SAN PEDRO SULA – There will be no shortage of excitement when Honduran club Real Espana host past champions Herediano of Costa Rica in the first leg of the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf League quarterfinals on Thursday night at the Estadio Francisco Morazon in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
The match pits Herediano Head Coach Hernan Medford facing the same club he guided to a domestic title in Honduran football in 2014.
The 2018 champions can also look to their sterling record of first leg matches in a two-legged series in the SCL. The Ticos have accumulated five wins and just one draw in first legs, an auspicious sign for Medford’s group going into Thursday night.
These two sides have met in Concacaf competition before, with both coming in the Concacaf Champions Cup in the 1987 and 1989 editions, respectively. Herediano won both matches, 3-2 and 3-1.
Certainly, two teams with not only 2023 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League aspirations but also SCL title hopes should make for a great spectacle.
Medford will turn to players such as Jefferson Brenes and Miguel Basulto for inspiration. Brenes scored the club’s lone goal in the Preliminary Round versus Pacific FC, while Basulto leads the team in passes (121) thus far in the tournament.
A result for Herediano on Honduran soil will be no easy feat considering Real Espana’s Concacaf form of late. The club was very strong in eliminating Costa Rica’s Cartagines in the previous round, 4-0 on aggregate, and FW Ramiro Rocca is at present the joint-top scorer in the 2022 SCL with three goals.
Jhow Benavidez has also helped greatly up top, with a goal against Cartagines and 186 passes completed in the tournament. Not to be outdone is Devron Garcia, who has been a vacuum cleaner on the field with 26 clearances.
Match Officials
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (MEX)
AR1 Christian Espinoza (MEX) AR2 Enedina Caudillo (MEX)
4th Official: Oscar Macias (MEX)
Game Notes Real Espana vs CS Herediano