The Belizean football club – Police United FC participated in the CONCACAF Champions League tournament is currently being held. The Police United’s debut on Tuesday, August 16th, ended with a crushing 4-0 loss to Honduras’ Olimpia Club Deportivo.
After winning the 2016 Premier League Tournament in Belize, the Police United FC, which comprises of about 90% local police officers, won its spot to represent Belize at the CONCACAF league. It was a momentous occasion since the Belize Police Department is the first law enforcement organization anywhere to organize a team to participate in the annual sporting event. However, their historic participation was not enough fuel for them to overcome their first match opponent.
From the beginning of the game, Olimpia strongly dominated the match. Just two minutes after the game began, Olimpia’s striker Bayron Mendez scored the first goal against Police United. The second goal came after a substitution for Honduras’ top player Carlo Costly, after he sustained an injury during the game. His replacement Javier Estupiñan easily headed the ball into the right corner of the goal post. The first half of the game came to an end and Olimpia was ahead in the win with a 2-0 score over the Police United team.
During the second half, a defensive response from the Belizean squadron was expected, but it never came. For most of the game, Olimpia had full control of the match, and at minute 77, Michael Chirinos cannoned the ball into the net with his right foot. By this time Police United’s defence Darren Myers had been expelled from the game after accumulating yellow cards, making things even harder for the Belizean Champions.
Three minutes after the third goal, Chirinos scored the fourth and last goal of the match, after making his way between two defenders who were unable to stop him. The Belizean players were devastated with the results of their first match, but were proud to be representing the Jewel in an international championship for the first time.
After the game, Police United FC’s Coach Charlie Slusher told the media that the team did not execute the game plan. “That early score really affected us,” said Slusher. Meanwhile, Police United’s Harrison Rochez stated that the lack of experience was the main culprit in their defeat. “We had our good moments during the game. However, we ran out of gas too quick,” said Rochez. “Olimpia was a great opponent.”
The Police United FC’s second match is scheduled for Tuesday, August 23rd against Mexico’s Pachuca.
The winners of the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League will qualify as the CONCACAF representative at the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. América won the previous two tournaments, but did not qualify for this tournament and are unable to defend their title.
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