The two-leg final between Tigres and Club América was played between Thursday and Sunday. The first leg included a goal shower, while in the second, Tigres showed its expertise in pivotal games. They were smart when it came to playing with América’s emotions and ended up victorious, for the seventh time.
Club América wasted the lead
In the first leg, Club América surprised everybody by scoring three goals in 45 minutes and left everybody thinking, that it was already over.
Irene Guerrero, Scarlett Camberos and Sarah Luebbert were
the goal scorers in the first half. The three goals scored on Tigres in only 45 minutes left everybody in awe since the Amazonians had only 11 goals against in 17 matches during the regular season.
However, Tigres knew they had enough firepower to turn it around. First Stephany Mayor, then the always dangerous Thembi Kgatlana, and finally Jennifer Cordinali answered in the second half.
With the winning mentality intact, Tigres knew they had the upper hand since the second leg was going to be played at El Volcán, a tough place to play for any opponent.
On the other hand, the Eagles’ minds were troubled, full of ghosts after losing four finals during coach Ángel Villacampa’s tenure and knowing they wasted a big and valuable lead.
Tigres, the sly old fox
Knowing América’s mentality coming into this game, Tigres pressured them right from the beginning, which made the backline nervous. Added to that, the 40,193 fans present at the stadium made it a challenging place to play for América.
And when it looked like the worst part of that pressure was over, a short backpass gave the ball away and served it on a platter to Diana Ordóñez, who beat Sandra Paños in the 19th minute.
That goal was a tough pill to swallow for América, and their faces said it all. Fouls started compile one by one. The ambience at the stadium started to get warmer and warmer and then Tigres’ coach, Pedro Martínez Losa, received a yellow.
If América had hopes of turning the tide in the second half, it vanished after Nancy Antonio was sent off for a foul on Jenni Hermoso and after VAR’s intervention in the 59th minute.
After some shots hit the posts and a few yellow cards later, the game ended with no need for extra time and Tigres, with Jacqui Ovalle watching on the stands, celebrated another championship, its seventh.
Tigres’ fans at the stadium celebrated with the team while América’s fans kept wondering once again what the team needs to do to stop crumbling down after errors. What is more, it is rumored that coach Villacampa’s contract was renewed before the final, which makes you wonder if it’s the smartest move after playing six finals and winning only one.
Although you might argue about whether Villacampa’s continuity as head coach is a smart move or not, he’s indeed the only coach to have led the same club team to so many finals.
