Houston, Texas (March 5, 2019) — Enner Valencia was knocking on the door the whole night. The Tigres striker dueled with DaMarcus Beasley and centerback Maynor Figueroa throughout the entire night.
However, in the 78th minute, his attempts came to fruition.
SCCL: Tigres scores late goals to edge out Houston Dynamo in Leg One
Valencia found the back of Joe Willis’ goal late in the second half to provide a spark for Tigres. That goal opened the floodgates for the Mexican club. Just three minutes later, Julian Quiñones scored the game-winning goal. Quiñones also recorded the assist on Valencia’s goal.
Houston now has a rough road ahead in next week’s leg two clash.
Tigres and Houston were feeling each other out for the first 20 minutes of the match. There wasn’t a lot of strikes on goal, but plenty of passing. As the pace began to pick up, so did the shots. In the first half, Houston took five, while Tigres took four. However, Tigres was the side to have one shot on goal.
Nahuel Guzmán, Tigres goalkeeper, didn’t have a busy night. However, on the other end, Willis did, having to make diving saves against Valencia and a second on Jesús Dueñas. However, Willis couldn’t control a defensive breakdown which led to the second Tigres goal.
Tigres finished the match with 13 total shots, with four registering on goal. Houston weren’t successful in the attacking third, as they failed to record a single shot on goal. Tigres essentially turned BBVA Compass Stadium into their own home stadium.
What’s Next?
That’s where Leg Two will be held next week.
Estadio Universitario is the home of Tigres. In addition to playing down in Mexico, there’s a chance that Houston will face an even bigger crowd than their own. BBVA Compass Stadium holds a capacity of around 22,000 fans. Meanwhile, Tigres’ home stadium holds 42,000 fans.
Leg Two will be held on Tuesday, March 12, at 10 p.m. CT.
FT: That's it for the first leg. Challenge ahead in Nuevo León.#HOUvTIG #SCCL2019 #ForeverOrange pic.twitter.com/Em2yUqkmYu
— x – Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) March 6, 2019
