Nashville Edge Atletico Ottawa
Nashville SC claimed a 2 : 0 away win over Atletico Ottawa in Hamilton Ontario in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup opening round tie.
Second half goals from Woobens Pacius and Sam Surridge handed the visitors a strong advantage ahead of the return leg on February 24 in Nashville.
Pacius opened the scoring in the 66th minute after a flowing move down the left flank. Josh Bauer Warren Madrigal and Alex Muyl were involved before Matthew Corcoran delivered a precise pass into the box. Pacius created space for himself and calmly slotted a low right footed finish into the bottom corner.
In stoppage time Nashville sealed the victory on the counterattack. With Ottawa’s goalkeeper caught off his line, Cristian Espinoza squared the ball across goal for Surridge to tap into an empty net.
The winner of the tie will face Inter Miami CF in the round of 16 next month.
LAFC Dominate Real Espana
Los Angeles FC delivered a commanding 6 1 win over Real España in San Pedro Sula to take firm control of their series.
Denis Bouanga starred with a hat trick as LAFC overwhelmed their hosts from the outset. Bouanga opened the scoring with a third minute penalty before David Martinez doubled the advantage in the 11th minute after a swift counterattack led by Son Heung-min.
Son added his own penalty in the 22nd minute and Bouanga struck again shortly after to make it four. Timothy Tillman extended the lead before halftime with a clever back heel finish.
Although Jack Jean Baptiste pulled one back for Real Espana early in the second half, Bouanga completed his hat trick in the 71st minute to wrap up a dominant performance.
LAFC will host the second leg knowing they are in a strong position to progress to face LD Alajuelense in the round of 16.
