Tijuana Xolos Liga MX 2018 AP Week 16 Recap: Xolos Play Well, But Lose Last Home Game Of Season

Tijuana, Mexico

The Tijuana Xolos played their last home game of the Liga MX 2018 Apertura regular season on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, against Monarcas Morelia.

Going into this game, the Aztec Canines had nothing to lose, already out of the playoffs, while Morelia had everything to lose with a playoff spot on the line.

This extra motivation ended up playing in La Monarquia’s favor as the team from Michoacan defeated the border city side 3-2 at the Mictlan. The first half of the encounter was decent, but lacked a bit of excitement as Franky Oviedo tried to employ a counter-attacking style of play for the Xoloitzcuintles.

This style ended up backfiring as Morelia took the lead in the 39^th minute with a headed goal by Miguel Angel Sansores off a perfectly-executed corner kick by Rodolfo Vilchis. Vilchis proved to be difficult to contain for Club Tijuana as he remained dangerous throughout the second half. The second half had much more tempo than the first half and the Xolos tied up the clash in the 53^rd minute. Antonio Nava scored his first-ever Liga MX goal in his Liga MX debut to tie the encounter as sloppy defending by Morelia allowed the youngster to score.

The score did not last as Roberto Hernandez’s team regained the lead in the 61^st minute with a long-range shot by Sebastian Vegas that managed to get past Gibran Lajud. Xolos kept on pushing in the high-paced clash as Fabian Castillo then tied it up for the home team with a goal by Fabian Castillo in the 72^nd minute. The Colombian forward released a potent shot that surpassed Morelia’ goalkeeper Sebastian Sosa inside of the penalty area.

The joy for the home crowd was not extensive as Miguel Angel Sansores scored his second of the night, and what proved to be the game-winning goal. The Morelia striker scored the goal off a cross by winger Carlos Fierro, who had just been subbed into the game. Morelia was able to pull off the crucial victory away from home to remain in the playoff race while the Xolos gave a solid effort, but it was still not enough.

Here is Antonio Nava’s goal. Scrappy as can be, but it ties it up for #Xolos. #LigaMXeng pic.twitter.com/PUI1jfK9jq

— Francisco Velasco (@FranciscoEfV) November 11, 2018

Franky Oviedo did say in his post-game press conference that his team deserved at least a draw and looked very unpleased with the result. The Xolos will end their season in Puebla against Puebla at the beautiful Estadio Cuauhtemoc as Club Tijuana just tries to not finish in 16^th place at this point.

FABIAN CASTILLO TIES IT UP ONCE AGAIN! #GoXolos | #FuerzaTijuas | @Xolos_en pic.twitter.com/IjOaGBiwJt

— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) November 11, 2018

Xolos’ Starting Lineup: Gibran Lajud, Ignacio Rivero, Julian Velazquez, Gustavo Canto (45’ Juan Carlos Valenzuela), Luis Fuentes, Diego Rodriguez, Luis Chavez, Antonio Nava, Jesus Angulo (85’ Rubio Rubin), Eryc Castillo (66’ Juan Martin Lucero), Fabian Castillo

Francisco Velasco

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.