The Tijuana Xolos played their 12th game in the Liga MX 2024 Apertura tournament this Friday, October 18, against Necaxa.

Necaxa has not been the best team this season, but Xolos’ dreadful away record made this a more unpredictable match heading into it.

Club Tijuana had won two consecutive home games before this match, coming off a 2-1 victory against Pachuca. Juan Carlos Osorio has clealry made a significant impact on this team, but there were doubts about the road performances from Tijuana.

Osorio made his usual changes to the lineup and made five adjustments from the lineup used in the previous match against Pachuca. Xolos played without a traditional striker against Pachuca, but Jose Zuniga was the striker in this match against Necaxa. San Diego native Joe Corona also received an opportunity to start in this match and played the full 90 minutes.

The Border City Dogs pressed out of the gate and were the team with the better offensive chances in the opening minutes. In the 26th minute, Ivan Tona was fouled inside of the penalty area, and a penalty was awarded for the Aztec  Canines.

Team captain Christian Rivera stepped up to take the penalty and finished the opportunity to give Club Tijuana a 1-0 lead.

However, Xolos’ lead did not last as Bryan Garnica was fouled by Unai Bilbao inside of the penalty area, and Necaxa was given a penalty in the 32nd minute. Jose Paradela scored the penalty to tie up the match, as the usual away game ghosts were starting to haunt the Xoloitzcuintles.

¡Perro golazo de KEVIN CASTAÑEDA! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/sOODQCyDLa

— Xolos 🐕 (@Xolos) October 19, 2024

Club Tijuana looked like the better team, and eventually, that persistence paid off with a goal by Kevin Castaneda in the 43rd minute. Castaneda fired a potent strike from outside of the box to gain back the lead for Xolos right before the end of the first half.

Juan Carlos Osorio quickly made some changes at the half to try and maintain this lead. Defender Kevin Balanta replaced offensive midfielder Emanuel Reynoso, and Efrain Alvarez came on for Domingo Blanco.

In the 59th minute, Osorio made another pair of defensive changes, bringing on Francisco Contreras and Aaron Mejia for Rafael Fernandez and Alejandro Gomez.

Xolos’ goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez had a significant performance in this match to keep the lead with six total saves. The second half was very hard-fought with Club Tijuana clearly opting to try and defend the lead.

Necaxa had much more scoring opportunities in the second half, but Antonio Rodriguez and Club Tijuana’s backline did not back down. This was a very important victory for the Border City Dogs as it was only the second away win of the season, and it also breaks a six-game winless streak on the road in all competitions.

Club Tijuana will return to the Estadio Caliente this Wednesday, October 23, to face Club America before facing Atlas away from home.

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.