By Tony Álvarez
It was a close call, but Tigres found a way to stay alive in the race for the Leagues Cup Quarterfinals, defeating Vancouver Whitecaps 5-4 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in regulation.
It was the first Leagues Cup match ever played at Estadio Universitario, and the home crowd immediately made its presence felt, providing Tigres with plenty of energy. Vancouver controlled possession early, but there was a sense that it was only a matter of time before the hosts created a breakthrough — and they did.
In the 19th minute, Tigres built from deep inside their own half before Juan Brunetta delivered a perfectly weighted pass to Rodrigo Aguirre. The forward beat his defender and fired toward the far post, beating the goalkeeper to give Tigres a 1-0 lead.
Just before halftime, Brunetta again threatened with a powerful shot from the left side of the box, but Isaac Boehmer made the save to preserve the 1-0 score heading into the break.
The second half followed a similar pattern. Vancouver attempted to generate more going forward, but the match settled into a slower rhythm until the visitors stunned the home crowd late in the game. Following a short corner from the left, Vancouver delivered a cross toward the far side of the box, where an unmarked Emmanuel Sabbi was waiting. Sabbi unleashed a powerful strike that went in off the crossbar in the 79th minute to level the match at 1-1.
From there, things became complicated for Tigres.
The hosts appealed for a foul inside the box that could have resulted in a penalty, but after protesting the decision, Diego Lainez was shown a red card in the 88th minute. Then, in stoppage time, goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán was also sent off after shoving the referee as Tigres attempted to take a quick free kick near midfield. A chaotic finish sent the match to a penalty shootout.
Brunetta opened the shootout by converting for Tigres before Gauld answered for Vancouver. Gorriarán and Sabbi then converted their teams’ second attempts. The first major twist came when Aguirre, Tigres’ goalscorer in regulation, saw his penalty saved by Boehmer. Oliver Larraz followed by converting for Vancouver to give the visitors the advantage.
Rômulo scored Tigres’ fourth attempt before Edier Ocampo responded for Vancouver, beating substitute goalkeeper Carlos Rodríguez, who had entered following Guzmán’s dismissal.
Diego Sánchez then converted for Tigres, leaving the hosts with their backs against the wall. Rodríguez responded by saving Mathías Laborda’s attempt to force sudden death. Boehmer then made his second save of the shootout by denying Jesús Garza, only for Rodríguez to answer with another stop of his own.
That set the stage for Joaquim, who converted Tigres’ seventh attempt and put all the pressure on Vancouver. Rayan Elloumi, just 18 years old, had the opportunity to extend the shootout but sent his effort over the crossbar, sealing a dramatic 5-4 shootout victory for Tigres.
The result keeps Tigres alive in the race for the Leagues Cup Quarterfinals, but their fate is no longer entirely in their hands. The Mexican side must now wait for the remaining Phase One results to determine whether its tournament run will continue.
REACTIONS
- Tigres Head Coach Hernán Elizondo
- “Naturally, we were hoping to take the three points today—not doing so is a bit frustrating—but we still have a glimmer of hope; we’ll cling to that and see what happens”
- “I haven't spoken with them; I simply shook the lads' hands to acknowledge the tremendous effort they put in. These are refereeing decisions—and I won't comment on matters discussed internally—but I won't say anything regarding the officiating calls.”
- Vancouver Head Coach Jesper Sorensen
- “Interesting game, slow pace in the first half, gave up some opportunities that we shouldn’t have specially we were making a couple of mistakes up the pitch but think we played over all well”
PLAYERS OF THE MATCH
- Tigres
- Felipe Rodriguez replaced Nahuel Guzmán just minutes before the penalty shootout started and went on to help his team get the win.
GAME NOTES
- Tigres, with 6 points, will wait for the rest of the results of the opening round to know if they’ve advanced to the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup.
- Tigres’s won every game they played in penalty kicks in current Leagues Cup edition.
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC finished Leagues Cup participation with one point.
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC scored only one goal and allowed five.
- First Leagues Cup game ever played at Estadio Universitario.
CARDS/INJURY REPORT
- Yellow Cards:
- Tigres: Joaquim, Juan Brunetta
- Vancouver: Nikola Djordjevic
LOOKING AHEAD
- Vancouver eliminated for Leagues Cup contention, will play Seattle Sounders FC on August 16 in the MLS.
- Tigres will wait for the rest of the results of the first round to know if they’ve advanced to the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup.
