The Tijuana Xolos had a very positive start to Juan Carlos Osorio’s tenure at the border city club, winning their first league game 2-1 against Queretaro with the Colombian manager at the helm. The win is a considerable achievement for Osorio in his first match, given Club Tijuana’s terrible away record.

In Miguel Herrera’s second stint with the Border City Dogs, Tijuana was only able to win one away game, coming last season against FC Juarez. The Aztec Canines have historically been horrendous on the road, and this victory is a huge confidence boost after a very mediocre 2024 Clausura season.

Juan Carlos Osorio’s style of play was very prevalent in this match with the border city tea coming away with 63-percent possession and also having 18 shots. The Xoloitzcuintles also had 366 completed passes to Queretaro’s 157, which was evident in the game flow of the match.

Club Tijuana scored the first goal of the match in the 2oth minute when Carlos Gonzalez scored an absolute screamer of a goal just in front of the half circle. The Paraguayan striker turned after a pass and shot the ball with extreme force with a strike that seemed unstoppable for Queretaro goalkeeper Guillermo Allison.

The first half of the match ended 1-0 in Tijuana’s favor and the border city dogs were clearly dominating the game as they did in the entirety of the match. However, Queretaro was able to tie the game in the 62nd minute of the match when Samuel Sosa scored after a defensive miscue and miscommunication by Xolos’ backline.

The Aztec Canines were able to bring it back in the 68th minute after very impressive offensive play when Kevin Castaneda ran with the ball from the halfway point of the pitch. Castaneda passed the ball to Domingo Blanco inside the penalty area for an easy finish for the Argentine forward.

Club Tijuana was able to keep a hold of the lead with rigid defensive work and some substitutions that clearly demonstrated Osorio’s rotation tactics. Juan Carlos Osorio made three defensive changes, taking out Aaron Mejia, Kevin Balanta, and Nicolas Diaz for Rafael Fernandez, Unai Bilbao, and Francisco Contreras. In fact, all of Osorio’s subs were man-for-man, clearly wanting to see the potential of each player in each specific position.

This was a fantastic start for the Juan Carlos Osorio era at Club Tijuana, with an away win that has not come easy for the Border City Dogs in the previous couple of years.

Club Tijuana’s next match will be a big home game against Chivas at the Estadio Caliente, which will be a good first test for Osorio’s men after this win.

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.