MEXICO CITY – Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de caliente continue their road woes with another loss away from home; this time 3-0 against Pumas UNAM in week 5 of the Clausura 2014 season of LIGA Bancomer MX.
Tijuana had a disastrous first half in which they were never able to keep control of the ball and allowed the home side to be the dominant team. Cesar Farias' boys reacted in the second half taking control of the match and generating the goal scoring opportunities that they had been generating in previous games; but the lack in finishing however made it impossible for the team to mount a comeback.
The match kicked off with the home team Pumas – who had never been able to beat Club Tijuana – taking full control of the match. Daniel Ludueña gave an early warning of things to come in the 2nd minute, but his shot from just inside the box sailed over the bar.
In the 7th minute in a play typical of what the first half was for Xolos, Fernando Arce gave the ball away in the midfield and allowed the league's top scorer Martin Bravo to dribble into the box and have a dangerous shot on goal.
Pumas would make their dominance reflect on the scoreboard in the 15th minute. A long ball played out of defense by Dario Veron was controlled by Martin Bravo who chested the ball down, fought off two defenders, and laid it back to Daniel Ludueña who fired on goal from about 30 yards out and put the ball into the top corner of the goal.
In the 22nd minute Bravo nearly made it 2-0 for Pumas after once again fighting off several defenders and fighting for a loose ball in the box fired a shot on goal which beat goalkeeper Cirilo saucedo, but not the post.
That second goal did come in 34th minute for Pumas when bad marking from the Xolos defense left Pumas central defender Dario Veron alon and unmarked to head in a corner kick cross. Veron did not even have to jump, he just tilted his head back and smacked in the ball with his forehead to double the home side's lead.
For the second half Tijuana did come out with a different mentality and pushed up the field looking for the first goal that would allow them the possibility of a comeback. But the lack of clinical finishing by the top men once again proved costly for the Xoloitzcuintles.
Just seconds into the first half Fidel Martinez had a golden opportunity to cut the deficit in half. He controlled a cross inside the box wide open, and with only the goalkeeper in front of him, he powered his shot way too high.
Much to the dismay of the fans the home side dropped back and conceded complete control to Tijuana. The ghost of week one where Pumas had a 2-0 lead over Puebla and ended up with a 2-2 draw with goals in the 90th and 93rd minute seemed to loom over the Estadio Universitario; as Xolos kept pouring the pressure.
The home side were able to kill of the match and the week one ghost lat in the game when Martin Bravo broke away with most of the Tijuana players in the attacking side of the field. Bravo sent in a cross to where David Cabrera ran onto it to head the ball into the back of the net to make the score 3-0 and seal the Pumas UNAM win.
Next up for Xolos is a trip back to "HOME, SWEET HOME" where they will face Monterrey in the Estadio Caliente on Friday night in week six action.
Find all Tijuana Xolos news in English here.
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