1. FC Motagua (HON) v Belmopan Bandits (BLZ)
Round of 16, First Leg
FC Motagua (HON) v Belmopan Bandits (BLZ)
Match Officials
A: Ivan Barton (SLV)
AR1: Douglas Bermudez (SLV)
AR2: Geovanny Garcia (SLV)
4th: Jaime Herrera (SLV)
Estadio Nacional, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Tuesday July 31, 2018 – 10:00 p.m. ET
FC Motagua (HON)
Belmopan Bandits (BEL)
Qualification Method: 2017, 2918 Apertura and Clausra Runner-up
Previous SCL Appearances: First-ever- SCL Appearance
All Time Record en SCL: G- 6 W- 3 D- 1 L-2 GF-7 GA- 3
Best SCL Finish: First-ever- SCL Appearance
Concacaf Club Titles: 0
Domestic League Titles: 13 (last Clausura )
Qualification Method: 2016, 2017 (opening and closing Champion)
Previous SCL Appearances: 1
All Time Record en SCL: G- 2 W- 0 D- 0 L-2 GF-1 GA- 5
Best SCL Finish: Eliminated in the Round of 16
Concacaf Club Titles: 0
Domestic League Titles: 7 (last 2018 )
FACTS
FACTS
Honduran club Motagua is putting the pieces in place ahead of its 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF League campaign.
The Aguilas kicked off its preseason last Monday, July 2 with five new additions in the mix: DF Carlos Sanchez, MF Matias Galvaliz and FW Roberto Moreira, plus the return of GK Marlon Licona and MF Kevin Castro who each spent the 2018 Clausura out on loan.
Sanchez is a familiar name in Honduran football circles with previous spells at Platense, Real Espana, Marathon and Honduras Progreso.
The 27-year-old also boasts CONCACAF experience, having appeared in the 2015/16 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League with Honduras Progreso (3 matches) and last year’s inaugural SCL (2 matches), also with Honduras Progreso, in which the Catracho club were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Universitario of Panama in penalty kicks.
Galvaliz joins Motagua after spending his entire career in his native Argentina. The 29-year-old played last season with third division side Defensores de Belgrano.
Like Galvaliz, Moreira arrives to Motagua after a career mostly spent in Argentine football. The 31-year-old Paraguayan spent the 2017/18 season with Ferro Carril Oeste in Argentina’s Nacional B, but is best-known for his five-year stint ( ) with Estudiantes San Luis where he scored 51 goals in 180 matches.
Motagua will play for the 18th time a tournament organized by Concacaf, previously played the Champions Cup, the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League, and now the SCL.
Motagua accumulates 3 matches without being able to win in a Concacaf tournament where it has 2 draws and one loss. It added 2 wins in the last 13 matches played. The last 2 wins were against Walter Ferretti, a team that eliminated Belmopan Bandits in SCL 2017.
The Belmopan Bandits are back in the Scotiabank CONCACAF League for a second straight year, thanks in part to a trio of Hondurans.
Bandits (BLZ), together with Árabe Unido (PAN), Walter Ferretti (NCA), University-previously Chorrillo- (PAN), Portmore United (JAM) and Santos de Guapiles (CRC), participated in the Inaugural Edition of the SCL .
It is a luxury for any squad in CONCACAF to be able to lean on a player who has FIFA World Cup, and such is the good fortune for the Belizean side who have Honduran FW Georgie Welcome in their ranks.
The 33-year-old 2010 World Cup veteran scored a hat-trick for Bandits in their 5-3 win over Defence Force in the second leg of the 2018 Clausura final, earning Bandits an 8-4 aggregate win and a ticket to the 2018 SCL.
Welcome isn't the only Honduran getting the job done though for Bandits. 33-year-old FW Rony Flores and 28-year-old MF Darwin Bermudez also found the back of the net for Bandits in the second leg against Defence Force.
With these three Catracho weapons in their arsenal, Belmopan Bandits will look to take the next step in CONCACAF play.
The club was eliminated last season's SCL Round of 16, 5-1 on aggregate to Nicaragua's Walter Ferretti, in which Welcome scored the lone goal for Bandits.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
HEAD TO HEAD: Previous SCCL meetings: First time
First-ever SCCL Meeting