Tijuana Xolos draw 1-1 against FC Juarez in disappointing fashion
Credit: Jeremy Collins(XoloGuero)/EVT Sports
The Tijuana Xolos hosted FC Juarez at the Estadio Caliente this Friday, July 25, for a game in the Liga MX 2025 Apertura season.
The Border City Dogs began the new season with a 1-0 win over Queretaro then went on to lose 3-1 to Club America in Mexico City.
Manager Sebastian Abreu made two changes to the starting 11 as Gilberto Mora and Shamar Nicholson replaced Franck Boya and Domingo Blanco. Abreu is still trying to figure out an ideal starting 11, especially in the attack, where several alterations have been made.
The visitors controlled possession for most of the game and managed to maintain 64-percent of the sphere in the opening 45 minutes. FC Juarez were better offensively in the first half, but neither team was effective in front of the net.
There was not much action in the first half and that pace of play was unfortunately consistent throughout the game. The second half was much better than the first half, but it still was unable to offer much entertainment to the home crowd.
¡Qué talento el del chamaco de @Xolos!😤
Gil Mora se rifó con un centro complicadísimo para la zaga rival y así se abrió el marcador en la frontera.🔴⚫#J3 #AP25 | #LaLigaDeLaAfición pic.twitter.com/Xm3Zf52HaN
— Liga BBVA MX (@LigaBBVAMX) July 26, 2025
The opening goal of the game came in the 52nd minute, where Jesus Murillo put the ball into his own net. Gil Mora played a role in the goal as he crossed the ball into the box before Murillo slid for the own goal.
Shamar Nicholson was inside of the box, but made no contact with the sphere. The goal seemed like a very important one at the time as clear-cut scoring opportunities were far and few in between this game.
FC Juarez continued to dominate possession throughout after the goal and throughout the second half. Club Tijuana had a few more scoring chances in the half, but the approach was clearly a conservative one.
Coach Abreu made no changes until the 80th minute where Franck Boya, Alex Gomez and Domingo Blanco came on for Shamar Nicholson, Kevin Castaneda and Gilberto Mora.
Juarez’s press paid off as Angel Zaldivar scored in the 82nd minute to tie the match at the Mictlan. The goal was a bit bizarre as Zaldivar beat Xolos’ goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez to the ball, seemingly by just a few centimeters.
Calculando la distancia correcta a la anotación.👷♂️💚
Apareció el Ingeniero del Gol para empatar el partido y aquí les dejo el tanto de @fcjuarezoficial.#J3 #AP25 | #LaLigaDeLaAfición pic.twitter.com/5lnqnufZhQ
— Liga BBVA MX (@LigaBBVAMX) July 26, 2025
Jairo Torres crossed the sphere into the box, then Zaldivar was able to get to the ball on the scoring play.
Abreu made his final substitution of the match just after the goal as new signing Vitinho came on for Ramiro Arciga. The Brazilian player was unable to make much of an impact on the match as he did not provide much of anything offensively.
Xolos found a sense of urgency towards the final whistle and tried for that winning goal. However, the attempts were not effective and lacked quality on the final touch inside of the penalty area.
One of the final attempts of the game came from Unai Bilbao, who missed a clear scoring chance inside of the box. There were loud jeers and boos from the home crowd after the final whistle as the result and game were highly disappointing for the spectators.
“Effective soccer is not about deserving it. It’s about scoring goals”
–#Xolos manager Sebastian Abreu@EVT_News pic.twitter.com/KP8enQdPwd
— Francisco Velasco (@FranciscoEfV) July 26, 2025
“Loco” Abreu talked about the result and what’s been missing from this team. “What we need is definition in front of goal. It’s good to prevent goals, but we need to score in the rival net”, said Abreu. “Effective soccer is not about deserving it. It’s about scoring goals”.
Club Tijuana will now shift focus to the Leagues Cup campaign, which will begin on July 31 against the LA Galaxy in Carson, Calif.
Francisco, 28, 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 FC, San Diego Wave. I have covered Liga MX, MLS, Mexico National Team, USWNT, Copa América and European clubs like Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund.