February 10 – Two goals from Rodrigo Aguirre in a 4-1 win over Forge FC put Tigres UANL into the last 16 of the Champions Cup.
In a game that Tigres dominated from the start, it still took three second half goals to overcome the obstinate Canadian resistance.
Tigres had more than 70% of possession and with all that time on the ball they had 17 shots, but still allowed Forge nine shots of their own who were competitive until the last 10 minutes.
This was Forge’s fourth Champions Cup campaign and each time they have been knocked out in the first round by Mexican opposition.
After a solid first leg in the freezing cold of Hamilton, Forge were quietly confident that they could cause an upset against their much higher ranked opposition. But Tigres were much more comfortable in the 75 degree warmth of the imposing Estadio Universitario in Nuevo Leon, where expectation and self belief was on a different level.
The first leg hero was Forge FC’s debut goalkeeper Dimitry Bertaud who produced save after save to keep Tigres’ forward line, including club record goalscorer André-Pierre Gignac at bay.
Gignac was relegated to the bench for the start, with Aguirre chosen to lead the line. It was Aguirre who opened the scoring in the 22’ from a corner. Ozziel Herrera flicked the ball to the back post where Fernando Gorriarán headed it across the area for Aguirre to finish.
While the result was never really in doubt, the score was still 1-0 and half time and through to 71’ when Aguirre notched his second goal. Finding space behind the defense he hit home left-footed.
Forge were still up for the fight and pulled one back after a lengthy VAR delay that ruled Marcelo Flores had handballed in the penalty area. Veteran striker Brian Wright converted the penalty to make it 2-1 on 81’, but seconds later Tigres restored the lead to two when Ángel Correa blasted one from the edge of the box.
The Mexicans sealed their victory with another set-piece move in the 86’, as Joaquim Henrique received a corner on the edge of the box to fore in from distance.
Tigres return to Champions Cup play in March, facing the winner of the FC Cincinnati-Universidad O&M FC series.