He America Mexican won this Tuesday by 1-2 against Olympia Honduran in the first leg of the first round of the Champions Cup of the Confederation of North America, Central America and the Caribbean Football (Concacaf). The first half was back and forth, with partial dominance of the Honduran team, led by Uruguayan Eduardo Espinel, during the first 35 minutes.
Forward Jorge ‘Toro’ Benguché became the main threat for the Mexican defense, generating the majority of arrivals from the right wing. Benguché first warned in the 10th minute with a powerful shot that grazed the right post and tried his luck again in the 28th minute, when a left-footed shot was deflected by goalkeeper Luis Malagón with a spectacular stretch to the lower left post, sending the ball to a corner kick.
Clinton Bennett (Olimpia) disputes a ball with Erick Sánchez
When Olimpia seemed to control the match, the Mexican team managed to open the scoring in the 47th minute with Víctor Dávila, who took advantage of a corner kick and, with a left footed shot from the center of the area, beat goalkeeper Edrick Mejívar, making it 0-1 and forcing the Hondurans to look for a reaction in the second half.
Jorge Álvarez equalized the score in the 50th minute with a powerful shot from outside the area that slipped into the upper right corner, after an assist from José Pinto. Just two minutes later, the American referee, Ismail Elfath, annulled a goal by Benguché, who has just become the top scorer in the Central American Cup with eight goals, due to offside position.
TECHNICAL SHEET
1 – Olympia: Edrick Menjívar, Kevin Güity, Clinton Bennett (Santiago Ramírez, m.89), Emanuel Hernández, Facundo Queiroz, Carlos Sánchez, Jorge Álvarez (Raúl García, m.89), Edwin Rodríguez (Jerry Bengtson, m.79), Agustín Mulet, José Mario Pinto and Jorge Benguché.
2 – America: Luis Malagón, Sebastián Cáceres (Miguel Vázquez, m.92), Ramón Juárez, Kevin Álvarez, Cristian Borja, Jonathan dos Santos (Alan Cervantes, m.92), Rodrigo Dourado, José Raúl Zúñiga (Alex Zendejas, m.61), Alexis Gutiérrez (Brian Rodríguez, m.61), Erick Sánchez and Víctor Dávila.
Goals: 0-1, Víctor Dávila (m. 47); 1-1, Jorge Álvarez (m. 50); 1-2, Ramón Juárez (d. 88)
Referee: Ismail Elfath (American). He cautioned Agustín Mulet and Facundo Queiroz, from Olimpia, and Rodrigo Dourado, from América.
Incidents: First leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup played at the José de la Paz Herrera National Stadium, in Tegucigalpa
América, under the direction of Brazilian André Jardine, continued to press and finally found the winning goal in the 88th minute with a shot by Ramón Juárez that sealed the final 1-2. The second leg will be played on February 11 in Mexico, where Olimpia will seek to reverse the result.
