Sanchez’s magical strike sends Olimpia to Final

TEGUCIGALPA – A majestic strike from Carlos Sanchez in the final minutes earned Olimpia a place in the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf League Final after a dramatic 1-0 win over rivals Motagua in their semifinal second leg on Tuesday night at the Estadio Chelato Ucles in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

The late goal gave Olimpia a 1-0 victory on aggregate in the series and also snapped Motagua’s streak of five straight clean sheets in the tournament.

Winners of the inaugural SCL in 2017, Olimpia have advanced to their second ever SCL Final where they will face 2020 champions Alajuelense of Costa Rica.

A packed stadium welcomed the two teams and it made for an electric start with chances for both sides inside the first 15 minutes.

Things took a drastic turn in the 27’ when Olimpia’s German Mejia was sent off for a second yellow card, reducing the home side to 10 men with more than an hour to play.

Motagua went right to work to try to make the most of their man advantage, but instead the best look at goal of the first 45 minutes went the way of Olimpia, as a right-footed rocket from Jorge Alvarez from long-distance left the underside of the Motagua crossbar shaking before spinning away.

There were more twists and turns to come in the second half, and in a span of two minutes Motagua’s Marcelo Pereira picked up two yellow cards and was sent off, making it 10 versus 10 for almost the entirety of the second half.

As each minute ticked away and the game stayed scoreless, the tension increased and Eddie Hernandez was nearly a hero for Motagua in the 75’ when he snapped a header goalward, but Olimpia GK Edrick Menjivar was positioned perfectly to make the save.

Just when it looked like matters would have to be resolved in a penalty shootout, Olimpia left back Sanchez emerged as the hero by receiving a filtered pass and hammering in a left-footed shot from an acute angle in the 87’ to deliver the dramatic 1-0 win.