2017–18 Honduran Liga Nacional

The 2017–18 Honduran Liga Nacional season was the 52nd Honduran Liga Nacional edition since its establishment in 1965. For this season, the system format remained the same as the previous season. The tournament started on 28 July 2017 and ended on 19 May 2018. The season was divided into two halves (Apertura and Clausura), each crowning one champion. C.D. Marathón, as the team with the best record, qualified to the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League. Real C.D. España and F.C. Motagua qualified to the 2018 CONCACAF League.

2017–18 teams

Honduras Progreso

Juticalpa

Marathón

Motagua

Olimpia

Platense

Real España

Real Sociedad

Lobos UPNFM

Vida

Location of teams in 2017–18 season

A total of 10 teams contested the tournament, including 9 sides from the 2016–17 season plus Lobos UPNFM, promoted from the 2016–17 Liga de Ascenso.

• Motagua changed its name from Club Deportivo Motagua to Fútbol Club Motagua.
• F.C. Motagua used Comayagua and Choluteca as alternate venues in some games.
• Lobos UPNFM used Comayagua and Choluteca as alternate venues in some games.

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Vacancy	Replaced by	Appointment	Position in table
Juticalpa	José Durón	Sacked	18 May 2017	Mauro Reyes	18 May 2017[1]	Preseason
Marathón	Manuel Keosseián	Resigned	6 June 2017	Héctor Vargas	6 June 2017[2]	Preseason
Vida	Santiago Fúnez	Sacked	7 June 2017	Héctor Castellón	6 June 2017[3]	Preseason
Real Sociedad	Héctor Medina	Sacked	26 June 2017	Carlos Martínez	26 June 2017[4]	Preseason
Honduras Progreso	Wilmer Cruz	Resigned	5 September 2017	Nerlin Membreño	5 September 2017[5]	9th
Platense	Reynaldo Clavasquín	Sacked[6]	20 September 2017	Jorge Lozano	21 September 2017	10th
Real Sociedad	Carlos Martínez	Resigned	1 October 2017	Douglas Munguía	4 October 2017	9th
Real España	Ramón Maradiaga	Resigned	23 October 2017	Erick Gallegos	24 October 2017	5th
Real España	Erick Gallegos	Replaced	7 November 2017	Martín García[7]	7 November 2017	7th
Honduras Progreso	Nerlin Membreño	Sacked	12 December 2017	Horacio Londoño	27 December 2017	Mid-season
Platense	Jairo Ríos	Sacked	28 January 2018	Carlos Martínez	28 January 2018	10th
Juticalpa	Mauro Reyes	Sacked	15 February 2018	Ramón Maradiaga[8]	15 February 2018	10th
Olimpia	Carlos Restrepo	Sacked	20 March 2018	Nahúm Espinoza	20 March 2018	3rd

Apertura

The Apertura tournament was the first half of the 2017–18 season which ran from July to December 2017. The first game of the season was played on 29 July between Club Deportivo Olimpia and new newcomers Lobos UPNFM which ended in a 1–0 victory for the home club.^[9] This game in fact corresponds to week 4, however, Olimpia requested a reschedule as they faced Liga Deportiva Alajuelense on that same week for the 2017 CONCACAF League. On 18 August, la entire week 3 was cancelled due to a referee's strike, who requested for a salary increase which was rejected.^[10] On 2 September, C.D. Honduras Progreso played against Lobos UPNFM at Estadio Humberto Micheletti, a game which was witnessed only by 56 spectators, one more over the current record implemented by Palestino F.C. v Pumas UNAH (55 in 1998). On 24 September, F.C. Motagua paid a visit to Platense F.C. at Estadio Excélsior; Motagua came with a long 21-game unbeaten run carried since last season; on the other hand, Platense were at the bottom of the league standings. Motagua scored 3 consecutive goals in the first 60 minutes of play to obtain a comfortable lead; however, in the last 20+ minutes of the match, Platense scored 4 goals to give the Selacios the most unlikely win of the season so far.^[11] On 19 November, C.D. Marathón defeated Olimpia 0–1 and clinched the first position in the regular standings for their fifth time in history.^[12] Three of the four playoff matches were rescheduled due to the 2017 Honduran political crisis. During the 1st leg of the semifinal between Real C.D. España and C.D. Marathón, referee Armando Castro gave Real España a non-existing penalty. Furious fans from the opposite side invaded the pitch and started throwing rocks to policemen and referees. Police answered with tear gas bombs and the authorities decided to suspend the match. The other semifinal between Olimpia and Motagua was also suspended due to lack of security guarantees. On 14 December, the League informed that without safety measures, they will not scheduled any other games until further notice.^[13] On 18 December, due to the pressing situation, the League decided to play the rest of the tournament in closed doors, except for the final series. Real España obtained their 12th national title after beating Motagua in the final with a 3–2 global score.

Postseason

Results

	Playoffs							Semifinals							Finals
								2	Motagua	0	3	3
	3	Olimpia	2	2	4			3	Olimpia	2	1	3
	6	UPNFM	2	0	2										1	Motagua	0	2	2
															2	Real España	2	1	3
								1	Marathón	0	3	3
	4	Real España	3	2	5			4	Real España	3	1	4
	5	Juticalpa	2	0	2

UPNFM v Olimpia

6 December 2017 Playoffs	UPNFM	2–2	Olimpia	Tegucigalpa
14:00	Flores  35' (pen.) Montoya  83' Starting XI (GK) Pineda – 30 Enamorado – 2 Medina – 4 Fiallos – 7  77' C. Róchez – 8 J. Róchez – 9 Padilla – 10 Yánez – 13 Flores – 23  43' Arzú – 25  69' Valencia – 29 Substitutes  43' Rodríguez – 22  69' Meléndez – 11  77' Montoya – 16 Coach Názar (HON)	Report	54' Estupiñán  87' (pen.) López Starting XI 28 – Escober (GK) 5 – Alvarado 6 – Castillo 16 – Rodas  46' 18 – Estupiñán 19 – Tobías 20 – López 21 – Rojas  64' 29 – G. Mejía 30 – Palacios 33 – Chirinos  75' Substitutes 7 – C. Mejía  46' 10 – Méndez  64' 13 – Costly  75' Coach (COL) Restrepo	Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino Attendance: Closed gates Referee: Melvin Matamoros

Olimpia v UPNFM

9 December 2017 Playoffs	Olimpia	2–0	UPNFM	Tegucigalpa
14:30	Velásquez  30' Rojas  84' Starting XI (GK) Escober – 28 Alvarado – 5 Castillo – 6  65' Rodas – 16  74' Estupiñán – 18 Tobías – 19 Rojas – 21 Velásquez – 23 Mejía – 29 Palacios – 30  82' Chirinos – 33 Substitutes  65' Garrido – 8  74' Costly – 13  82' Álvarez – 2 Coach Restrepo (COL)	Report	Starting XI 30 – Pineda (GK) 2 – Enamorado 4 – Medina 9 – J. Róchez 10 – Padilla 11 – Meléndez  78' 13 – Yánez 14 – Castillo 15 – Urmeneta  46' 23 – Flores 25 – Arzú  68' Substitutes 29 – Valencia  46' 8 – C. Róchez  68' 16 – Montoya  78' Coach (HON) Názar	Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino Attendance: 3,258 Referee: Óscar Moncada

• Olimpia won 4–2 on aggregate.

Juticalpa v Real España

30 November 2017 Playoffs	Juticalpa	2–3	Real España	Juticalpa
19:00	Colón  23' Quiroz  60' (o.g.) Starting IX (GK) Mendoza – 1 Cyrus – 2 Colón – 4  59' Munguía – 5  76' Güity – 6 Morazán – 8 Tinoco – 9 Lanza – 10  59' Ramírez – 17 Willians – 30 Matute – 33 Substitutes  59' Ocampo – 7  59' Velásquez – 18  76' Rubí – 20 Coach Reyes (HON)	Report	6' Martínez  55' López  73' Arévalo Starting IX 1 – Hernández (GK) 10 – Martínez 15 – Vargas 17 – Claros  83' 18 – Vuelto 19 – López  72' 20 – Arévalo 23 – Delgado 24 – Borjas 28 – Oseguera 45 – Quiroz  69' Substitutes 35 – Cardozo  69' 16 – Zalazar  72' 2 – Montes  83' Coach (URU) García	Stadium: Estadio Juan Ramón Brevé Vargas Attendance: 1,632 Referee: Nelson Salgado

Real España v Juticalpa

7 December 2017 Playoffs	Real España	2–0	Juticalpa	San Pedro Sula
16:00	Zalazar  11' Vuelto  66' Starting XI (GK) Hernández – 1 Martínez – 10 Vargas – 15  58' Zalazar – 16  78' Claros – 17  70' Vuelto – 18 López – 19 Arévalo – 20 Delgado – 23 Oseguera – 28 Barahona – 44 Substitutes  58' Benavídez – 38  70' Tejeda – 13  78' Chávez – 27 Coach García (URU)	Report	Starting XI 1 – Mendoza (GK) 4 – Colón  16' 6 – Güity 7 – Ocampo 8 – Morazán 9 – Tinoco 10 – Lanza 17 – Ramírez 18 – Velásquez  78' 26 – Duarte 33 – Matute  58' Substitutes 3 – Murillo  16' 14 – Oseguera  58' 30 – Willians  78' Coach (HON) Reyes	Stadium: Estadio Francisco Morazán Attendance: 1,316 Referee: Orlando Hernández

• Real España won 5–2 on aggregate.

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Real España v Marathón

21 December 2017 Semifinals	Real España	3–0	Marathón	San Pedro Sula
10:00	Delgado  43' Oseguera  69' Claros Benavídez  72' Starting XI (GK) Hernández – 1 Martínez – 10 Vargas – 15  65' Zalazar – 16 Claros – 17  84' Vuelto – 18 López – 19 Arévalo – 20 Delgado – 23 Oseguera – 28 Barahona – 44 Substitutes  65' Benavídez – 38  84' Cardozo – 35 Coach García (URU)	Report	Starting XI 29 – Calderón (GK) 3 – Córdova 4 – Fernandes 6 – Suazo 8 – Lacayo 16 – Banegas 19 – Berríos  46' 23 – Leverón  30' 24 – Lahera 27 – Arboleda 48 – Cálix  59' Substitutes 2 – Bernárdez  30' 38 – Martínez  46' 10 – Vargas  59' Coach (ARG) Vargas	Stadium: Estadio Francisco Morazán (1'–71') Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano (72'–90') Attendance: 6,931 Referee: Armando Castro (1'–71') Raúl Castro (72'–90')

Marathón v Real España

23 December 2017 Semifinals	Marathón	3–1	Real España	San Pedro Sula
15:00	Lacayo  53' Arboleda  56' (pen.)  62' (pen.) Starting XI (GK) Calderón – 29 Bernárdez – 2 Córdova – 3 Fernandes – 4 Suazo – 6 Lacayo – 8  39' Vargas – 10 Banegas – 16  51' Berríos – 19  12' Lahera – 24 Arboleda – 27 Substitutes  12' Cálix – 48  39' Rodríguez – 7  51' Romero – 22 Coach Vargas (ARG)	Report	10' Martínez Starting XI 1 – Hernández (GK) 2 – Montes 10 – Martínez 15 – Vargas 16 – Zalazar  46' 17 – Claros 18 – Vuelto  77' 19 – López 20 – Arévalo  46' 24 – Borjas 28 – Oseguera Substitutes 13 – Tejeda  46' 38 – Benavídez  46' 6 – García  77' Coach (URU) García	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano Attendance: Closed gates Referee: Saíd Martínez

• First leg was partially played on 13 December after being suspended at 71' (2–0) due to crowd invading the pitch. Match was resumed on 21 December.
• Real España won 4–3 on aggregate.

Olimpia v Motagua

20 December 2017 Semifinals	Olimpia	2–0	Motagua	Tegucigalpa
15:00	Estupiñán  79' López  90+5' (pen.) Starting XI (GK) Escober – 28  23' Álvarez – 2  74' Costly – 13 Paz – 17 Tobías – 19 López – 20  69' Rojas – 21 Velásquez – 23 Mejía – 29 Palacios – 30 Chirinos – 33 Substitutes  23' Castillo – 6  69' Mejía – 7  74' Estupiñán – 18 Coach Restrepo (COL)	Report	Starting XI 19 – Rougier (GK) 2 – Montes 3 – Figueroa 6 – Mayorquín  46' 7 – Discua  82' 11 – Vega 14 – Hernández 16 – Castellanos 18 – W. Crisanto  69' 24 – Elvir 27 – F. Crisanto Substitutes 23 – Flores  46' 34 – López  69' 8 – Martínez  82' Coach (ARG) Vásquez	Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino Attendance: Closed gates Referee: Saíd Martínez

Motagua v Olimpia

23 December 2017 Semifinals	Motagua	3–1	Olimpia	Tegucigalpa
15:00	Vega  48' Castillo  55'  74' Starting XI (GK) Rougier – 19 Montes – 2 Figueroa – 3  21' Pereira – 5 Discua – 7  46' Martínez – 8 Castillo – 9 Vega – 11 Castellanos – 16  46' W. Crisanto – 18 Elvir – 24 Substitutes  21' F. Crisanto – 27  46' López – 34  46' Mayorquín – 6 Coach Caballero (HON)	Report	3' Velásquez Starting XI 28 – Escober (GK) 6 – Castillo 13 – Costly 17 – Paz 19 – Tobías 20 – López 21 – Rojas  70' 23 – Velásquez 29 – G. Mejía  79' 30 – Palacios 33 – Chirinos  56' Substitutes 8 – Garrido  56' 7 – C. Mejía  70' 18 – Estupiñán  79' Coach (COL) Restrepo	Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino Attendance: Closed gates Referee: Melvin Matamoros

• Motagua 3–3 Olimpia on aggregate. Motagua advanced on regular season record.

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Real España v Motagua

27 December 2017 Final	Real España	2–0	Motagua	San Pedro Sula
17:30	Vuelto  36'  76' Starting XI (GK) Hernández – 1  90+1' Montes – 2  71' Martínez – 10 Vargas – 15 Zalazar – 16 Claros – 17 Vuelto – 18  87' López – 19 Delgado – 23 Oseguera – 28 Barahona – 44 Substitutes  71' Benavídez – 38  87' García – 6  90+1' Cardozo – 35 Coach García (URU)	Report	Starting XI 19 – Rougier (GK) 2 – Montes 3 – Figueroa 6 – Mayorquín  64' 7 – Discua 9 – Castillo 16 – Castellanos 24 – Elvir 27 – F. Crisanto 31 – Bernárdez  46' 34 – López  82' Substitutes 11 – Vega  46' 23 – Flores  64' 18 – W. Crisanto  82' Coach (ARG) Vásquez	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano Attendance: 8,192

Motagua v Real España

30 December 2017 Final	Motagua	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Real España	Tegucigalpa
16:00	Castillo  62'  73' (pen.) Starting XI (GK) Licona – 25 Montes – 2 Figueroa – 3  46' Mayorquín – 6 Discua – 7 Castillo – 9  46' Vega – 11 Castellanos – 16  60' W. Crisanto – 18 Elvir – 24 F. Crisanto – 27 Substitutes  46' Hernández – 14  46' Martínez – 8  60' López – 34 Coach Vásquez (ARG)	Report	108' Tejeda Starting XI 1 – Hernández (GK) 2 – Montes 10 – Martínez  82' 15 – Vargas 16 – Zalazar  105+1' 17 – Claros 18 – Vuelto  65' 19 – López 23 – Delgado 28 – Oseguera 44 – Barahona Substitutes 13 – Tejeda  65' 38 – Benavídez  82' 6 – García  105+1' Coach (URU) García	Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino Attendance: 13,052 Referee: Saíd Martínez

• Real España won 3–2 on aggregate.

Clausura

The Clausura tournament was the second half of the 2017–18 season which ran from January to May 2018. The schedule was released on 9 December 2017. On 15 April, F.C. Motagua's winger Wilmer Crisanto scored the 20,000th goal in the history of the league. C.D. Marathón finished first in the regular season standings for their second tournament in a row. Just as the previous tournament; Marathón, Motagua, Club Deportivo Olimpia and Real C.D. España reached the semifinals round. On 5 May, Marathón qualified to their 18th final and their first one since 2014. One day later, Motagua eliminated Olimpia and qualified to their 4th consecutive final. It was the 4th time in league's history the final series were be played between the contenders of the M's Derby. Marathón obtained their 9th national title and Motagua lost their second final in a row.

Postseason

Results

	Playoffs							Semifinals							Finals
								1	Marathón	1	2	3
	4	Real España	1	0	1			4	Real España	0	1	1
	5	Honduras Progreso	1	0	1										1	Marathón	1	0	1 (5)
															2	Motagua	1	0	1 (4)
								2	Motagua	0	1	1
	3	Olimpia	0	2	2			3	Olimpia	0	1	1
	6	Platense	0	1	1

Platense v Olimpia

19 April 2018 Playoffs	Platense	0–0	Olimpia	Puerto Cortés
19:15	Starting XI (GK) Zúniga – 1 Castro – 2 Bolaños – 3 Palacios – 6 Aguilar – 15  56' Cardona – 16  73' Winchester – 24 Mendoza – 25 Flores – 29  82' Benítez – 30 Arriaga – 33 Substitutes  56' Hay – 77  73' Nieto – 8  82' Vargas – Coach Martínez (HON)	Report	Starting XI 28 – Escober (GK) 2 – Álvarez 4 – Ovalle 5 – Alvarado 7 – C. Mejía  66' 12 – Martínez  81' 26 – Salas 29 – G. Mejía 30 – Palacios 33 – Chirinos 55 – Gómez Substitutes 23 – Velásquez  66' 13 – Costly  81' Coach (HON) Espinoza	Stadium: Estadio Excélsior Referee: Melvin Matamoros

Olimpia v Platense

22 April 2018 Playoffs	Olimpia	2–1	Platense	Tegucigalpa
16:00	Chirinos  32' Martínez  36' Starting XI (GK) Escober – 28 Álvarez – 2 Ovalle – 4 Alvarado – 5  72' Martínez – 12 Paz – 17  84' Salas – 26 G. Mejía – 29 J. Palacios – 30  90' Chirinos – 33 Gómez – 55 Substitutes  72' Velásquez – 23  84' W. Palacios – 8  90' C. Mejía – 7 Coach Espinoza (HON)	Report	86' Winchester Starting XI 1 – Zúniga (GK) 2 – Castro  40' 4 – Norales 6 – Palacios 8 – Nieto 16 – Cardona 21 – Ramos  37' 24 – Winchester 25 – Mendoza 30 – Benítez 31 – Ávila Substitutes 15 – Aguilar  37'  60' 10 – Álvarez  40' 77 – Hay  60' Coach (HON) Martínez	Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino Referee: Héctor Rodríguez

• Olimpia won 2–1 on aggregate.

Honduras Progreso v Real España

18 April 2018 Playoffs	Honduras Progreso	1–1	Real España	El Progreso
19:15	León  41' Starting XI (GK) Licona – 22 Ettienne – 4 Delgado – 6  61' López – 7 Morales – 10  77' Acevedo – 12  77' León – 20 Smith – 21 Mencía – 23 Gutiérrez – 24 Sánchez – 31 Substitutes  61' Cardona – 8  77' Elvir – 11  77' Andrade – 5 Coach Londoño (COL)	Report	81' López Starting IX 1 – Hernández (GK) 4 – Velásquez 10 – Martínez  78' 13 – Tejeda  59' 15 – Vargas 17 – Claros 20 – Arévalo  59' 23 – Delgado 24 – Borjas 28 – Oseguera 38 – Benavídez Substitutes 19 – López  59' 16 – Zalazar  59' 5 – Flores  78' Coach (URU) García	Stadium: Estadio Humberto Micheletti Referee: Óscar Moncada

Real España v Honduras Progreso

21 April 2018 Playoffs	Real España	0–0	Honduras Progreso	San Pedro Sula
19:00	Starting IX (GK) Hernández – 1 Velásquez – 4  46' Martínez – 10  67' Vargas – 15 Zalazar – 16 Claros – 17 López – 19 Delgado – 23 Borjas – 24 Oseguera – 28  74' Benavídez – 38 Substitutues  46' Tejeda – 13  67' Arévalo – 20  74' Altamirano – 14 Coach García (URU)	Report	Starting IX 22 – Licona (GK) 4 – Ettienne 6 – Delgado 7 – López 10 – Morales  68' 12 – Acevedo 20 – León  81' 21 – Smith 23 – Mencía 24 – Gutiérrez 31 – Sánchez Substitutes 8 – Cardona  68' 11 – Elvir  81' Coach (COL) Londoño	Stadium: Estadio General Francisco Morazán Referee: Armando Castro

• Real España 1–1 Honduras Progreso on aggregate. Real España advanced on regular season record.

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Real España v Marathón

28 April 2018 Semifinals	Real España	0–1	Marathón	San Pedro Sula
19:00	Starting IX (GK) Hernández – 1 Velásquez – 4 Tejeda – 13 Vargas – 15 Zalazar – 16  67' Claros – 17 López – 19  73' Borjas – 24 Oseguera – 28 Benavídez – 38  56' Quiroz – 45 Substitutes  53' Martínez – 10  67' Delgado – 23  73' Flores – 5 Coach García (URU)	Report	50' Arboleda Starting IX 25 – Torres (GK) 3 – Córdova 6 – Suazo 8 – Lacayo 15 – Espinoza  77' 16 – Banegas 23 – Leverón 24 – Lahera  56' 27 – Arboleda 29 – Johnson 38 – Martínez  67' Substitutes 2 – Bernárdez  56' 17 – Fuentes  67' 7 – Rodríguez  77' Coach (ARG) Vargas	Stadium: Estadio General Francisco Morazán Attendance: 7,563 Referee: Melvin Matamoros

Marathón v Real España

5 May 2018 Semifinals	Marathón	2–1	Real España	San Pedro Sula
15:00	Leverón  4' (pen.) Lahera  50' Starting XI (GK) Torres – 25 Córdova – 3 Suazo – 6 Lacayo – 8  52' Espinoza – 15 Banegas – 16 Leverón – 23  50' Lahera – 24 Arboleda – 27 Johnson – 29  62' Martínez – 38 Substitutes  50' Bernárdez – 2  52' Villanueva – 49  62' Fuentes – 17 Coach Vargas (ARG)	Report	89' (pen.) Martínez Starting XI 1 – Hernández (GK) 4 – Velásquez 10 – Martínez 13 – Tejeda 15 – Vargas  46' 16 – Zalazar  65' 19 – López 23 – Delgado 28 – Oseguera 38 – Benavídez 44 – Barahona  46' Substitutes 20 – Arévalo  46' 37 – Guevara  46' 14 – Altamirano  65' Coach (URU) García	Stadium: Estadio Yankel Rosenthal Attendance: 5,545 Referee: Héctor Rodríguez

• Marathón won 3–1 on aggregate.

Olimpia v Motagua

29 April 2018 Semifinals	Olimpia	0–0	Motagua	Tegucigalpa
16:00	Starting IX (GK) Escober – 28 Álvarez – 2 Ovalle – 4 Alvarado – 5  78' Martínez – 12 Paz – 17  72' Salas – 26 G. Mejía – 29 J. Palacios – 30 Chirinos – 33  83' Gómez – 55 Substitutes  72' W. Palacios – 8  78' Costly – 13  83' C. Mejía – 7 Coach Espinoza (HON)	Report	Starting IX 19 – Rougier (GK) 2 – Montes 3 – Figueroa 6 – Mayorquín 7 – Discua  75' 9 – Castillo 10 – Andino  83' 12 – Santos 16 – Castellanos 17 – Maldonado 27 – Crisanto Substitutes 14 – Mayenfisch  75' 22 – Estupiñán  83' Coach (ARG) Vásquez	Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino Referee: Saíd Martínez

Motagua v Olimpia

6 May 2018 Semifinals	Motagua	1–1	Olimpia	Tegucigalpa
16:00	Martínez  76' Starting XI (GK) Rougier – 19  72' Montes – 2 Figueroa – 3  46' Mayorquín – 6 Discua – 7 Castillo – 9 Andino – 10  46' Santos – 12 Castellanos – 16 W. Crisanto – 18 F. Crisanto – 27 Substitutes  46' Elvir – 24  46' Martínez – 8  72' Estupiñán – 22 Coach Vásquez (ARG)	Report	39' Costly Starting IX 28 – Escober (GK) 2 – Álvarez 4 – Ovalle 5 – Alvarado 7 – Mejía 12 – Martínez  71' 13 – Costly 16 – Rodas 17 – Paz 30 – J. Palacios 33 – Chirinos  66' Substitutes 6 – Castillo  66' 8 – W. Palacios  71' Coach(HON) Espinoza	Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino Referee: Óscar Moncada

• Motagua 1–1 Olimpia on aggregate. Motagua advanced on regular season record.

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Motagua v Marathón

13 May 2018 Final	Motagua	1–1	Marathón	Tegucigalpa
16:00	Discua  27'	Report	41' Martínez	Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino Referee: Melvin Matamoros

Marathón v Motagua

19 May 2018 Final	Marathón	0–0 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	Motagua	San Pedro Sula
14:00		Report		Stadium: Estadio Yankel Rosenthal
		Penalties
	Leverón Banegas Vargas Suazo Rodríguez Johnson		Crisanto Montes Martínez Pereira Elvir Mayorquín

• Marathón 1–1 Motagua on aggregate. Marathón won 5–4 on penalty shoot-outs.

Top goalscorers

The top goalscorer was determined by the addition of goals of both Apertura and Clausura tournaments.

As of 19 May 2018

• 24 goals:

• 23 goals:

• 14 goals:

• 12 goals:

• 11 goals:

• 10 goals:

• 9 goals:

• 8 goals:

• 7 goals:

• 6 goals:

• 5 goals:

• 4 goals:

• 3 goals:

• 2 goals:

• 1 goal:

• 1 own goal:

Aggregate table

Relegation was determined by the aggregated table of both Apertura and Clausura tournaments. On 15 April 2018, C.D. Real Sociedad and Platense F.C. faced in the last round. Coincidentally, these were the only two clubs at this point involved with relegation risks. Platense won 0–1 at Estadio Francisco Martínez Durón and thus sending Real Sociedad to Liga de Ascenso.

Awards

The 2017–18 season awards were published on 24 September 2018 as follows:

• Goalkeeper of the year: Jonathan Rougier (F.C. Motagua)
• Coach of the year: Héctor Vargas (C.D. Marathón)
• Top goalscorer: Justin Arboleda (C.D. Marathón)
• MVP: Carlos Sánchez (C.D. Honduras Progreso)
• Rookie of the year: Carlos Mejía (C.D.S. Vida)
• Referee of the year: Óscar Moncada
• Best reserves coach: Francisco Pavón (C.D.S. Vida)
• Reserves goalscorer: Foslyn Grant (F.C. Motagua)

Controversies

• In August 2017, former Real C.D. España player Javier Portillo sued the club due to a non-paid contract expiring in 2018. Portillo was sacked in October 2016 for unsporting conduct and passed over the agreement.^[14] The National Football Arbitration Court (TNAF) determined that the club must comply with the contract and pay Portillo the sum of L.1,050,000.00 before the start of the Apertura tournament.^[15] On 5 August 2017, Real España played their first game of the season defeating Platense F.C. at Estadio Francisco Morazán. A few hours prior, the club had issued a non-negotiable check payable to TNAF and not to Portillo as the verdict demanded. As a result, and according to the league's disciplinary codes,^[16] these breaches are penalized with the deduction of points until the debt is condoned, or even relegation to a lower tier. On 10 August 2017, Fuad Abufele, president of Real España, threatened to withdraw from the league if any points are deducted.^[17] A week later, Real España did finally issue the check payable to Portillo and the Appeal Commission decided not to deduct any points from Real España, thus contradicting their own regulations.^[18] Real España, however, is willing to take the case further to FIFA.^[19]
• Due to a referee's strike who were demanding an increase in their salary, the entire week 3 in the Apertura tournament was suspended and had to be rescheduled.^[20] The tournament was resumed on week 4 and due to the tight schedule, the pending games were played during a FIFA International Match Calendar.
• On weeks 7 and 12, C.D. Marathón's defender Caue Fernandes injured Carlo Costly against Club Deportivo Olimpia and Eddie Hernández against F.C. Motagua respectively. Both injuries included serious fractures which had left both players out of competition for several weeks and consequently missing important World Cup qualifying matches. In both occasions, Costly strongly criticized Fernandes for his actions calling him a #pig on his Twitter account.^[21]
• Real C.D. España lost their fifth consecutive game in week 14 against last placed Platense F.C.. Due to the poor results, president Fuad Abufele publicly threatened the players by revealing that their salary was partially frozen. Additionally, he stated that if the team doesn't react on time, their players might have bitter Christmas.^[22]
• During the elaboration of the Clausura schedule on 9 December 2017, both F.C. Motagua and Lobos UPNFM elected to move some of their home games to Estadio Emilio Williams Agasse in Choluteca, the further south stadium in Honduras. This wasn't seen with good eyes by northern clubs such as C.D.S. Vida and C.D. Real Sociedad claiming the distance they have to travel to get there.
• During the Apertura postseason, Allan Pineda, director of the Regional Commission of Discipline, was strongly criticized by the media and specially by F.C. Motagua's foremen, due to his inconsistency when interpreting and enforcing the law. Right before the semifinals, the entity penalized Club Deportivo Olimpia's midfielder Alexander López for one game only due to his violent conduct and a straight red card in a playoff game against Lobos UPNFM. López complied and was eligible to play against Motagua in the semifinals. However, the controversy arose when back in November UPNFM's midfielder Mayron Flores was given two games of suspension for exactly the same actions during a regular season match, consequently missing action against Olimpia in the playoffs. Pineda is known for being an Olimpia's supporter.^[23]
• On 13 December 2017, Real C.D. España and C.D. Marathón were playing for the first leg of the Apertura semifinals. In the 71st minute, the referee Armando Castro called a non-existing penalty for Real España. Due to the controversial decision the Marathón's barra brava invaded the pitch and started trowing rocks at the referees and policemen. Real España's fans followed and tried to confront their rival's counterpart creating a chaos which ended up in the release of tear gas bombs. The game was suspended and was finally resumed eight days later on 21 December. The final 19 minutes of play were restarted with the penalty called one week prior in what was known as the longest match ever played in Honduras.
• Prior the beginning of the Clausura tournament, five clubs (C.D. Honduras Progreso, C.D. Marathón, Platense F.C., C.D. Real Sociedad and C.D.S. Vida) which represents 50% of the league, declared themselves financially inoperative and unwilling to start the competition unless the league or the government provides them with at least L.4,000,000 to each team to help them heal some debts. Ironically, most of these clubs made notorious signings during the off-season. In the end, the league managed to obtain a loan for a fraction of the amount originally requested. Consequently, the entire schedule was postponed for one week.^[24]
• On week 4 of the Clausura tournament, Lobos UPNFM traveled to Tocoa to play against C.D. Real Sociedad. The visiting team claimed that the away locker rooms didn't meet the basic requirements for a professional competition. Coach Salomón Nazar complained that the dressing rooms didn't have water for his players to take showers after the match, having to do so outdoors with buckets.^[25] In addition to that, the field itself presented evident deterioration due to the constant rainfall before and during the game. A great percentage of the field was covered in water and some sections even showed absence of grass, implying a great risk to the player's integrity. After a series of complains by the affected visiting teams and reporters, the owners of Estadio Francisco Martínez Durón banned the access to the media.^[26]
• On 10 March, F.C. Motagua's forward Román Castillo scored his 73rd goal with his club. Some media, statistic experts and historians claim that former player Ángel Obando scored 77 goals with Motagua between 1974 and 1986 and he has been the club's top-goalscorer for over 40 years. However, Motagua published on their social accounts their own list where Obando appears at the top of the list but with 73 goals only. If the club's numbers are correct, Castillo was now sharing the record along with Obando. The league was consulted by a local newspaper about the controversy to clarify this and to have an official version. Nevertheless, the league refused to publish their version unless the club inquires it in writing.^[27]
• In less than a week, Real C.D. España's executives were involved in two controversial discussions with their C.D. Marathón's and F.C. Motagua's counterparts. On week 14 of the Clausura tournament, Real España's forward Domingo Zalazar was roughly injured by Marathón's defender Bryan Johnson. Real España accused Marathón players for their supposedly deliberately actions to harm their rivals. Ronlin Peña, the sport manager of Marathón, called Real España's front-men short minded. Some Real España fans even showed up to Marathón's headquarters threatening Johnson. That same week, during the Honduran Superclásico between Motagua and Club Deportivo Olimpia, a riot occurred outside the stadium resulting in one dead, several injured and more detained.^[28] Real España's president Elías Burbara posted on his Twitter account that he hoped for a punishment to the Tegucigalpa's clubs like the one they received last season for similar incidents. Motagua's president Pedro Atala replied saying that they usually never interfere into other's business and don't wish harm to their competitors.^[29]

References