Real Esteli rally for draw to reach first Concacaf final

PANAMA City – Real Esteli of Nicaragua are through to the Final of the 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup thanks to a 2-2 draw at CA Independiente of Panama in the second leg of the semifinals on Thursday night at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City, Panama.

With the result, Real Esteli claimed a 3-2 triumph on aggregate and have advanced to their first ever Concacaf Final where they will face Alajuelense of Costa Rica.

Down 1-0 on aggregate heading into the night, it did not take long for CAI to bring themselves level in the series, as they won a ball at midfield and quickly broke toward goal, ending with a slick one-two combination between Rafael Aguila and Carlos Small in which Aguila slotted home Small’s cutback for a 1-0 lead in the 14’.

Real Esteli sought a response and had a few decent chances in the rest of the half, including an Arley Bonilla look in the 44’ that was deflected out for a corner kick.

But the visiting supporters in attendance from Nicaragua would get a big thrill at the very start of the second half, as 45 seconds after the re-start Bancy Hernandez scored off a cross from Abel Mendez to even the game 1-1, giving Real Esteli a 2-1 advantage on aggregate and a crucial away goal.

CAI were now obligated to score twice, and their pressure would pay off in the 63’ as a deflection off a deep cross in the area fell right into the path of Davis Contreras, who steered home a shot to give CAI a 2-1 lead in the game, tying the aggregate score at 2-2, but with Real Esteli still owning the tiebreaker.

That set the stage for a grandstand finish in the final 25 minutes and just like earlier when they went a goal down, Real Esteli responded with aplomb and landed a huge blow in the 81’ when Abel Mendez found the slashing Arley Bonilla, who redirected into net to make it 2-2 in the match and 3-2 to Real Esteli on aggregate.

From there, Real Esteli remained in control the rest of the way to nail down the history-making result.