TORREON, Mexico (Feb. 14, 2014) –Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente came up short of a comeback in a 3-2 loss to host Club Santos Laguna in a Week 7 match of the LIGA Bancomer MX-2014 Clausura Friday Night at Estadio Corona TSM.
Santos Laguna scored twice in the first half and added a third in the second to beat the Xoloitzcuintles who got goals from Cristian Pellerano and Fidel Martinez.
Club Tijuana (3-3-1) stays at 10 points in the standings while Santos Laguna (2-1-4) earns three points to move up to 10 for the season.
The Xoloitzcuintles came out looking to attack the home team from the start but a handful of defensive miscues lead to a couple of Santos Laguna early goals.
Juan Rodriguez gave Santos a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute when he converted a penalty kick, sending his shot from the PK spot past Club Tijuana goalkeeper Cirilo Saucedo. Club Tijuana was whistled for a handball a minute earlier when a ball hit defender Juan Carlos Nunez in the arms just inside the penalty area.
The home team took a 2-0 lead seven minutes later when Mauro Cejas sent a shot crossing the area from left to right into the net. Saucedo couldn’t reach a centered pass near the right post. The ball ricocheted off a Santos attacker across the area to an open Cejas.
Club Tijuana responded with a left-footed blast by Argentine striker Dario Benedetto but his shot sailed high over the upper right corner of the goal. The Xoloitzcuintles continued to pressure and eventually found the net when Pellerano blasted a shot past Santos goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez in the 24th minute. Pellerano took a loose ball that bounced off Martinez in the area after Benedetto sent in a cross and buried it into the net to cut Santos’ lead to 2-1.
The Xoloitzcuintles tried to mount a comeback in the second half after Darwin Quintero scored for Santos and a 3-1 lead in the 49th minute. Martinez made it 3-2 in the 60th minute when he sent a left-footed shot across the area from left to right into the lower left corner of the Santos net, just out of the reach of Sanchez, the goalkeeper. But it wasn’t enough. Club Tijuana continued to try and tie the match in the dying moments of the game but couldn’t convert despite coach Cesar Farias making substitutions to help the team’s attack.
Farias used Benedetto and Martinez as his strikers while Fernando Arce, Richard Ruiz, Javier Guemez and Pellerano were the starting midfielders. Javier Gandolfi, Edgar Castillo, Elio Castro and Nunez were the backline in front of Saucedo, the goalkeeper. Herculez Gomez came on for Arce, Joe Corona came on for Ruiz and Daniel Marquez came on for Benedetto in the second half as Farias looked for a late offensive rally.
Corona nearly tied the match when he sent a bouncing shot from near the PK spot but Sanchez dove on the ball at the goal line to end the threat. Gomez and Martinez both tried late shots on goal but both were off the mark.
The Xoloitzcuintles will return to Tijuana to host Jaguares de Chiapas in a Week 8 match of the LIGA Bancomer MX-2014 Clausura Friday Feb. 21 at Estadio Caliente (7:30 p.m. Pacific)