The Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League came back from hiatus after their COVID-19 halt. Liga MX teams went back to work this Tuesday. Luis Quiñones made his presence felt and took Tigres to the semifinals with a header. The Mexican squad moves on after defeating NYCFC. The weather was humid and the pitch looked impeccable. SCCL soccer was back from Orlando.
An Oddly Entertaining First Half
Surprisingly, TIgres gave up ball possession from the get-go. Nonetheless, New York couldn’t capitalize on this as they struggled to keep the ball at their feet. Eventually, they were forced to fall back as Nuevo Leon kept retrieving the ball. The Big Apple’s XI took a more offensive mentality at the 15-minute mark. Despite that, Tigres’ well-defined backline did not crack under any pressure while not having much offensively on the other end of the pitch. That was until a certain Frenchman showed up at the box.
Gignac Strikes First
Despite their aforementioned lack of offense, all it took for the Mexican side to score was a cross from Luis Quiñones. It was met with a vicious header by Andre-Pierre Gignac that proved too much for rookie keeper Luis Barraza. La Escuadra Felina was up by one at the 30th minute. After that, though, things got really messy, really quickly.
¡Golazo de @10APG!@TigresOficial 🇲🇽 toma la ventaja 1-0 y el marcador global se pone 2-0!#SCCL2020 pic.twitter.com/IEppRAnRV3
— Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League (@TheChampions) December 16, 2020
Both teams started to clash giving way to a couple of hard challenges and a yellow card for Edgar Dueñas. “No mas” said referee Daneon Parchment as the game clearly got out of hand. Halftime arrived with Tigres on top and some very heated players.
Tigres Kept Rolling
Quiñones showed up again from the right side of the pitch. This time, his cross was met by a heel finish and a beautiful goal by Leo Fernandez at the 49th minute. Tigres was up by two and NYCFC showed no signs of stopping them.
¡Golazo de Leonardo Fernández!@TigresOficial 🇲🇽 anota el segundo gol de la noche, y aumenta a 3-0 la ventaja en el marcador global. #SCCL2020 pic.twitter.com/12X4D4wKwU
— Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League (@TheChampions) December 16, 2020
Rafael Carioca put a header in the back of the net thanks to yet another assist by Luis Quiñones.
¡Gol de @TigresOficial 🇲🇽!
— Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League (@TheChampions) December 16, 2020
Rafael de Souza remata de cabeza asistencia de Quiñones y el marcador ahora 3-0 sobre @NYCFC 🇺🇸 | #SCCL2020 pic.twitter.com/kLyq3DQQd8
Tigres had one more goal left but they would have to wait a bit for it as the MLS side tried to pick up the pace and go down fighting. The blue and yellow squad relaxed their marking in the final minutes of the match, this allowed NYC to get a few chances. Ismael Tajouri went for the net but had nothing to show for. Then, Javier Aquino added one more to Nuevo Leon’s tally with a powerful strike from inside the box with five minutes to go.
¡Gol de @TigresOficial 🇲🇽!
— Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League (@TheChampions) December 16, 2020
Javier Aquino anota el 4-0 sobre la recta final del partido | #SCCL2020 pic.twitter.com/pKheHzHhw6
Final Score: Tigres 4-0 NYCFC
“Learn From This and Move On”
As lopsided as it was, one of the few highlights for the MLS side was Barraza who made his pro debut in beneath the pipes. The 24-year-old was brought in after starter Sean Johnson was prohibited from traveling to Florida after being deemed a close contact to a player with COVID-19.
The former Marquette Golden Eagle had mixed feelings after his premiere. “Getting my first pro start, that’s fantastic but, obviously we couldn’t take advantage of this opportunity and that’s what really hurts right now. Tigres was the better team tonight, much more quality. We just gotta learn from this and move on.
What’s Next for Tigres?
Tigres will move onto face Honduras’ Club Olimpia at a single leg semifinal on Saturday.
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