Pachuca celebrates after prevailing over visiting Tigres in the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League final, second leg on April 26, 2017, in Pachuca, Mexico, (Photo: Mexsport)
PACHUCA, Mexico -- Pachuca captured its second Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League title with a 1-0 win over visiting Tigres on Wednesday night at the Estadio Hidalgo, prevailing in the two-legged final 2-1 on aggregate.
It is the Tuzos’ fifth CONCACAF club championship, while Tigres fell in the decider for the second straight year. Mexican clubs have captured all nine editions of the competition, with Monterrey (2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13) and Club America (2014/15, 2015/16) being the other sides to lift the trophy more than once.
Franco Jara scored the only goal in the 83rd minute, when he pounced on a loose ball after Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman couldn’t control Hirving Lozano’s right-footed effort from 31-yards out. The 28-year Argentinean finished second on the tournament’s scoring chart with six goals, two behind Golden Boot winner Lozano.
The strike came just five minutes after UANL’s Guido Pizarro was ejected for a second yellow card. The key midfielder played with a face mask due to a broken nose suffered in the first leg.
Tigres, which would have secured its first-ever international crown with a win or a draw that ended in a score of 2-2 or higher, had its chances to get on the scoreboard. France international Andre-Pierre Gignac, however, was thwarted on three occasions.
He was denied by left-diving goalkeeper Alfonso Blanco in the 15th minute, hit the crossbar with a swerving right-footed attempt from distance in the 33rd minute and had a goal disallowed for offside in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time.
Despite his miscue, Guzman made two notable stops on Franco at the end of the first half, saving a 44th-minute header and making a point-blank stop seconds later.
Pachuca will travel to the United Arab Emirates for its fourth FIFA Club World Cup appearance, December 6-16, 2017.
