Club Tijuana won its the fourth game in as many matches Saturday, defeating the ‘Tuzos of Pachuca 2-0 during a cold and rainy night in Tijuana.
Alfredo Moreno and Raul Enriquez led the team to victory with two second half goals. Moreno converted a penalty kick in the 58th minute while Enriquez sealed the win with an 85th minute header off of a corner kick seconds after coming into the game as a substitute.
The first half saw little action and no real threats to either side’s goal but Xolos manager Antonio Mohammed made a key substitution at halftime, bringing in Colombian forward Duvier Riascos for midfielder Joe Corona.
Riascos made his presence known immediately as two clear goal scoring opportunities were created in the opening five minutes of that second half and both times the ball went through Riascos.
In the 57th minute Riascos took a long pass from Fernando Arce, let the ball bounce once and had a powerful shot blocked by Pachuca defender Paulo Da Silva in the penalty area, who used his hand to stop the play.
Alfredo Moreno converted the ensuing penalty kick.
Fan favorite Raul Enriquez came on as a late substitute and scored the game clinching goal just seconds after coming on to the field.
Pachuca players said the stadium’s artificial turf put their team at a disadvantage.
“It’s hard to judge the bounce of the ball; it bounces strange in this field said Pachuca defender Nestor Vidrio.
The Xolos now have gone 13 matches without a defeat in the artificial turf of the Estadio Caliente. Their last loss was a 2-1 defeat to Monterrey back on May 2, 2012 in the quarterfinals of the Clausura 2012 tournament.
Next weekend Xolos travel to the city of Monterrey to face Tigres, the only other team with a perfect record. And in two weeks time they will host the ever dangerous Club America at the Estadio Caliente.
