Xoloitzcuintles 0-2 Tigres, Monterrey side wins series with 4-0 aggregate
Soccer News: Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles played to a 2-0 loss against visiting Tigres UANL in the second leg of the LIGA MX 2017 Clausura semifinals Sunday at Estadio Caliente.
Javier Aquino scored for Tigres in the 64th minute when he sprinted into the penalty area alone. He didn’t waste his chance and fired his shot past Club Tijuana goalkeeper Gibran Lajud to complete the scoring play off a counter attack. Second half substitute Jurgen Damm added one seconds before the final whistle to seals the win.
The win gives Tigres a 4-0 aggregate score, winning the series by that margin after winning the first leg 2-0 in Monterrey Thursday night. Tigres, the defending Mexican soccer champion, advances to the final next week against CD Guadalajara.
Club Tijuana ends its season reaching the semifinals for the second time in its six years in Mexico’s top-flight league. Coach Miguel Herrera’s team beat Monarcas Morelia in the quarterfinals, advancing with a 2-1 aggregate. The Xoloitzcuintles finished the regular season as the No. 1 seed for the second-consecutive tournament, the first team to do so since the league went to a two-tournament season in 1996. Club Tijuana also finished the regular season with a 9-4-4 record and 31 points.
Against Tigres Sunday, the Xoloitzcuintles didn’t hesitate to come out moving up its lines and attacked from the start.
Milton Caraglio nearly scored when he got a header on a cross by Malcorra from left to right. The ball appeared to be falling across the goal line but Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman slapped it out at the last moment as he dove back to his line in the 13th minute.
Henry Martin also had a chance when he sent a header just over the crossbar in the 29th minute.
Club Tijuana worked to control ball possession as Tigres looked to defend and play the counter attack. Herrera kept the same rhythm in the second half, creating chances early on. But things changed when the Xoloitzcuintles lost a man in the 49th minute.
Guido Rodriguez was sent off in the 49th minute after being shown a red card. The Xoloitzcuintles continued to try and keep the ball but Tigres took advantage of the extra space and managed the ball to a win.
FINAL SCORE
XOLOS 0, TIGRES 2
Tigres wins series with 4-0 aggregate
SCORING
0-1- 64th- Javier Aquino (Tigres)
0-2- 90+- Jurgen Damm (Tigres)
LINEUPS:
Club Tijuana: 25 Gibran Lajud, 86 Hiram Muñoz, 5 Guido Rodriguez, 88 Carlos Vargas, 86 Hiram Muñoz, 10 Ignacio Malcorra, 15 Damian Perez, 22 Juan Carlos Nuñez, 8 Joe Corona, 9 Milton Caraglio, 18 Aviles Hurtado. Coach: Miguel Herrera
Tigres: 1 Nahuel Guzman, 3 Anselmo Vendrechovski Junior, 4 Hugo Ayala, 18 Victor Sosa, 19 Guido Pizarro, 20 Javier Aquino, 27 Alberto Acosta, 28 Luis Rodriguez, 29 Jesus Dueñas, 8 Lucas Zelarayan, 10 Andre-pierre Gignac. Coach: Ricardo Ferreti
Source: Press Release
