SAN SALVADOR – Alianza of El Salvador delivered an excellent attacking performance to claim a 5-1 victory against Verdes of Belize in the second leg of the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf League Round of 16 on Wednesday night at the Estadio Cuscatlan in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Five different players found the back of the net for the hosts, who won the series 7-1 on aggregate and will now face either Alajuelense of Costa Rica or Panamanian club Alianza in the quarterfinals.
Alianza made sure Verdes could not harbor any hopes of a comeback, as they took a 1-0 lead in the 11’ when Verdes failed to clear a corner kick and Victor Landazuri was there to clean up for the goal.
With the three-goal cushion on aggregate, the home side could play to their liking and their attacking approach wreaked more havoc on the Verdes defense when a penalty was called in Alianza’s favor. Rodolfo Zelaya calmly stepped up and hammered home the spot kick for a 2-0 lead in the 19’.
Alianza had all the momentum and Marvin Monterroza stretched the advantage to 3-0 in the 50’ with an excellent strike from outside the area.
But true to their nature, Verdes never gave in and they pulled a goal back in the 54’ when Krisean Lopez got behind the Alianza FC defense and beat Gonzalez with a left-footed shot to make it 3-1.
Goals were starting to fly in from everywhere and Alianza got their fourth in a very unconventional manner, as an attempted clearance from Verdes GK Woodrow West saw the ball strike the back of Alianza’s Elias Rivas and bounce into net for a 4-1 Alianza lead in the 64’.
The night was then capped in the 84’ by Emerson Mauricio slotting home a shot while the Verdes defense was stretched out, cementing the 5-1 final scoreline.
