The Tijuana Xolos hosted FC Juarez at the Estadio Caliente for a game in the Liga MX Clausura 2025 this Friday, February 14. Club Tijuana desperately needed a win out of this game and were unable to come away with the three points.

There was not a great crowd for the match, with a reported attendance of 12,333 spectators on this Valentine’s Day.

Manager Juan Carlos Osorio made some changes to the lineup that suffered a 2-1 loss to Chivas in Guadalajara. Most notably, Miguel Ortega made his Xolos debut in between the sticks. Ortega has been a career backup goalkeeper, but Osorio likes to utilize all squad players throughout the season.

The Colombian manager made four changes to the lineup, which included starting 16-year-old Gilberto Mora. Joaquin Fernandez picked up a red card in his Liga MX debut against Chivas and was unavailable for this game.

Within two minutes of the match, the Border City Dogs opened the scoring with a goal by Raul Zuniga. This was Zuniga’s fourth goal of the season as he is off to a hot start in this campaign.

The Colombian forward scored off a very well-timed finish inside of the penalty area from a tremendous assist by Efrain Alvarez.

FC Juarez was able to tie the game in the 21st minute via a goal by Guilherme Casthilo. The Brazilian midfielder struck the sphere with power and precision to square up the score at the Mictlan. Dieter Villalpando provided the assist in a play where Xolos’ backline had the potential to mark Casthilo much better than they did.

In the 39th minute, Raul Zuniga put another ball in the net, but the goal was disallowed by VAR due to an offside ruling. The first half ended with some controversy as Juan Carlos Osorio was suspended from the game after an altercation with a Juarez staff member.

While the first half offered scoring opportunities for both sides, the second half really lacked intensity. The only clear opportunities for the Xoloitzcuintles were punts from far range that were not on target. Domingo Blanco was the most involved player in Tijuana’s offense, but he was subbed out in the 82nd minute.

In the final moments of the match, Angel Saldivar scored the game-winner for the visitors. The goal was a heart-crushing one for the Border City Dogs that led to the 2-1 loss at home.

The Estadio Caliente was a fortress last season, which led to a surprising playoff push for the Xolos. Without those points at home, it will be a very tough challenge to try and make a similar run in this Clausura 2025.

The Aztec Canines have a pair of games left this month as they visit Puebla on February 21 and will host Pumas UNAM on February 25. Juan Carlos Osorio will not be on the sidelines for the game against Puebla and will be back at home for the match against Pumas.

There are 10 games left in the 2025 Clausura regular season, and only four of those games will be at the Estadio Caliente. Given Club Tijuana’s road struggles, this could potentially be a very arduous end to the season.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 28, 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 FC, San Diego Wave. I have covered Liga MX, MLS, Mexico National Team, USWNT, Copa América and European clubs like Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund.