Tijuana Xolos defeat Toluca 2-1 in dominant showing at Estadio Caliente
Credit: XoloGuero/EVT Sports
The Tijuana Xolos played their seventh game in the Liga MX 2023 Apertura season against Toluca this Friday, Sept. 15, at the Estadio Caliente. The Aztec Canines came away with their third victory of the Liga MX 2023 Apertura campaign, as the game ended 2-1 for the home team.
This was Xolos’ supporter’s group (La Masakr3) first gane back after a five-game suspension, and the fan base came through with a huge caravan through the streets of Tijuana before the match.
Manager Miguel Herrera made just one change to his lineup that lost 3-0 against Puebla(but ended up winning thanks to a Liga MX ruling) in the Xoloitzcuintles’ last game. Herrera switched back to a four-man backline and replaced defender Rafael Fernandez with midfielder Eduardo Armenta. Both new signings, Efrain Alvarez and Domingo Blanco, were on the bench to start this match against Toluca, and both had limited time on the pitch during the game.
The border city side had a fantastic start to the game, taking a 2-0 lead after just 18 minutes of play at the Mictlan. The first goal of the match came in the 12th minute when Carlos Gonzalez scored off a shot inside of the penalty area. The goal came from a rebound after a shot by Fernando Madrigal.
Fernando Madrigal went on to score a goal of his own in the 18th minute in what was a fantastic individual effort by the Mexican midfielder. Madrigal was able to make a spectacular run and a perfect finish to put Xolos up 2-0 on the scoreboard.
Club Tijuana absolutely dominated the first half of play, as Toluca was not even able to get a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes.
The second half of the match was unable to produce much entertainment from either side, with Club Tijuana playing more conservatively and Toluca unable to generate much offensively. The game turned into a very scrappy and physical encounter at the Estadio Caliente, with a pair of altercations between the two teams.
One of the altercations turned into of the key moments in the match, as Toluca’s Jean Meneses was given a red card in the 86th minute after an elbow to Rafael Fernandez. Down to 10 men, the visitors were able to produce one scoring opportunity towards the end of the match when Robert Morales was able to get on the scoreboard in aggregate time. “Los Diablos Rojos” pressed after the goal, but Club Tijuana was able to hang on to the lead and come away with the three points from the game.
The Border City Dogs now have 11 points on the season and are up to eighth place on the Liga MX table after the Liga MX awards the points from the Puebla game to Club Tijuana. The Xoloitzcuintles next match will be a very tough away fixture against Leon on Sept. 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.