FC Juarez Loses to Tigres for Second Consecutive Defeat

FC Juarez suffered its second consecutive loss Tuesday night losing to Tigres 1-0 at Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium. An unfortunate deflection was the difference in this match that gave Tigres its fourth consecutive win after losing its season opener. The lone goal for the match came for the visiting side in stoppage time of the first half and was scored by Andre-Pierre Gignac.

Bravos started the match by being hesitant to move into the offensive third with the ball in possession. This was evident for the first 15 minutes of the match. However, this did not mean that Tigres took control of the match in the first.

Things became even as FC Juarez settled in as the minutes passed and once again began to demonstrate disciplined positioning and order on the field of play.

The goal came in the third minute of stoppage time when Tigres took the ball down the right flank. The ball was crossed into the goal box to an oncoming Gignac who took a right footed strike as the ball approached him. Bravos goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera dove to make what appeared to be a standard save. The ball was deflected by a Juarez defender, completely changing the trajectory of the ball and going into the back of the net. There was nothing Talavera could do.

The Bravos got a big break in their favor in the second half when in the 57th minute Luis Quinones received his second yellow card of the match that led to a red card and him being sent off. The Bravos played the remaining 33 minutes of the match with a man advantage and unfortunately for them they were unable to get the equalizer. Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman had two impressive saves in the second half to deny Juarez at least the draw.

After the match Tigres head coach Miguel Herrera told 600 ESPN El Paso regarding the team's phenomenal start winning four of their first five matches of the 2022 Apertura season, "This season is being played at a lightning pace (due to this year’s 2022 FIFA World Cup in November), there is going to be midweek matches four times to get the season in, so it is important for us to accumulate as many points as possible in the early going in order to establish ourselves in the upper part of the standings table."

Hernan Cristante, head coach for FC Juarez showed his frustration in his post match presser saying, "We could have finished plays (in the offensive third) better instead of making things more complicated for ourselves in that sector of the field. We need to show a little bit more fearlessness in our attempts to make things happen in the offensive third."

The Bravos will have two short days to try and rectify their offensive woes as they have failed to score in their last two matches. Tomorrow night, they will host Toluca who is coming into the Borderland this weekend on the winning track. The Red Devils defeated Leon 1-0 on Tuesday.

Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. MT and will be televised nationally on Fox Deportes.