Tijuana Xolos defeat Atlas 2-0 to move into eighth place
Credit: XoloGuero/EVT Sports
The Tijuana Xolos played their 14th match in the Liga MX 2023 Apertura season, this Sunday, Oct. 29, against Atlas at the Estadio Caliente. Club Tijuana was heading into the match on a three-game winning streak and extended the streak to four games with a 2-0 win against Atlas.
Miguel Herrera did not make many changes to his usual lineup with Christian Rivera coming back from a red card after being out the last game against Monterrey. Club Tijuana had a quick start to the match with a goal by Christian Rivera in the 14th minute to obtain the 1-0 lead. The Colombian midfielder struck the sphere impressively from outside of the box to get the first goal of the night.
In the 39th minute, Alejandro Martinez picked up an injury and was subbed out for Efrain Alvarez. The first half ended 1-0 in Tijuana’s favor, in a game where the Xoloitzcuintles seemed like the better team.
Miguel Herrera made some changes at halftime bringing on Lucas Cavallini and Kevin Castaneda for Carlos Gonzalez and Fernando Madrigal. Miguel Herrera mentioned after the game that all the changes made were due to minor physical issues with these players.
Kevin Castaneda ended up scoring the second goal of the game in the 62nd minute with a shot from outside of the box. Club Tijuana was able to do a fantastic job of defending the 2-0 lead and finished with the vital three points from the game.
Miguel Herrera’s changes that were due to fitness, actually ended up making a positive impact on the match. The star-man for the Border City Dogs was once again goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez, who finished the match with six saves. Nicolas Diaz was also tremendous in this match with five clearances, three interceptions and five tackles in this match.
The win was an important one for the Xolitzcuintles, who are now eighth place on the Liga MX table with 20 points earned from 14 games played. The next match for the Aztec Canines is a very tough one, facing Tigres UANL at home this next Wednesday, Nov.1.
Miguel Herrera talked about the goal for this season in terms of a point total. Herrera said, “With 25, 26 points you qualify directly to playoffs, we should aspire for that, with 23 points you might make top 10, but we should seek the points and qualify directly.”
Club Tijuana has clearly been much better at home than on the road and luckily for the Border City Dogs, two of the last three regular season games are at the Estadio Caliente.
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.