The loyal fans of Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA) got an early Christmas present this Sunday, December 22^nd as they dethroned the reigning champ Club Sport Herediano (CSH), a First Division football team in Costa Rica that is owned by an expat businessman from the United States. The match, which was scoreless during the first 90 minutes and in overtime, was decided in the end by penalty kick shootout.

It may not have been a pretty game by First Division football standards in Costa Rica, but it is important to note that this tournament victory actually puts LDA in the same league as Deportivo Saprissa in terms of number of championships won: 29. Saprissa is one of the most celebrated football teams in CONCACAF, and LDA has always been its arch-rival. Now that both teams are tied at 29 victories, this national rivalry is bound to make future First Division tournaments even more competitive and exciting.

CSH had home field advantage for this final match, but they only managed to take advantage of this for about the first 15 minutes of the game. LDA conducted several incursions led by Honduran striker Jerry Palacios, but capitalizing on attacks was something that both teams lacked all night. During the second half, the LDA playmakers and strikers were playing as if they were at the Alejandro Morera Soto Scotiabank stadium in Alajuela; alas, no goals were forthcoming.

The overtime portion of the match was even more lackluster since players from both teams were tired. They almost seemed resigned to settle the match and tournament via a penalty kick shootout, which is exactly what happened in the end. Only one player missed scoring a penalty kick for CSH, which was enough for LDA to take advantage and perfectly score five shots. Although history was on the side of LDA, a team that has beat CSH five times out of six at the finals, fans across the populous city of Alajuela were mostly silent until the very end. Their celebration, however, would go on until very late at night.