TIJUANA -The chants came from virtually every angle.

They were loud enough that perhaps José "Pepe" Sand could hear them.

"Fuera, Sand!" "Sand, out!"

"En-ri-quez, En-ri-quez."

Fans were screaming for Sand to be replaced by Raul Enriquez as the striker for Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles.

Sand was not living up to expectations earlier in the season.

That was then.

He has become a fan favorite of late.

And Wednesday night there were no boos for Sand after his second-half goal helped the Xolos to a 2-0 win against shorthanded Jaguares de Chiapas at Estadio Caliente.

Richard Ruiz also scored in the second half for the Xolos. The Sand-Ruiz connection sent the sold out crowd of about 20,000 into a frenzy.

The crowd almost got to see a third Xolos goal when striker Dayro Moreno volleyed a soft shot over the head of the Jaguares goalkeeper Edgar Hernández in the 81st minute that landed on the roof of the goal.

Sand tapped in a rolling pass crossed from left to right near the mouth of the goal in the 59th minute. Sand beat two defenders to the ball after Javier Yacuzzi sent the rolling pass out of the reach of Hernández. That was Sand's fourth goal of the tournament.

It was a play that began with a deep lobbing pass from the Xolos back line, catching Jaguares off guard.

Tijuana's score came three minutes after Jaguares' Luis Esqueda was sent off after accumulating his second yellow card of the match. Esqueda was shown the second yellow for holding up a play. He picked up the ball from the field of play and walked away from referee Jorge Castillo after being whistled for a foul. It was Xolos ball to throw in. Esqueda didn't care. He was shown the red card soon after the yellow.

That proved to be costly for Jaguares, the No. 2 team in the Apertura Tournament standings entering the match.

"You cannot give away an expulsion in that manner," said Jaguares coach José Cruz about losing a player. "That was the difference in the game. Xolos knew how to take advantage of it. Xolos is not a small team regardless of how many games it's played in the First Division. You just can't do that with a team like the Xolos."

The Xolos, which have won back-to-back home matches for the first time this season, were able to create a fluid brand of soccer, using the extra space created in the Jaguares' defense with a man down.

"We knew this week was going to be brutal," said Xolos coach Antonio Mohamed about having to play three games in nine days. "But the team is playing to its maximum ability, leaving it all on the field. You can tell. Even the crowd seems more lively."

Tijuana generated enough offense and several scoring chances that it gave Estadio Caliente a festive feel it had been lacking this season.

The infamous wave erupted around the lighted stadium after Ruiz's goal in the 78th minute, complemented with the "Xo-los, Xo-los" chant. Then came the "Olé, Olés," after each Xolos completed pass.

Wednesday's match was the second game under the lights and the first with an 8 p.m. kickoff.

There were few chants before the Jaguares (6-4-5, 23 points) had a man ejected.

The first half was mostly a stalemate.

The Xolos (3-5-7, 16 points) began to put pressure on Jaguares late in the first half, nearly scoring on two opportunities. Leandro Augusto sent two left-footed blasts that appeared to be heading into the net if it wasn't for Jaguares' goalkeeper, Hernández.

He made a diving save in injury time of the first half as Augusto's shot zoomed toward the right side of the net. Augusto's blast came on a designed play off a free kick from a yard outside the penalty box.

Augusto also came close to breaking the scoreless draw in the 39th minute. Another left-footed shot, this time negated by the crossbar.

Tijuana showed the resiliency that the coach was looking for in this match. The team kept up the pressure during the last 10 minutes of the first half before heading to the locker room.

The Xolos walked into the locker room after the match having gained an important three points. Tijuana stills sits second to last in the standings with its 16 points, three better than last place Atlas, which lost to Monterrey on Wednesday night.

Queretaro and Estudiantes also lost Wednesday night. Those two teams along with Atlas and Tijuana are looking to prevent relegation to the second division.

The win against Jaguares helps the Xolos' cause but the coach

doesn't want his team to get overzealous.

"We can't get distracted by this win," said Mohamed, who has led the Xolos to an unbeaten record (2-0-5) since taking over in September. "We'll take the win but what matters is where we are at in July."

That's when the Clausura tournament ends and when it will be known which team will be sent down to the Second Division.

For now, Tijuana will try to extend its home win streak when it hosts San Luis on Sunday before finishing the season against Pumas UNAM in Mexico City.

ivan.orozco@sandiegored.com