Chirinos superb as Olimpia grab edge in first leg thriller

TEGUCIGALPA – Michaell Chirinos scored a goal and added an assist to help pave the way for a 3-2 Olimpia victory over Alajuelense in the first leg of the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf League Final on Wednesday night at the Estadio Chelato Ucles in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

It was a dream start for the Hondurans and it was no surprise to see all-time SCL assists leader Chirinos do the playmaking that led to the opening goal in the 12’.

Stationed deep on the right wing in the Alajuelense half, Chirinos beat his defender in a 1v1 and sent in a cross that met the slashing foot of Jose Pinto, who redirected into net for a 1-0 Olimpia lead and Chirinos’ ninth career SCL assist.

Alajuelense simply were unable to contain Chirinos and his next bit of damage came on the left when his run toward goal resulted in a foul and a penalty in favor of Olimpia in the 14’. Brayan Moya stepped up to take the spot kick, but Alajuelense GK Leonel Moreira came up big for his side diving to his left to block the Moya penalty and keep the scoreline at 1-0.

An action-packed first half would end with another significant moment, as a foul in the Olimpia
area gave Alajuelense a penalty just seconds left in the half. The all-time top scorer in SCL history, Johan Venegas, stepped up and came through for his 17 th career SCL goal to even things at 1-1 going into the break.

Olimpia quickly shook off the disappointment of conceding on the final play of the first half and promptly regained the lead at 2-1 in the 47’, as Pinto found Jorge Alvarez, who unleashed a curling right-footed shot from just outside the area that beat Moreira.

Olimpia kept their foot on the gas and Chirinos flashed his brilliance once again in the 68’, this time with a sizzling right-footed shot that took the paint off the underside of the crossbar before slamming into net for a 3-1 Olimpia advantage.

Showing their championship pedigree, Alajuelense responded and pulled a goal back in the 84’ courtesy of the two center backs. Alexis Gamboa picked out Giancarlo Gonzalez, who steered in a header to cut the Olimpia lead to 3-2, which held until the final whistle, leaving things wide open for next week’s decisive second leg.