Red Bulls earn tie with W Connection in 1st leg of CONCACAF Champions League preliminary round

Red Bulls tie W Connection in CONCACAF play

MARABELLA, Trinidad — The New York Red Bulls got second-half goals from Ernst Oebster and Alfredo Pacheco and earned a 2-2 with W Connection in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League preliminary round on Thursday night.

Jonathan Fana gave Connection of Trinidad a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute, but New York rallied behind goals by Oebster in the 47th minute and Pacheco in the 59th to go up 2-1.

Hughtun Hector tied it in the 71st minute to give Connection hope for the second leg on Wednesday.

In other games Thursday, Javier Orozco’s hat trick helped Cruz Azul of Mexico earn a 6-2 road victory over Costa Rican club Herediano, and Honduran club Olimpia rallied to beat Arabe Unido of Panama 2-1 at home.

The Champions League is the premium competition for clubs in North and Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament winner qualifies to play against the champions from other continents in the World Club Championship.