CARSON, Calif. – Club Tijuana received a little tune-up for their upcoming Liga MX campaign and their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against the LA Galaxy in March with a 3-3 draw against Club America at StubHub Center on Saturday.
America jumped out to an early two goal lead in the opening half an hour with goals by Luis Rey in the seventh minute and Raul Jimenez in the 30th minute, each exposing lax defending on Tijuana’s part. In the 52nd minute, Jimenez completed his brace by finishing off a penalty kick.
Tijuana earned their own penalty just five minutes later as Cristian Pellerano finished from the spot to spark a Xolos rally. Xolos cut America’s lead to just one in the 62nd off yet another finish by Pellerano in an impressive build-up sequence that was sparked by ex-LA Galaxy Academy attacker Paul Arriola. In the 82nd minute, another former Galaxy member Herculez Gomez fired a low cross through the penalty area to a waiting Juan Hernandez who tapped in the equalizer.
“It was pretty interesting [experience to play at StubHub Center], there was a lot of nerves and excitement,” Arriola told LAGalaxy.com. “This time though, it wasn’t to play the Galaxy. It was just a friendly. I’m waiting for March.”
Xolos open the Clausura tournament on Jan. 4 against Atlas in Guadalajara before returning back home to Estadio Caliente to host America in the home opener on Jan. 10.
Images of the match are on the StubHub Center Facebook page:
