It wasn't the prettiest goal but José Sand will take it. So will the rest of his teammates and the entire city of Tijuana.
Sand poked in a ball loose into the net to help Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles to its first win in the Mexican Primera División. The Xolos earned its first three points in Mexico's top soccer circuit with a 3-1 come-from-behind victory against Santos Laguna in a Week 4 match-up in Torreon, Mexico.
Sand's goal in the 55th minute gave the Xolos a 2-1 lead and helped the visiting team maintain composure to beat one of Mexico's best teams in the young Clausura Tournament.
The Argentine-born striker beat Santos defender Santiago Hoyos to a loose and bouncing ball in the penalty box after Dayro Moreno sent a long lobbying pass. Sand got enough of the ball to poke it over the head of Santos goalkeeper Oswaldo Sánchez with Hoyos clinging to his body.
The goal was a historic moment for the Xolos, a club that had lost its first two matches despite being the best team for the most part against Morelia and Monterrey, their first two opponents.
Sand gave Tijuana the lead while Moreno's score in the 65th minute sealed the win for coach Joaquin del Olmo's squad. Moreno sent in a left-footed shot from near the mouth of the goal after Sand fed him a rolling pass. Sand sent the assist from his behind as he practically laid on his side near the goalkeeper's box.
Perhaps just as memorable will be Fernando Arce's goal in the 43rd minute. Arce sent a right-footed shot arching through the penalty area from left to right into the lower left corner of the net. Sánchez tried slapping the ball away with his left hand but it was out of reach. It was Arce's 56th goal in the First Division and his first with Tijuana and it came against his former team. He played for Santos from 2008 until signing with the Xolos in June.
Arce's goal tied the match at 1-1 and gave the Xolos a spark after Santos took a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute. That's when Juan Pablo Guerrero converted a penalty kick. He sent the kick to the right of Xolos goalkeeper Cirilo Saucedo who dove to his left.
Del Olmo and most of the Xolos protested the call. But referee Paul Haro would not reverse the call. He whistled Javier Gandolfi for a foul on Darwin Quintero inside the penalty box. Quintero and Gandolfi both fought for a ball in the air as Richard Ruiz came into the play and collided with his teammate, sending Gandolfi to the turf. Quintero remained standing on the play but Haro didn't waste any time calling the foul, immediately pointing to the penalty spot.
It was the third time in as many games that the Xolos have a penalty kick called against their defense. Tijuana would argue all three were questionable calls. Each of those plays changed the rhythm of each match, including a 4-2 loss to Monterrey last week in which the Xolos led 2-0 at one point.
Morelia beat Tijuana in the season opener two weeks ago with a late goal via a questionable penalty kick.
The penalty call in Saturday's match came at a time when Tijuana appeared to be the better team, holding possession and allowing only one shot on goal. Christian Suarez sent a right-footed shot straight to the hands of Saucedo.
The Xolos (1-2-0, 3 points) came out attacking despite facing one of the league's better teams. Santos (2-1-0, 6 points) came into the match undefeated having outscored its last two opponents 7-1.
The win couldn't have come at a better time. Tijuana came into the game sitting at the bottom of the league standings, desperately needing some points to try and move away from a possible demotion back to the Liga de Ascenso, Mexico's version of AAA baseball in the United States.
Santos was coming off two convincing wins and was regarded as a heavy favorite over Tijuana.
The Xolos were also coming off a week of practice with a complete squad after Moreno and Egidio Arevalo participated in each training session. Both had missed time while playing with their respective national teams in the Copa América, Moreno with Colombia and Arevalo with Uruguay.
Tijuana will try to build on that next week when it hosts Puebla on Aug. 14 at Estadio Caliente.
For now, the Xolos will bask in a historic outcome, even if the scoring play that led to the club's first win was not so nice.
ivan.orozco@sandiegored.com
