The Tijuana Xolos played their last game in the 2024 edition of the Leagues Cup this Saturday, August 3.

Club Tijuana lost 3-1 to the Vancouver Whitecaps away from home and are now eliminated from the competition.

The Xoloitzcuintles are winless in the Leagues Cup since its inception and this is another failed attempt in this tournament. The Border City Dogs lost the opening game of the competition 3-0 to LAFC and retired this Leagues Cup with no points.

The Aztec Canines had a positive start to the match, as Kevin Castaneda scored in the eighth minute. The scoring play started from the backline, and the ball eventually fell to Diego Barbosa, who passed the ball to Castaneda inside the penalty area. Club Tijuana had more possession than the MLS team and looked like the better team, with seven shots to Vancouver’s three in the first half.

However, the Canadian team was able to tie the score quickly to begin the second half in the 49th minute. Fafa Picault scored from inside of the box off an assist by Levonte Johnson. Things went downhill for the Xoloitzcuintles after that goal, with goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez picking up a serious injury, as he needed to be carted off the pitch in the 62nd minute.

Jose de Jesus Corona came in for Rodriguez and ended up being a factor in the 3-1 defeat. Levonte Johnson put Vancouver up in the 77th minute off a long-range shot. Corona could have definitely done much better to stop the goal, but his positioning was not the best on the play.

Kevin Castaneda scores the first #LeaguesCup2024 goal for @Xolos ‼️

🐕s up 1-0 pic.twitter.com/Fi2G8pDa6M

— Leagues Cup (@LeaguesCup) August 4, 2024

In the 82nd minute, Aaron Mejia received a red card after a challenge on Fafa Picault as things went from bad to worse for Xolos. Vancouver scored immediately after that red card via Pedro Vite for the fourth and final goal of the night at BC Place Stadium.

This was a disastrous match for the Border City Dogs with the injury to Antonio Rodriguez, who is also one of the key team leaders. It was an uninspiring and uneventful Leagues Cup campaign for Club Tijuana that started with another tumultuous match in Los Angeles. Juan Carlos Osorio was suspended after an altercation with a referee, and Christian Rivera was injured in that initial 3-0 loss to LAFC.

After a hot start to the Liga MX season, Club Tijuana is now winless in four consecutive matches in all competitions. Xolos has been outscored 10-2 in these four games, as there are very serious concerns after this negative run of form.

Club Tijuana’s next game will be on August 23 against Monterrey, which is set to be a very tough match even with the home-field advantage.

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.