Tijuana Xolos 2 : 1 Puebla

Drama. Despair. Hope. Jubilation. In a land where they rarely get two weather seasons in a year, Tijuana Xolos fans were dragged through every emotion possible in no more than eight minutes.

The Baja California side needed a win over Puebla to guarantee a home tie against Club America in the play-in game.

With eleven minutes added due to a bench clearing punch up in a feisty game, which saw Puebla’s Luis Quiñones dismissed for a second yellow and a prevous VAR check for a Puebla goal, Xolos were frantically chasing that winner when the walls caved in and ten man Puebla took an added time lead.

Heads dropped and people started heading into the balmy Tijuana night. But Xolos players thought Gustavo Ferrareis has used a hand when setting up Daniel Alvarez.

They begged, nay implored, the beleaguered referee, Ismaelo López Peñuelas, to go and check the VAR screen at the touchline. With players of both sides ducking to get a look at the screen, Señor Peñuelas disallowed a visiting goal for the second time.

The delay meant the 11 minutes scheduled to be added on for the punch up and his previous VAR check became closer to 15.

Xolos pressed and their salvation came when Carlos Gonzalez ducked his bald head to divert an Emanuel Reynoso cross into the net.

You couldn’t really point to a stage where it would have been sound to say “Xolos look like winning this game”. They never did even with a man advantage. But win they have and now await Club America on November 21 in the play in game.

They had been behind since Emanuel Gularte’s eighth minute goal gave Puebla the lead until club legend Joe Corona equalised on the hour.

Elsewhere in Tijuana, a locel six-a side league was celebrating its finals day. The Liga Fútbol Rápido Tijuana has over 2500 Facebook followers and Sunday was the culmination of the season.

Los Rayos FC became the Champions with a large contingent of followers cheering them on. Other clubs, co-ed and male entertained the crowd at the Avenida Ermita, Prol Paseo de los Heroes area of the city.