Bravos Look For Win Against Xolos in Home Opener

FC Juarez will play their second match within the span of a work week tonight when they host Xolos de Tijuana at Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium in their home opener of the 2021 clausura season of Liga BBVA. This match will be one of two matches on the docket tonight to kick off week number 2 of the season with the other match being Necaxa vs Atletico de San Luis.

Both of these teams will be looking for their first win of the season. The Bravos are coming off of a disappointing 1-1 draw to Pachuca this past Monday night when they let the victory slip from their hands in the final moments of the match. The Xolos played Pumas to a scoreless draw in the state of Baja California last friday night.

Therefore, because of the scheduling, the visiting side comes into tonight’s match with nearly double the preparation time. The Bravos preparation consisted of only 3 days. When the team arrived on Tuesday morning from the state of Hidalgo after their Monday match with Pachuca they went straight to the team’s training facilities from the airport and practiced for nearly two hours.

Under the leadership of new head coach Luis Fernando Tena, there were a lot of positives to take away from the season opener regarding the team’s execution and function. However, the only thing that everyone appears to remember is the lapse of concentration that cost them the win on Monday. On Thursday, defensive midfield Jefferson Intriago spoked to the media and was immediately asked about this tendency or inability that FC Juarez has to not be able to close out matches.

The player affectionately known as “Palula” commented, “I think it’s a mental issue that has to be addressed. We need to learn to read the matches better and assess the situations that develop over the course of a match and react accordingly. We also have to learn to close out matches. These are two things we have to work on and work a lot at it to improve and change that element.”

As for the short week the team had to prepare for tonight’s match Intriago commented, “I feel that the short week more than affect us, it motivates us. It gives us a quicker opportunity to eliminate that bitter taste that was left after Monday’s draw. So we need to take advantage of the opportunity and start accumulating 3 points at time which is what we need.”

Tonight’s match will be televised nationally on TUDN, DirecTV ch. 464/ Spectrum Ch. 466.