SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras – If Honduras Progreso is to have any chance of advancing to the Scotiabank CONCACAF League (SCL) quarterfinals, it will have to do something for the first time in 180 minutes of competitive football to start the 2017/18 season: score a goal.
On Wednesday, the Honduran side hosts Chorrillo FC at the Estadio Francisco Morazan in the second leg of their Round of 16 series, looking to overturn last week’s 0-1 loss.
“[Chorrillo] is a very defensive team, good back line,” said Honduras Progreso head coach Wilmer Cruz, whose team fell 0-1 to visiting Olimpia in its Apertura opener Sunday. “Generally, it always wins with a goal; costs a lot to beat them. It is a very difficult team. It is very good defensively. This Wednesday we are going to measure ourselves -- what defensive capacity they have and what capacity we have offensively."
In the first leg, Chorrillo struck for the only goal in the 47th minute. Oscar Villarreal gained possession of his right-sided corner kick that wasn’t fully cleared and bounced a pass towards the six-yard box, where an unmarked Guillermo Sierra glanced a header into the net.
"We know that we complicated it for ourselves,” defender and team captain Roy Smith expressed. “We alone complicated it. We wanted a more favorable result. That match is behind us now. We already know what we have to do. We have to concentrate the whole game because we have to score as many goals as possible and not have them scored on us."
Regardless of what’s accomplished defensively, Honduras Progreso knows that it has no choice but to score.
“Hopefully, the offense will wake up on Wednesday,” finished Cruz. “We know we have a good offense, a good team. Wednesday is the day to fulfill the capacity of this team and to reawaken the offensive that Honduras Progreso has.”
Honduras Progreso scored four goals in as many Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League games last year.