MIAMI, Florida – Two teams with plenty of Scotiabank Concacaf League experience will clash in the 2021 SCL Round of 16 as CD Marathon of Honduras welcome in Real Esteli of Nicaragua in the first leg on Wednesday night at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
Marathon are competing in their third straight SCL and will be arriving into the series against the Pinoleros with a lot of confidence after eliminating another Nicaraguan side, Diriangen, in the Preliminary Round, 3-1 on aggregate.
The Catracho club were led by the likes of MFs Mario Martinez and Kervin Arriaga, who each found the back of the net over the two legs.
There is ample big-game Concacaf experience on the Marathon roster, including veteran DF Emilio Izaguirre and legendary striker Carlo Costly, each of whom will be eager to make an impact over the two legs.
Real Esteli will be appearing in their first match of the 2021 SCL, their fourth overall, and will be bolstered by the memories of their magical run in the 2020 tournament.
Not only did Real Esteli win their first ever SCL series, defeating 2018 SCL champions Herediano of Costa Rica 1-0 in the Round of 16, they also qualified for the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League in dramatic style by scoring a late 2-2 equalizer and then defeating Honduran side Motagua in a penalty shootout in the Play-In Round.
Many of the heroes from the 2020 run are back in the fold for Real Esteli, like attackers Henry Garcia and Carlos Chavarria, plus Fernando Mercado, who scored the last-minute equalizer against Motagua.
No doubt that Real Esteli will be keen to go a step further in 2021.
Game Notes CD Marathon vs Real Esteli