Tijuana Xolos Liga MX 2018 AP Week 2 Recap: Frenchman Leads Felines Past Canines In Forgettable Game
Credit: Liga MX
The Tijuana Xolos played their second game of the 2018 Apertura Liga MX season on Sunday, July 29.
The Aztec Canines were in for a tough task against Tigres UANL away from home at the fortress that is the Estadio Universitario.
Club Tijuana was going into this game off the momentum of having beaten Chivas de Guadalajara in the season opener. However, Tigres UANL also won their first game of the season, had the home-field advantage and also counts with a super team for this league.
Surprisingly, the Argentine manager did not go for a five at the back formation and instead went for what looked like a 4-5-1 or a 4-4-2 at times. The 11 had two changes to the one that was used against Chivas as Eryc Castillo and Rubio Rubin replaced Erick Torres and Jesus Angulo. The game was played as expected and the home team controlled the encounter while Diego Cocca’s side opted to try and strike on a counter attack.
The first half was very poor as Club Tijuana finished it with just 23 percent possession and no shots on target. The second half brought forth more of the same as the Xoloitzcuintles finished the match with just 31 percent possession and one shot on target. The lone goal of the clash came in the 59th minute as French striker Andre-Pierre Gignac connected a powerful header off a cross by Javier Aquino to seal the game.
The game really lacked excitement as the Xolos were not threatening at all and Tigres also failed to test Gibran Lajud consistently despite having plenty of possession. The result was an expected one, but the quality of play from both teams at the Estadio Universitario was disappointing. The Border City Dogs stand with three points along with eight other teams in the Liga MX.
Les dejamos el gol de André-Pierre Gignac🐯🇫🇷#SomosTigres pic.twitter.com/y0SHLuGvPl
— CentralTigre🏆⚽ (@CentralTigre) July 30, 2018
Club Tijuana will now play three of its next four games at the Estadio Caliente and must take advantage of this span. This will start with a clash against arch rivals Leon this next Sunday, Aug.5 at home in what should be a very intense game.
Xolos’ Lineup: Gibran Lajud, Omar Mendoza, Julian Velazquez, Juan Carlos Valenzuela, Luis Fuentes, Rubio Rubin (63’ Jesus Angulo), Luis Chavez (74’ Diego Gonzalez), Diego Rodriguez, Ignacio Rivero(68’ Erick Torres), Eryc Castillo, Juan Martin Lucero
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.