TEGUCIGALPA – A strong defensive effort helped Tauro FC of Panama to a 0-0 draw with Honduran club Motagua in the first leg of the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf League quarterfinals on Thursday night at the Estadio Nacional Chelato Ucles in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Tauro came out with a very pragmatic approach, as they looked to set up a strong defensive front to keep the Motagua attack at bay.
Only a shot from distance that sailed over the crossbar posed as the biggest scoring threat for the Honduran hosts in the first half. Meanwhile, Tauro were content to let the game open up on its own and try to take advantage of space in transition.
The first big scoring chance would not come, though, until the 65’ when a driving run from Walter Martinez ended with a ball into Ivan Lopez, whose header went right into the arms of Tauro GK Eric Hughes.
Minutes later Angel Tejeda lashed a shot that skipped wide, signaling a further increase in pressure from the home side.
The chances continued to rain down for Motagua, including a hard hit from Jonathan Nunez from outside the box that Hughes watched go over the crossbar.
Motagua’s efforts would finally bear some fruit in the 81’ when a foul was called against Tauro during a mad scramble right in front of the Tauro goal, resulting in a penalty. Tejeda stepped up to take the spot kick, but rang his effort off the crossbar, leaving things scoreless.
The Tauro defense were then able to close things out without further incident to secure the clean sheet, leaving things wide open going into next week’s return leg in Panama.
