TEGUCIGALPA – There should be no shortage of excitement and drama this Thursday at the Estadio Chelato Ucles in Tegucigalpa as Honduran giants Olimpia clash with stalwarts Municipal of Guatemala in the second leg of the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf League Round of 16.
The two sides engaged in one of the most entertaining and memorable SCL matches ever last week in the first leg. Olimpia looked on their way to a straightforward series win when they went up 2-0 in Guatemala City, but Municipal took advantage of two Olimpia red cards and stormed back with a pair of goals for a 2-2 draw.
The sending offs came for Olimpia veterans Jerry Bengtson and Boniek Garcia, making them unavailable for Thursday’s contest. Coincidentally, Garcia became the first player ever to score and get sent off in his SCL debut.
Municipal still lead the all-time series between the two clubs with a 6W-8D-4L record, but Olimpia will be hungry to get their fifth win against the Chapines after letting a two-goal lead slip away.
Despite the absences of Bengtson and Garcia, the inaugural champions in 2017 can turn to many outstanding players, like MF Edwin Rodriguez, who scored a goal and had an assist in the first leg. Brayan Moya also found the back of the net with a header barely two minutes into the contest and will be one to watch.
Municipal showed last week that they are a side that can never be counted out, especially considering their 11-goal haul in just three matches thus far.
Eduardo Rotondi has played a big role in that with three goals and an assist, while Jose Carlos Martinez forms a lethal duo up top with Rotondi and leads the team in shots taken in the 2022 SCL with 11.
It should all make for a very compelling 90 minutes of football in the Honduran capital.
Match Officials
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez (USA)
AR1: Cory Richardson (USA) AR2: Jeremy Kieso (USA)
4th Official: Nima Saghafi (USA)
Game Notes, Stats Olimpia vs Municipal