Xolos defeat Pachuca 2-1 in exhilarating fashion to extend home undefeated streak
Credit: Xolos
The Tijuana Xolos played Pachuca at the Estadio Caliente this Friday, October 4, for a match in the Liga MX 2024 Apertura season.
Club Tijuana were undefeated in five home games heading into this clash and were the favorites in this game.
Both Rafael Fernandez and Carlos Gonzalez picked up injuries in the previous game against Mazatlan and were unavailable against Pachuca. Juan Carlos Osorio made his usual lineup changes, but decided to stick with Antonio Rodriguez in net for a second consecutive game.
The Colombian manager opted to use an unorthodox approach in the offense without a traditional striker playing. Attacking midfielder Kevin Castaneda was the furthest man forward and had support from wingers Efrain Alvarez and Domingo Blanco. This attack was not very effective in the opening 45 minutes, with two shots on target but nothing to show for it.
The clearest goalscoring opportunity of the first half for either team came in the 38th minute when a shot by Pachuca’s Sergio Hernandez was miraculously cleared at the goalline by Unai Bilbao. The Spanish defender kept the match at a deadlock, and it remained that way for the rest of the half.
In the 57th minute, Club Tijuana suffered another unfortunate injury when Kevin Balanta was carted off with an apparent knee issue. Pachuca’s Salomon Rondon ran into Balanta, and after an impressive performance, the Colombian defender could not continue. Alejandro Gomez replaced Balanta, which meant some unfortunate events later in the match.
With the deadlock, a change was necessary, and Juan Carlos Osorio replaced Francisco Contreras and Domingo Blanco with Jaime Alvarez and Fernando Monarrez in the 64th minute. In the 67th minute, Club Tijuana was finally able to come through with a screamer of a goal by Efrain Alvarez. The Mexican-American midfielder released a potent strike from just outside of the box that curled into the back of the net.
Shortly after the goal, Gilberto Mora and Emanuel Reynoso came on for the Aztec Canines to try and increase the lead. However, in the 80th minute, Pachuca was able to tie the match via Xolos’ Alejandro Gomez’s own goal.
Faber Gil crossed the ball into the box, where Antonio Rodriguez made contact, and Gomez unfortunately put the ball into his own net. Emanuel Reynoso was able to impact the match in the last few moments of the match by causing an own goal by Pachuca’s Salomon Rondon.
#Xolos win it 2-1 against Pachuca with an own goal by Salomon Rondon in the dying moments of the match.@EVT_News pic.twitter.com/wsNRgy22sk
— Francisco Velasco (@FranciscoEfV) October 5, 2024
Reynoso crossed the ball into the penalty area, and Rondon slid, consequently scoring the own goal. The late-time magic was monumental as the Mictlan exploded in cheers for the home side. The 1-1 result would not have been a bad one, but the 2-1 victory was vital for Club Tijuana’s playoff hopes this season.
The Aztec Canines have been relying heavily on the home results in this 2024 Apertura, and this win was very important. Club Tijuana is now undefeated in six home games this semester and has won five out of those six games.
The match was a very hard-fought one, but Xolos ultimately was the better team going forward, even with Osorio’s unorthodox approach in this match. The Xoloitzcuintles will face Necaxa away from home on October 18 after the FIFA international break and will then host Club America at the Mictlan on October 23.
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.