Tijuana Xolos break 16-game winless streak with 1-0 win over FC Juarez
Credit: XoloGuero/EVT Sports
This Sunday, April 14, the Tijuana Xolos played their 15th game in the Liga MX 2024 Clausura season against FC Juarez at the Estadio Olimpico Benito Juarez.
This was a very important game heading into it, as both teams are trying to decrease the significant fee they will have to pay at the end of the season due to placement on the relegation table.
The last place team will pay a fee of around $5 million and this game really helped out Club Tijuana to try and reduce that fee. The Xoloitzcuintles had not won a game all season, coming into this one, and were on a grim 16-game winless streak dating back to last season.
Club Tijuana were coming off a 3-2 loss against Necaxa at home, which was highly disappointing considering that Xolos had a 2-1 lead before the 85th minute. Miguel Herrera looked to be devastated after that result against Necaxa, saying that he no longer had “answers” to what was going on at the club.
Herrera made some serious changes to his lineup for this game against FC Juarez, starting with a five-man backline. “Piojo” used a very conservative approach in this match, with the home team having much of the possession in the first half and throughout the full 90 minutes. Club Tijuana’s chance creation was once again a huge problem, only banking on inconsistent counter-attacking play against Los Bravos.
The key substitution of the game came in the 75th minute when Jose Zuniga replaced Carlos Gonzalez. Zuniga went on to score the winning goal of the match in the 88th minute when Tijuana received a very lucky break, as FC Juarez defender Francisco Calvo gifted the ball to Zuniga.
Gol de 3 puntos de La Pantera Zúñiga ❤️🖤 pic.twitter.com/6xAv3phUro
— Xolos 🐕 (@Xolos) April 15, 2024
That lone goal of the match along with a rigid defensive performance and a vital performance by Antonio Rodriguez in net was enough to come away with the three points from this border city clash. Club Tijuana was not the better team on the day, but surely none of that matters to Miguel Herrera or the players after finally snapping this horrendous winless streak.
The Border City Dogs are mathematically out of a playoff spot, but this win was a necessary one for all parties involved after what has been a very grueling and disappointing 2024 Clausura campaign. Club Tijuana will now aim to get their first win at the Estadio Caliente since November 1, 2023, this next Friday, April 19, against Puebla.
Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.