TIJUANA – "Step by step."
Those are the words Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles coach Antonio Mohamed used to describe how the team should approach the final stretch of the Apertura Tournament.
The first step for the Xolos is a Week 15 home match Wednesday against Jaguares. It is the second night game for Tijuana since installing lights at Estadio Caliente and it is the second chance at back-to-back home wins.
The Xolos (2-5-7, 13 points) are coming off a 1-1 draw at Atlante last week but the previous time it stepped foot on its artificial turf field, the team beat Pachuca 3-2. It happened under the lights in dramatic fashion.
Tijuana is hoping it can continue that at home and it hopes to do so to try and complete the tournament having earned the nine possible points in the standings.
On the schedule are Jaguares (6-3-5, 23 points), the No. 2 team in the league behind leader Chivas de Guadalajara. Then there is the last home match against San Luis on Sunday.
Mohamed's team closes its first tournament in the Mexican Primera División against defending champion Pumas UNAM in Mexico City.
"We first need to win this game," Mohamed said about Wednesday's match. "We need the three points against Jaguares. Then we'll see the rest. Wednesday is the important thing right now."
And if Tijuana wants to gain any kind of momentum, it might need to take advantage of the situation.
Jaguares is coming off a short week. The team from Chiapas played to a 3-1 win at home against San Luis. They travel to Tijuana then to Mexico City to face Pumas. Perhaps Jaguares is looking past the Xolos and focusing on Pumas, which they face Sunday.
The Jaguares official website had a banner across to top of the page with the words "Next Opponent" with its own club logo paired against a Pumas logo.
A lack of respect for the Xolos?
Not that it matters to Tijuana. The Xolos are perhaps more interested in moving up the standings, away from the second to last place in the 18-team league. Mohamed's squad enters Wednesday with two points more than last place Atlas.
Beating Jaguares, a team some consider to be the surprise of this tournament, would earn the Xolos some respect and give it a total of 15 points. Beat San Luis and pull out an upset against Pumas on the final week and the Xolos could squeeze into the eight-team playoff round. Tijuana would need plenty of help and have other teams lose.
Mohamed and his players are keeping faith.
The Xolos have shown some things to keep its followers believing.
Tijuana is unbeaten in five matches under Mohamed, who took over for the fired Joaquin del Olmo in September, with a 1-0-4 record.
Another home win would suit the team well. It would start another win streak after going eight matches without a victory at home. The Xolos were practically unbeatable at home, going 25 matches without losing in Tijuana. But that was before the team gained promotion to the First Division.
That was before the club began its quest to remain in Mexico's top soccer league. It was before trying to avoid relegation to the Liga de Ascenso or second division.
That is why Mohamed is not looking ahead to the end of the season, for now.
There are three more steps for his club. And perhaps Jaguares is the most important to make a run at a strong finish.
ivan.orozco@sandiegored.com
[sidebar] Game outlook
What: Jaguares de Chiapas vs. Xolos
When: Wednesday, Oct. 26, 8 p.m.
Where: Estadio Caliente
TV: Televisa
Outlook: The Xolos enter the last stretch of the season beginning with two straight home matches. Jaguares is the first of those. This will be the second game under the lights this season since the team put them up earlier this month. The Xolos could have their leading scorer, Dayro Moreno, back in the lineup this week. Moreno missed the last two matches.
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