TIJUANA, Mexico – Club Tijuana is moving past their recent loss to Santos as they prepare for their upcoming game with Puebla FC at the Cuauhtemoc stadium during week 5 of the Clausura 2012. The Xolos travel to Puebla, where they will face a team that won their first game of the season last week.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” said Argentine Jose Sand, who is currently tied for the league lead in goals scored with four. “They are coming from a win in a difficult venue, so the game is going to be tense.”
Coach Antonio Mohamed trained his team in reduced spaces with a split squad. He emphasized order on the pitch and defense, something that the team lacked during the Santos game.
“We want to make a good game starting from the back,” said team captain Javier Gandolfi. “We have to recover that solid defense we showed on the field during the first games of the season.”
The Argentine also stated that the team is preparing themselves as if they were playing in a final match and that the emphasis on defense is a good direction for the team. This is a different approach compared to the one the team took last season.
“We didn’t have a good start in the last tournament,” said Gandolfi. “We expected a better start this tournament and we did. We didn’t want to lose a game, but we did. We accept it. Now we must move on. The majority of us didn’t have a good game, but we must forget it and move forward.”
Puebla arrives at the game with a win against Jaguares de Chiapas FC last week. However, La Franja has lost to Atlante FC and Pachuca and earned a 0-0 against relegation-problem-squad Atlas in week 1. Xolos on the other hand, defeated Chivas de Guadalajara at the Omnilife stadium and Monterrey at home. Their first loss came at the hands of first place Santos.
“We’ve got our eye on the three points,” said attacking defender Richard Ruiz about the upcoming game. “And we want to keep climbing on the league table.”
At this time Xoloitzcuintles are clear of the relegation spot on the table, with Estudiantes Tecos UAG as the team that will head to the Primera A if the league ended this week. Xolos need to earn more points if they wish to continue their good start and to avoid relegation at the end of the season.
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