August 13 & 14, 2022
Round 5
Santa Lucia 1-1 Comunicaciones FC
CSD Municipal 4-1 CD Malacateco
Deportivo Mixco 2-0 Deportivo Xinabajul
Club Xelaju MC 1-1 Deportivo Guastatoya
Deportivo Achuapa 1-1 Deportivo Iztapa
Coban Imperial 3-1 Antigua GFC
Watching the recent 2022 CONCACAF League match between Guatemalan side Malacateco and Sporting San Miguelito from Panama whetted the appetite for more football from Central America !
After their 1-1 home draw, Malacateco exited the competition after a 0-3 loss in Panama on what looked to be a sodden ploughed field. Malacateco conceded two goals from set-pieces in the opening 30 minutes and never really got back into the tie.
There was some good news for Guatemala in the CONCACAF League with Municipal, as expected, thrashing Atletico Vega Real of the Domincian Republic 9-0 on aggregate to reach the last 16 of the competition, where they will face Honduran side Olimpia, who won the CONCACAF League in 2017 and qualified as 2021 Apertura champions in their country.
They join Comunicaciones, who were exempt until the last 16, who have been drawn against Diriangen, who won both the 2021 Apertura and Clausura competitions in Nicaragua.
The Guatemalan Liga Nacional features 12 sides, who play each other in the Apertura and Clausura format common in many parts of Central and South America. After home and away matches against the other 11 sides, the top 8 sides after the regular league competition play two-legged quarter, semi and finals to determine the competition winner. The champions of the Apertura and Clausura competitions qualify for the CONCACAF League, with the country’s third spot taken by the side with the best total record throughout the overall competition who hasn’t already qualified. The two sides with the worst combined records for the season are relegated to the second level Primera Division de Ascencio.
Two of Guatemala’s CONCACAF League representatives faced each other in Round 5 of the Apertura as Malacateco made the 370 kilometre journey to the capital Guatemala City to face CSD Municipal at their 7,500 capacity Estadio El Trebol. Malacateco started the day in second place in the league table, with Municipal down in 6th. However, they were only a point behind with a 2-0-2 record having lost their first two matches of the campaign, which included a 1-4 home drubbing at the hands of Coban Imperial but they had recorded an impressive 3-0 victory at Antigua GFC last time out.
After Malacateco had an optimistic appeal for handball rejected, the 31 times champions took the lead in the 10th minute when ex-Malacateco Argentine Matias Rotondi was found in acres of space on the right wing, and his pin-point cross to the far past enabled international centre-forward Jose Martinez ( 28 caps ) to stretch and steer into the roof of the net. Rotondi continued to impress as Municipal dominated but keeper Luis Ruiz, deputising for Uruguayan keeper Dario Silva who was injured in the first leg against Sporting San Miguelito, made two decent saves as other chances were sent wide of the goal. It remained 1-0 at the interval.
Municipal continued to threaten at the start of the second half, and after the visitors survived a goal-mouth scramble, a neat three pass one touch passing movement involving Lopez, Matos and Martinez put Lopez clear but the international midfielder on loan from Mexican side America saw his left-footed shot pushed away for a corner by Ruiz. Lopez then placed a right footed effort just wide but the second goal for the home side finally arrived in the 69th minute. Rotondi played a pass to Matos on the edge of the Malacateco area and the return wall-pass put the Argentinian beyond the defensive back-line. Although Ruiz got a strong hand to the shot from 10 yards, the ball had enough pace to bobble towards goal and into the net just inside the post.
Municipal were by now rampant, with Sequin sending a long-range effort narrowly wide, before Rotondi added his side’s third goal in the 77th minute with a shot from the edge of the area into the bottom corner, after sending his marker this way and that way. It was his fourth goal of the season.
Malacateco grabbed a consolation eight minutes from time when good build up play saw Raul Calderon fire across goal and against the post, with Perez forcing the rebound over the line from close range. Municipal had two good chances to extend their lead, before defender Jose Morales’ spectacular 30 yard effort sailed over Ruiz and into the top corner to put the icing on the home side’s cake.
Comunicaciones, Guatemala’s other side in the CONCACAF League, and who historically were controlled by the Minister for Telegraphs and Communications, share a fierce rivalry with Municipal, with whom their derby is known as the El Clasico Chapin. Both sides have 31 league titles to their name. They started the week-end in a lowly, for them, 7th place with a 1-2-1 record and just two goals scored.
They featured in the first match of the weekend, travelling the 100 km south of the capital to Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa, a town with a population of around 60,000 inhabitants. Santa Lucia, the 2021 Clausura champions, had started the season poorly, laying in 11th position in the table.
The home side started like a proverbial train, with Wilbur Perez crashing a header against the crossbar in the second minute, then midfielder Willian Amaya smashed a long range piledriver just wide, after which his curling free-kick was tipped onto the bar and over by the Comunicaciones keeper.
The opening goal for the home side came with nearly 30 minutes on the clock. A corner to the near post was glanced on by Honduran defender Crisanto Garcia, leaving an easy finish for the unmarked Yunior Perez at the back stick. At this point the Jaguares had fully deserved their lead.
The home side hit the woodwork again shortly after when a cross from the right sailed over the keeper’s head but onto the crossbar and over.
Trailing 0-1 at the break, the visitors still made little impression in the second period, as Santa Lucia had two more good chances to extend their lead. However, the game took a dramatic turn 20 minutes from time when Santa Lucia right back Rodrigo Herrera recklessly dived in to tackle Erik Gonzalez and brought him down. It didn’t look good, and on some days he might have got away with a yellow card, but today’s referee quickly produced the red card.
Spurred on by the extra player advantage, Comunicaciones took control of the game and chances started to be created, and it was no surprise when Quinones’ thumping header brought the scores level. In the end, honours were even.
Coban Imperial topped the Apertura table after 4 games. They are one of the traditional long-standing sides in Guatemala but have only one championship to their name. The city of Coban is around 220km north from Guatemala City and has a population in the region of just over 200,000 and is located in a major coffee growing area. Home is the lovely tree-lined 15,000 capacity Estadio Verapaz and they are known as the Blue Princes, presumably as they play in an all blue strip.
Coban started the season with three consecutive victories, including the eye-rising 4-1 triumph at Municipal, but then unexpectedly slipped up 3-4 at previously winless Iztapa.
There opponents this weekend were Antigua GFC, four time title holders, located around 25km from the capital, and not to be confused with the Caribbean island ! Indeed, the G in Antigua GFC stands for Guatemala. Their knick-name is the Green Bellies, which refers to their green shirts, and that their region is known for its Avocados ! Antigua started the round in 4th place, and with two away wins from two matches, so a tight match looked in prospect.
The important early goal came for Coban as Angel Cabrera was left free in the 10th minute to sweep home a loose ball from around 8 yards. Coban then found the back of the net a few minutes later with a close range header that was mysteriously disallowed, I have no idea why ! The home side continued to press, and had another goal disallowed, this time for the most marginal of off-sides.
Coban did eventually double their lead in the 54th minute, with international striker Robin Betancourth ( 22 caps ) acrobatically heading home a free-kick, and five minutes later Brazilian striker Jardelson Pereira headed home from a corner. Antigua claimed a consolation with just over 10 minutes left to play when Lucas Gomez scored from a counter-attack.
With 5 titles Club Xelaju are the most successful side in the history of Guatemalan football from outside of the capital. They are located in Quetzaltenango, a city 7,900 feet above sea level and located around 200km west of the capital, or nearly 4 hours by road. Their home stadium is the Estadio Mario Camposeco, which holds 11,220 spectators, and the side are known as The Goats.
Going into round 5 they sat in third position with a 2-1-1 record, with the defeat occurring in their last outing at Comunicaciones
Guastatoya is around 70km north-east of the capital, and its side Deportivo have won three league title, the most recent being the 2020 Apertura. They are known as the Yellow Chests and they came into round 5 unbeaten, but with three draws to their name.
The large home crowd were soon silenced when Walter Garcia ran unopposed to head home Rivas’ free-kick from around 8 yards. Xelaju were back on level terms just before half-time when Cardoza’s carefully placed free-kick curled over the wall and past the despairing dive of the keeper into the top corner. Neither side created anything of note in the second half, so the score remained 1-1.
The match between Deportivo Achuapa and Deportivo Iztapa featured the sides in 8th and 10th place after round 4. Achuapa are from the town of El Progreso, which is around 300km east of Guatemala City and has a population of just under 25,000. Home is the 6,000 capacity Estadio El Condor and their first season in the top flight in Guatemala was as recent as 2020/21.
Iztapa are also fairly new arrivals to the Liga Nacional, playing their first season of elite football in 2019/20. Iztapa is a small town of 15,000 people located on the Pacific coast, over 400km south of the capital.
Achupa had the better of the exchanges but lacked a cutting edge up front until the 51st minute when an incisive through passl put Ascenio clear to slide the ball past the advancing keeper. The home side came close to extending their lead but a low shot came back from the post, and another whistled across the face of the goal and narrowly wide. However, the failure to convert these chances came back to haunt them when Argentinian forward Eber Vera rose the highest to head home a 93rd minute corner.
The final tie of the round involved the two newly promoted sides, Deportivo Mixco and Deportivo Xinabajul. Mixco are from the suburb of the same name in the capital and are having their first ever season in Liga Nacional. Their Estadio Santo Domingo de Guzman was built in 2018 and has a reported capacity of 1,000, with parking for the spectators behind one of the goals ! Mixco were bottom of the table with two draws and two losses.
Deportivo Xinabajul are from the city of Huehuetenango in the western highlands of the country, around 270km north-west of the capital, with a population of just under 120,000. They were regular participants in the Liga Nacional until disbanding in 2012 due to financial difficulties. A new club with the same name but no connection to the former club was formed and has worked its way up the lower leagues to earn promotion to the top division. The were in 9th place in the table with 4 points, being unbeaten at home but had lost both matches away from Huehuetenango.
Xinabajul had looked the slightly more dangerous of the two sides, until their keeper totally misjudged a cross from the right-wing, enabling Peruvian Gabriel Garcia to head home at the far post to give Mixco the lead just before the break. The keeper was blameless though for the home side’s second goal two minutes into the second period, having no chance as Pozuelos’ 30 yard thunderbolt scorched into the top corner of the net, much to the delight of the band in the stands.
Mixco could have extended their lead as Garcia missed a sitter from 6 yards, and Costa Rican midfielder Ariel Rodriguez struck the crossbar with a long distance effort. However, a first victory of the season for Mixco took them off the bottom of the table and upto 10th, whilst Xinabajul slumped to the foot of the table.
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