop to deny Timothy Tillman's right-footed effort from outside the box, while at the other end, Hugo Lloris produced a crucial save to thwart Celso Borges from close range, palming the Alajuelense captain's right-footed shot onto the top of the crossbar. Denis Bouanga also rattled the woodwork with a right-footed effort from a difficult angle on the left, assisted by Mathieu Choinière, in a moment that summed up LAFC's growing threat.
The teams shared possession almost equally across the ninety minutes — a 50%-50% split that underscored just how evenly matched these two sides were. Yet LAFC's greater composure in the final third ultimately proved decisive. Lloris finished the night with three saves to Ortega's one, a statistic that reflected the visitors' ability to create the more dangerous opportunities when it mattered most.
Alajuelense threw on Joel Campbell and Ángel Zaldívar in search of a winner, but it was the substitute at the other end who would write the night's defining chapter. David Martínez, introduced in the 64th minute to replace Ordaz, collected Delgado's delivery in the dying seconds and unleashed a ferocious left-footed drive that screamed into the top right corner, leaving Ortega with no chance. The away end exploded; the home faithful fell silent.
The scoreboard resets, but the table does not — LAFC carry the momentum of five consecutive victories into their next assignment against Austin on March 21, while Alajuelense must regroup and reflect on a night when they gave everything and still came away empty-handed.