Mexico’s Monterrey salvaged a 1-1 draw on Wednesday in Guatemala against Xelajú with a goal in added time by Jesús Corona, in the first leg of the first round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Corona’s goal, scored with a superlative shot from outside the box, allowed Monterrey to avoid defeat when it looked like Xelajú would take an important home win. The result leaves the series open for the second leg, scheduled for Wednesday, February 11 at the Mexican club’s home.
Xelajú surprises and the turf weighs in
Xelajú had taken a surprise lead in the 84th minute.
With a goal by Ecuadorian striker Joffre Escobar, after a well-executed counterattack by the Guatemalan team.
The match took place on the artificial turf of the Cementos Progreso stadium in the north of Guatemala City, where Xelajú plays its home games.
The event could not be held at its usual venue, the Mario Camposeco stadium in the department (province) of Quetzaltenango (west).
The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) did not approve its sports venue because it is not near an air terminal.
Monterrey looked uncomfortable for most of the game, perhaps because of the artificial turf.
It was only until the end of the game that they were able to assert their dominance.
Monterrey depends on an agonizing goal
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Beyond Corona’s goal, there were no scoring opportunities for Monterrey.
Spanish technical director Dominic Torrent did not use several of his regular starters.
For their part, Xelajú, the current runners-up in Central America, played in front of their fans with a defensive approach that included five defenders.
It was effective for most of the game, except for the injury time when Corona scored the equalizer.
Escobar’s goal for the home side was a lucky one.
The Ecuadorian headed in a cross and the ball subsequently hit his thigh before entering the goal of Monterrey’s goalkeeper, Uruguayan Santiago Mele, to the delight of the more than 7,000 fans in the stands.
Both teams reminisced about the 2013 CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final series, where Monterrey defeated the Guatemalans.
Technical data
The result leaves the series open
QuéOnnda.com
Xelajú: Rubén Silva; Raúl Calderón, Manuel Romero, Kevin Ruiz, Javier González, José Longo (W. Tebalán, m.46); Yilton Díaz (Y. Jaén, m.71), Juan Cardona (E. Cardoza, m.72), Derrikson Quirós, Antonio López; Steven Cárdenas (J. Escobar, m.71).
Coach: Roberto Hernández (Mexican).
Monterrey: Santiago Mele; César Aguirre, Stéfan Medina (A. Aceves, m.46), César Bustos, Luis Reyes; Jorge Rodríguez (A. Martial, m.73), Iker Fimbres, Allen Rojas (R. de la Rosa, m.60); Lucas Ocampos (J. Corona, m.60), Joaquín Moxica and Luca Orellano (F. Ambriz, m.73).
Coach: Dominic Torrent (Spanish).
Referee: Filip Dujic (Canadian). Yellow cards to Escobar for Xelajú.
Incidents: First leg of the first round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup played at Cementos Progreso in Guatemala City.
With information from EFE
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