Published 4/2/2007 5:26:49 AM by Shane Barrow from Dallas, Texas

Real Madrid, Spain 4  Solar SC, USA 0
Chelsea, England  2 CD Guadalajara, Mexico 1
Deportivo Saprissa, Costa Rice 1  Southampton FC, England 3
Takigawa Dai Ni, Japan 1 Arsenal FC USA 3
Sao Paulo Futebol Clube, Brazil 2 Tigres, Mexico 1
Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany 1  Shamrock Rovers FC, Ireland 0

Real Madrid showed why they are considered a favorite to win the Super Group title this year as they thoroughly dominated 3-time Region III champion Solar SC of Dallas in a 4-0 win.  A Solar side known for its strong midfield and possession game was beaten badly by the Real Madrid midfielders.

The Spanish giants did a good job of controlling midfield to limit Solar’s productivity, and as the game wore on showed some considerable flair and skill in the attack. Good work from Solar goalkeeper Brock Duckworth kept the final score from being worse for the Dallas side.

Real Madrid opened the game searching for an early goal and that’s exactly what they got when an attack yielded a free kick outside the Solar penalty area.  Jose Manuel Cruz placed a shot over the wall and into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. Shortly afterwards Real Madrid went ahead 2-0 after a perfectly weighted ball from Javier Hernandez sprung Lionnel Frank who finished smartly.

One of the top college recruits in the nation Cameron Brown was active despite the early deficit.  Brown is coming off a knee injury but looked dangerous as he had an appeal for a penalty kick denied and later supplied the pass to Zach Nulisch for a shot that was blocked at the last moment.

The game went to halftime with Real Madrid on top 2-0. Solar came out of the break looking to get back into the game and produced several offensive opportunities in the first 10 minutes of the half.  Unfortunately none of the pressure was rewarded and Real Madrid was able to turn the tide and grab a goal in the 55th minute.  Javier Rodriguez picked up a pass and calmly put it home for an insurmountable 3-0 deficit.

Solar seemed to lose hope with the 3rd goal and Real Madrid took total control of the match.  Kevin Smith inserted some fresh players into the game to try to change the flow but the 4th goal for Real was still to come. Despite solid play from Solar keeper Brock Duckworth, the Solar defense could not withstand the onslaught as Rodriguez scored 2nd after good combination play from Luis Hernandez and Gerard Gomacamps.

In Group B play, Chelsea beat CD Guadalajara in the showcase night game at Pizza Hut Park 2-1 while Arsenal FC of California recovered from a slow start to defeat Japanese side Takigawa Dai Ni 3-1.  Arsenal faces Chivas at 4pm tomorrow while Chelsea faces Takigawa also at 4pm.

In Group C Sao Paulo Futebol Clube of Brazil and Eintracht Frankfurt of Germany both won today and meet tomorrow at noon in a matchup that will go along way to determining the Group C champion.  Tigres and Shamrock FC of Ireland meet tomorrow at 10am in a game where the loser will be eliminated.

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