Photo Credit: Itzel Segura / Prost Amerika
By Jonny Rico
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Tijuana Xolos opened up Week 3 play of the 2016 Apertura season of Liga MX with a statement of a win over one of Mexico’s most decorated clubs. Xolos played to a 4-0 win and showed that when the finishing touch is there, it can compete with any other club in the league.
Xolos is not one of the usual teams fighting in the relegation race. Club Tijuana has had talented players and talented squads during the past few underwhelming seasons that has led the team to its current position near the bottom of the percentage table.
“We are just missing the finishing touches but we are creating plenty of opportunities” is something every manager over the past two years (four Liga MX seasons) has said at one time or another. Even current manager Miguel Herrera said this many times during the past 2016 season. The results were not coming in because of a lack in the finishing department.
Xolos looked to address that on Friday night and it did so in an emphatic fashion. Xolos took the game to the break with a three goal lead and added one more in the second half against Chivas Guadalajara.
The same quality build up was present with the change of pace of having the forward finishing plays with the ball in the back of the net.
Herrera now in his sophomore season with the club has taken the opportunity to re-build the Tijuana Xolos squad to his liking. There is a real sense of unity in the team and it showed Friday night at Estadio Caliente. One of Herrera’s strongest qualities as a manager is his group management. Every team he coaches seems to always be very tight and very united.
One of the few players to have survive the regime changes, Colombian striker Dayro Moreno is now the focal point in Herrera’s team. He wore the captain’s armband in Week 2 against Pueble when the new skipper Juan Carlos Valenzuela was out injured. He has been the team’s leading goal scorer for the past few seasons and always fighting for the national scoring title.
The opening two of the four on the night against Chivas were Dayro Moreno goals. The Colombian striker only had to tap in the ball for both goals because his teammates automatically look for the new bleached blond hair.
With the team working in unit, looking for its main man at the top, Moreno could score a lot more goals then what he has been scoring over the past few seasons. Goals that will be the difference between fighting to avoid relegation or fighting for a playoff spot for Tijuana Xolos.
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