Match recap: Club Tijuana 0, Monterrey 3

Aviles Hurtado returned to Tijuana and put on the kind of show the Xolos faithful were accustomed to seeing - however this time wearing the blue and white of Monterrey.

The game started out very well for Tijuana. The club looked more cohesive than they had in their first two Liga MX matches, with the players communicating more and looking dangerous in the attack. The partnership along the right between Matias Aguirregaray and Paul Arriola was able to create a good chance for Gustavo Bou early on, however Bou’s shot went well high and wide.

Not to be outdone, the left side pairing of Damian Perez and Nacho Malcorra lead to a corner in the 20th minute. The ensuing corner kick saw Hugo Gonzalez make a good save on a Henry Martin header.

Things got a bit chippy in the 26th when Paul Arriola and Neri Cardozo got tangled up. Arriola slammed Cardozo to the turf, and Cardozo took exception and shoved Arriola down. Luckily cooler heads prevailed and both players were able to walk away with just a caution.

In the 28th minute, the much-maligned Gibran Lajud read a play perfectly and was able to come out and smother an Aviles Hurtado chance just outside of the six yard box. Minutes later, Lajud would read another Monterrey breakaway perfectly and smother a shot by Dorlan Pabon.

In the 34th minute, ex-Xolos winger Aviles Hurtado did what he does so well - driving across the goal mouth and unleashing a rocket that Lajud had absolutely no shot at stopping.

Lajud however made another fantastic save on a corner kick even though he was being screened by his own player, punching the ball out after it had swerved around Topo Valenzuela.

Xolos started out the second half strong, with a great sequence of passing and work to keep the ball down in the Rayados end, however it was all for naught. In the 51st minute, Monterrey broke downfield. Xolos did well to limit Dorlan Pabon with a shot directly at Gibran Lajud, who parried the shot off to his left. Carlos Sanchez tracked down the rebound, beat Lajud to it, and calmly centered it to Aviles Hurtado, who tapped in his second goal of the evening.

In the 66th minute, Juan Lucero was able to get in on goal by sheer force of will, but his shot was immediately smothered by Hugo Gonzalez.

In the 80th minute, Carlos Sanchez did well to win a ball. He then dribbled through the Xolos defense and uncorked a bullet that Gibran Lajud had no chance of stopping to put the match too far out of reach.

The story of the night though was Aviles Hurtado, who played a great game against his former club. The fans may not have enjoyed him putting Xolos to the sword, but they still showed him plenty of love as he was subbed off late in the match.

Club Tijuana: Gibran Lajud; Damian Perez, Juan Carlos Valenzuela, Michael Orozco, Matias Aguirregaray (Matias Pisano, 78’); Damian Musto, Joe Corona (Alejandro Guido, 61‘); Ignacio Malcorra, Paul Arriola; Gustavo Bou, Henry Martin (Juan Lucero, 61‘)

Monterrey: Hugo Gonzalez; Stefan Medina, Cesar Montes, Nicolas Sanchez, Luis Fuentes; Carlos Sanchez, Neri Cardozo (Arturo Gonzalez, 81’), Celso Ortiz; Dorlan Pabon (Jonathan Gonzalez, 81’), Rogelio Funes Mori, Aviles Hurtado (Marco Bueno, 86’)

Scoring: Club Tijuana - ; Monterrey - Aviles Hurtado (34’, 51’), Carlos Sanchez (80’)

Disciplinary: Club Tijuana - Paul Arriola (Yellow - 26’), Damian Musto (Yellow - 72’); Monterrey - Neri Cardozo (Yellow - 26’), Celso Ortiz (Yellow - 73’)