T&T defender Aubrey David played the full 90 minutes but could not stop Michaell Chirinos from scoring a goal and adding an assist to help pave the way for a 3-2 Olimpia victory over Alajuelense in the first leg of the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf League Final on Wednesday night at the Estadio Chelato Ucles in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
It was a dream start for the Hondurans and it was no surprise to see all-time SCL assists leader Chirinos do the playmaking that led to the opening goal in the 12th minute.
Stationed deep on the right wing in the Alajuelense half, Chirinos beat his defender in a one vs one and sent in a cross that met the slashing foot of Jose Pinto, who redirected into the net for a 1-0 Olimpia lead and Chirinos’ ninth career SCL assist in the 12th minute.
Alajuelense simply were unable to contain Chirinos and his next bit of damage came on the left when his run toward goal resulted in a foul and a penalty in favour of Olimpia in the 14th minute.
Brayan Moya stepped up to take the spot kick, but Alajuelense goalkeeper Leonel Moreira came up big for his side diving to his left to block the Moya penalty and keep the scoreline at 1-0.
An action-packed first half would end with another significant moment, as a foul in the Olimpia area gave Alajuelense a penalty just seconds left in the half which all-time top scorer in SCL history, Johan Venegas, stepped up and converted for his 17th career SCL goal to even things at 1-1 going into the break.
Olimpia quickly shook off the disappointment of conceding on the final play of the first half and promptly regained the lead at 2-1 in the 47th, as Pinto found Jorge Alvarez, who unleashed a curling right-footed shot from just outside the area that beat Moreira.
Olimpia kept their foot on the gas and Chirinos flashed his brilliance once again in the 68th, this time with a sizzling right-footed shot that took the paint off the underside of the crossbar before slamming into the net for a 3-1 Olimpia advantage.
Showing their championship pedigree, Alajuelense responded and pulled a goal back in the 84th courtesy of the two center-backs. Alexis Gamboa picked out Giancarlo Gonzalez, who steered in a header to cut the Olimpia lead to 3-2, which held until the final whistle, leaving things wide open for next week’s decisive second leg at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela, Costa Rica from 9 pm.
