From the very first minutes, both teams seemed a bit cautious showing they were aware of what was at stake and as time went by, El Chiverío took over the ball and proved to be the better team but were unable to score.
In minute 7 Antuna and Angulo performed a great collective play, and the latter passed the ball to Macías, sadly, his shot was blocked by Guzmán. In the 19th minute, Uriel Antuna crossed an accurate ball into José Juan Macías’ head, but his header failed to find the back of the net.
By minute 33 Jesús Angulo fired a powerful left-footed shot that was deflected by Guzmán. Three minutes later, Macías squeezed a great through ball to ‘Cone’ Brizuela who unleashed a close-range shot saved by Guzmán though.
In minute 43 there was a flashy play by Macías and Alexis Vega, unfortunately for El Rebaño, Guzmán deflected ‘JJ’ violent shot. During stoppage time, Gignac was close to opening the scoreboard but his shot crashed into the crossbar.
From the get-go of the second half, a whole different game as both squads increased the pace and took a more aggressive stance, but then again neither could get in front.
In minute 47 ‘El Brujo’ Antuna delivered a gorgeous ball to Macías who unleashed a right-footed shot yet again saved by Tigres GK. In the 81st minute, Cristian Calderón recovered a loose ball, entered the box, and shot but the fall failed to hit the target.
By the end of the game, Fernando Beltrán showcased a great solo play, including a nutmeg, a fired a curling shot that went a bit wide and which could have been the game-winner for Guadalajara.
Next up for El Rebaño is a kill-or-be-killed playoff game as a visiting team, with their opponent still pending to be confirmed.
Guadalajara 0-0 Tigres
Referee: Oscar Macías Romo
Estadio Akron
Lineups:
Guadalajara: 4 Antonio Rodríguez; 17 Jesús Sánchez, 3 Gilberto Sepúlveda, 35 Luis Olivas, 16 Miguel Ponce, 5 Jesús Molina (30 Sergio Flores 74’), 11 Isaac Brizuela, 19 Jesús Angulo (29 Eduardo Torres 46’), 15 Uriel Antuna (20 Fernando Beltrán 74’), 7 Alexis Vega (26 Cristian Calderón 77’), 9 José Juan Macías (13 Ángel Zaldívar 74’).
Coach. Víctor Manuel Vucetich
Tigres: 1 Nahuel Guzmán; 189 Erick Ávalos (15 Francisco Venegas al 86’), 3 Carlos Salcedo, 13 Diego Reyes, 18 Aldo Cruz, 8 Jordan Sierra (14 Juan José Purata 46’), 19 Guido Pizarro, 33 Julian Quiñones 17 Leonardo Fernández (22 Raymundo Fulgencio 62’), 32 Carlos González, 10 André-Pierre Gignac.
D.T. Ricardo Ferretti
