Tapatío share points with Cruz Azul Hidalgo in AP2026 opener | OneFootball

Tapatío made its Apertura 2026 debut this Sunday with a scoreless draw against Cruz Azul Hidalgo in the Matchday 1 clash of the Liga de Expansión MX.

Coached by José Meléndez, the side set the pace from the opening minutes with balance, intensity, and constant attacks into the opposing box. The course of the match changed in the 71st minute following the controversial sending-off of Matías Cendejas. Despite playing with one man less in the final stretch, the Rojiblancos stayed organized and showed great defensive solidity to preserve the draw.

Now, the Joven Rebaño will turn its attention to its next match, when it hosts La Jaiba Brava on August 1 at 5:00 PM at AKRON Stadium, where it will look to earn its first win of the Apertura 2026 in front of its fans.

Key chances

* Tapatío had the first chance of the match! In the 9th minute, after a switch of play, Leonel Calderón delivered a precise cross for Vladimir Moragrega, who connected with a shot in the heart of the box that went just over the crossbar.* In the 23rd minute, Moragrega threatened again with a right-footed strike inside the box that went wide of the target.* In the 27th minute, Matías Cendejas let fly from three-quarters of the field with a powerful shot that went over the crossbar.* Tapa came close in the 41st minute! Enrique Ledesma tried his luck from outside the box with a shot that went just over the goal.* Once again, the Rebaño came close! In the 45th minute, after a clearance by the opposing defense, Ángel Chávez hit the ball on the volley from the edge of the box, but his effort sailed over the goal.* Aguayo hit the post! In the 46th minute, after a corner kick, the rebound fell to Sergio Aguayo, who popped up inside the box, found space, and unleashed a powerful shot that crashed off the crossbar.* Leoneeeeel, so close! In the 48th minute, Leonel Calderón received a through ball inside the box, got past the opposing defense, and fired a shot at the near post that the goalkeeper managed to parry away.* What a strike by Aguayo! On the very next play, in the 49th minute, Sergio Aguayo tried his luck with a powerful shot from outside the box. His effort, headed for the top corner, forced Salgado into a top save to deny the rojiblancos.* Aguayo looked for the opener in the 53rd minute. After a pinpoint cross into the box, he rose to head it, but the ball went over the goal.* In the 78th minute, Luis Ledesma tried again from outside the box with a powerful shot that went over the Cruz Azul goal.* What a save by the Dragon! In the 87th minute, after a Cruz Azul Hidalgo corner kick, Eduardo García reacted with a spectacular stop on the goal line to keep the score level.

Tapatío 0-0 Cruz Azul HidalgoMatchday 1 of Apertura 2026Liga de Expansión MXReferee: Maximiliano Arias GuzmánAKRON Stadium

Lineups

Tapatío: 45 Eduardo García; 43 Rodrigo Parra, 55 Sebastián Esparza, 56 Ángel Chávez, 63 Matías Cendejas (sent off in the 71st minute); 48 Leonardo Jiménez (207 Raúl Martínez in the 91st minute), 60 Luis Ledesma, 182 Leonel Calderón (69 Daniel Villaseca in the 66th minute); 49 Vladimir Moragrega (54 Raúl Nuño in the 76th minute), 50 Cruz Medina (42 Diego Delgadillo in the 76th minute) and 67 Sergio Aguayo (57 Jesús Hernández in the 66th minute).Head coach: José Meléndez.

Cruz Azul Hidalgo: 61 Bruno Salgado; 28 Raymundo Rubio (yellow card in the 29th minute), 49 Josué Díaz, 66 José Suárez, 70 Iván Silva (yellow card in the 43rd minute); 32 Cristian Jiménez, 50 Kenneth González (58 Emmanuel Sánchez in the 60th minute), 55 Rogelio González (41 Louis Estrada Derbez in the 60th minute), 68 Christian Valdivia (63 Ángel Saavedra in the 60th minute); 14 Juan Calero (53 Víctor Taboada in the 70th minute) and 27 Bryan Gamboa.Head coach: Esteban Landazábal.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.