MIAMI, Florida – A return to the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League will be on Motagua’s mind when they host fellow Honduran club Marathon in the second leg of their 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf League quarterfinal on Tuesday night at the Estadio Nacional in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Motagua arrive into the encounter with a 2-0 advantage on aggregate after winning at Marathon in the first leg, and the 2018 and 2019 SCL finalists can cement a return to the SCCL with a win, draw or defeat by a one-goal margin against the visitors from San Pedro Sula.
The 2-0 first leg win was Motagua’s 10th clean sheet in SCL history, equaling the mark set previously by fellow Honduran club Olimpia, and another clean sheet would be enough to send Motagua to the next round.
GK Jonathan Rougier, with seven saves in the 2021 SCL, is likely to be the man in net, while up front Motagua can count on the likes of Kevin Lopez, Diego Auzqui and Gonzalo Klusener. Lopez leads the team in scoring in the 2021 SCL with two goals, while both Auzqui and Klusener found the back of the net in the first leg.
Motagua will have to deal with a very hungry Marathon side, that will no doubt come out with an aggressive approach knowing that they need to find two away goals.
The visitors certainly have the talent to do it in the form of Kervin Arriaga and Ovidio Lanza. Arriaga registered the most shots against Motagua in the first leg (3), while Lanza had two shots of his own.
Then there is legendary striker Carlo Costly, who is yet to score in the 2021 SCL, but has seven goals in 19 international matches at the club level.
Marathon can also rely on the safe hands of GK Denovan Torres, who has 13 saves in 482 minutes played in the 2021 SCL and six career penalty saves in tournament history.
Game Notes FC Motagua vs CD Marathon