TIJUANA The Xolos won their fourth preseason game in a row Wednesday night by beating Atlante 1-0 at Caliente Stadium.
The Xolos have wrapped up their preparations for the Clausura season, scoring a total of 10 goals and not allowing any.
At minute 40, midfielder Leandro Augusto scored on a free kick against goalkeeper Armando Navarrete to the delight of the more than 16,000 fans on hand. It was his first goal since arriving in Tijuana.
Xolos coach Antonio Mohamed moved various pieces around to test his team. In the first half, he played starting goalkeeper Cirilo Saucedo, Joshua Ábrego, Juan Pablo Santiago and Javier Gandolfi on defense.
Richard Ruíz and Edgar Castillo played midfield to front, Augusto, Egidio Arévalo and Fernando Arce played center and José Sand and Raúl Enríquez on attack.
To complement that line-up, key players such as Dayro Moreno, Mauro Gerk and Joe Corona took to the field. The latter had played for the U.S.U-23 team in the off-season.
As for the new players, Greg Garza played a few minutes while Duvier Riascos and Alfredo González Tahuilán remained on the bench.
In the second half, the match stopped being a "friendly" as Atlante's player Ezequiel Cuevas earned a red card after a hard hit against Garza.
Atlante's most dangerous play came after a defensive error allowed Francisco "Kikin" Fonseca to recover the ball in front of the net, defended by Adrián Zermeño. Fonseca's kick was wide of the right goal post, however.
The 2012 Clausura season begins Jan. 6, when Club Tijuana begins its fight to remain in Mexico's First Division. The Xolos will visit Morelia and a week later, on Jan. 15, will return to Caliente Stadium to battle the Monterrey Rayados.
Alexandra.mendoza@sandiegored.com
