One man short and a late penalty called against them, it´s no wonder CD Tenerife were relieved to get a 0-0 home draw with inter island arch rivals UD Las Palmas. Summers ten man tidal wave of signings has so far translated to just a trickle of new faces on the pitch and the lack of goals is already a concern. Progress is slow for Tenerife but two of the new players, goalie Adrian Ortola, and midfielder Alex Bermejo led the rallying call for those still in the shadows.

Slovakian left back Robert Mazan had been underlining his name in the starting line up but international duty meant Isma Lopez got a recall. Chief culprit in the previous weeks 4-0 pasting at Ponferradina, Nicola Sipcic was dropped with old reliable Carlos Ruiz taking his centre back role. Curbelo gave the yellow visitors the first chance but missed by some distance after a mazy run. Tenerife swept a shot wide at the other end and a brilliant tackle by Luis Perez stopped Bela from setting up another Las Palmas effort, and set the tone for a nervy battle of two sides down at the wrong end of the table.

The Gran Canarian team have had money problems and trying to enforce wage cuts on players hasn´t made for a happy ship. Earlier in the week, 16 year old Tenerife born Pedri signed for Barcelona in a transfer worth a possible five million euros, and was promptly loaned back to Las Palmas. It´s a heavy burden to carry and the midfielder struggled to show glimpses of his potential. Malbasic held his place up front for Tenerife, he blows hot and cold but was a Saturday night iceberg when he was needed. The old clumsy touch and slow responses were back. Bermejo was starting to make openings from midfield but they needed a responsive striker.

Ortola was the hero when Las Palmas made a quick break after 20 minutes, he tipped a fierce shot up and off the underside of the crossbar to deny a sure goal. Aitor Sanz was no slouch when Lopez made a poor clearance, the midfield veteran kept a cool head and cleared the danger. After Tenerife failed to inflict damage from a Perez earned corner, Aitor was in action again at the other end with a smart header to keep Las Palmas out just before the break. The second half opened with goalie Martinez flattening Malbasic but getting awarded a free kick just outside his area, it looked closer to inside the line and a possible penalty but VAR didn´t want to get invloved. Bermejo darted through a gap down the left and fired at shot that found the keepers waiting arms. Martinez was pushing his luck with the ref, he fell and rolled blaming Malbasic but it was flattering the Serbian striker to suggest he was that dangerous.

Losing Luis Milla was a blow for the home side after 67 minutes, the midfielder went for  a  losse tackle on Pedri, it was the first red card for the 26 year old in his senior career, he will sit out one match. Ramon Mierez took over from Malbasic to add to his brief debut the previous week. The Argentinian forward won a high duel and flicked the ball off to Bermejo, he controlled it before shooting just wide, but it was a promising link up between the pair. Ortola had to make a couple of smart saves as the action switched ends, and Luis Perez, again outstanding, tested Martinez with a high cross. The 18,000 crowd felt the tension rise as Las Palmas had a penalty shout for a foul on their goalie, the waits seem to get longer but VAR squashed the claim. Five minutes of added time turned the screw but a draw was probably the fair result on the night. Two away games in five days will be a fierce test for Tenerife, they will need to blood the three untried new players, including former Spurs and England youth player Samuel Shashoua, once he is fit.

Winning breeds confidence, and confidence breeds success. CD Marino are living proof of that old saying, but they also showed hard work and plenty of skill in a 2-0 home win over CD Santa Ursula that gave them maximum points from the opening three games. It was a tough, bruising encounter as the south hosted the north of Tenerife in Playa de Las Americas, and the blues were lethal to take a two minute lead.

Roy launched a long, deep ball, Juanmi got a touch, and Nami planted his shot wide of keeper Juanje. There was no sitting back on the advantage, Marino surged again with Prince threading a pass through to Nami that was cleared by the visiting defence. Santa Ursula gave goalie David Ruso his first work to do from a weak shot by Chus. After 20 minutes the reds were reduced to 10 players, Guille could have no complaints after his wild lunge took down Prince. It meant more work for their captain Juanue in goal, he had to smother a close attempt from Nami that was inching towards his goal line.

A Juanmi header was cleared but soon followed by Alberto cutting in from the right before blasting a shot over the bar. Nicky was getting in some of his speedy overlaps on the right and chances kept coming. A much needed water break did little to quell the Marino fire, there was a squad wide willingness to take chances in search for another gaol, Saavedra tried his luck and wasn´t that far off target. Santa Ursula had another knock back when Azael landed badly after a tackle and had to be carried off by his team mates, and needed treatment for a knee injury. They could have ended the half further depleted, as tempers frayed, Miguel had a couple of pushes on Roy in full view of the ref but was still able to join his team mates for the half time break.

The second half opened with Marino in an upbeat mood. Prince sped round the back of the reds defence and launched a teasing cross for Nami but Juanje plucked the ball out of the air. Santa Ursula were determined to chase the game, former CD Tenerife midfielder Vitolo was not as sprightly as in his prime but read the game well and dropped in some neat passes. Diego took over from Prince and added new options to the home attacks. Injury replacement Erik, was prompting some raids down the left for Santa Ursula, he sped down the wing and delivered a good cross but there were no red shirts waiting. Miguel got lucky again, this time pushing Diego in the goal mouth with no sanction.

A Nami corner during sustained pressure by Marino, found Diego in front of goal ready to bury the ball in the corner of the net for a 2-0 lead after 76 minutes. Frustration was getting the better of Santa Ursula, Lentini ploughed into Saavedra, again the ref was lenient. There was still some purpose left in the visitors, sub Gabri hit a perfect cross field ball to Joel which brought a top class save from David Ruso. Vitolo crafted another delicate free kick that forced a corner, Erik pressed up and his shot scraped the bar. Marino were good value for their win, there´s a strong belief among the players that showed in their passing and awareness of each other. It will get harder from now on as other teams try to derail them, but the blues have a good look about them.