It may be the season of goodwill but football games still have to be won, there are no gifts. That was the painful lesson for CD Tenerife in their 0-0 draw at RSD Alcala, and it was underlined for CD Marino as they lost 2-0 at home to Atletico Madrid B.

Wins have been hard to find for CD Marino, they desperately need some new players and new ideas, they were too predictable against Atletico with strikers Balduino and particularly Noah constantly getting caught offside. Noah set the tone in the opening minute miss judging his charge, Balduino put a good chance wide a few minutes later. Madrid were fortunate when a loose ball was pounced on by Noah but the visiting keeper came out and managed to grab the ball just in time.

Madrid looked patient and well organized and began to increase their influence on the game, home goalie Alberto did well to clear with a two fisted punch. At the other end Balduino blasted wide and Noah put a soft shot straight at the goalie. Javi Marchena put over a classy cross from the left but there was no one on hand to give it the finish it deserved.

Madrid took the lead on the break five minutes before the break through Ivan, a little cruel on the balance of play but it’s all down to finishing. After the break Adan came on for Sandro, his height gave Madrid some problems but he was playing a bit too deep. Peraza cursed himself after putting the ball into the side netting rather than equalize and Noah got up ready to launch a strong header but Gil punched the ball clear. Noah had a good shout for a penalty when he was bundled over but the ref ignored it and from the break away Madrid went the length of the pitch. Rayco brought down Manquillo, the ref wasn’t so hesitant this time and Cidoncha converted the penalty . The January transfer window can’t come soon enough for the bottom of the table side.

The previous evening CD Tenerife failed to break down second from bottom RSD Alcala despite starting with two strikers, Aridane and Guillem. The duo had poor games and failed to really test the home defence. Chechu fired wide, Aridane failed to connect when free in front of goal, and Llorente curled a long shot over the bar. Alcala had their moments, Biendi shot wide after beating Moyano, Nana unleashed a thunder bolt which brought a great save from Sergio, and a free kick late in the first half also needed Sergio to be at his best.

Into the second half and Suso tested the home keeper with a long shot and then laid the ball off to Guillem who barely tickled the ball. Cristo replaced Suso and livened things up but the moves kept breaking down in front of goal. There was always a danger of a sucker punch, Ros broke up a break away and Tarantino headed a clearance as danger threatened.

It was good to see 19 year old Ayoze Perez make his senior debut after 71 minutes in place of Guillem, he certainly wasn’t overwhelmed. Chechu went close in the final minutes but Sergio had to make a superb save to keep the ball out of his top corner, and Llorente showed his defensive quality to race back and clear from Carlos. A draw is better than a defeat but it felt like a satsuma and a walnut when we were hoping for a gleaming new Christmas toy. Aviles kindly drew the next day leaving CD Tenerife top of the pile – now that’s what I call a Merry Christmas.