No Case For The Defence

Strangled by the five man defensive system of coach Joe Luis Oltra, CD Tenerife were humbled 4-1 at Mallorca. The score flattered Mallorca a little as Tenerife matched their hosts for some of the second half but football is about scoring and defending, there were glaring errors in both departments for the visitors.

Any coach would struggle to squeeze some quality out of this poor Tenerife squad. Colombian winger Joao was still out injured, why do recoveries take so long for the blanquiazul? And striker Nano was ruled out of the trip after a family bereavement. From the kick off Gamez teased Hector, and after just four minutes Mallorca took a lead, exposing the Tenerife defence with a square ball that found Aridai unmarked to score. The only real Tenerife chance of the first half came from Naranjo who rose well to head on target before the goalie made a fine turn aside.

Abdon Prats was a waste of space during his spell with Tenerife but he was fired up to put one over his former team, Aridai set him up for a pop at goal, Jorge and Alberto managed to stop and clear it between them. The half hour was approaching when Gamez got the ball through to Lago Junior who doubled the lead with a header into the top corner of the Tenerife net. No strong holding midfielder and acres of space in midfield encouraged Mallorca to keep launching raids, just before the break, Aveldaño headed clear after Prats burst through. Oltra must have told a few home truths in the break, Tenerife came back out with a spring in their step. Hector made a good run and tested the goalie, Acosta managed a side shot at goal, and Suso forced a rescue dive from the keeper. Malbasic awoke and went close twice before the pressure paid off.

Luis Milla launched a corner into the box, home defender Salva Ruiz tried to clear but could only head into his own net. Technically that makes him Tenerife´s joint top goal scorer. It was a short lived moment of relief, Rodriguez roasted Hector and fed the ball via Aridai to Prats who gratefully popped it past Dani Hernandez. Montañes replaced Aveldaño and was soon in action playing a nice interchange with Malbasic before stumbling and only making a half contact with a shot. Tenerife had a bit more balance now, Milla linked with Acosta to set up Naranjo for a long range effort that the goalie stopped low at the post. With 16 minutes left and a faint hope of a comeback, forward Chilunda made his debut in place of Naranjo. The Tanzanian international couldn´t react quickly enough to exploit a Suso pass but hopefully a few games will sharpen him up.

The crushing blow came a few minutes later, Alberto made a half hearted tackle on Lopez who was able to score in the top corner past a static Dani. Luis Perez for Raul Camara was a pointless late change for Tenerife. It could have looked even bleaker as Mallorca´s Lopez skied an easy chance in injury time. The defeat dropped Tenerife back into 19th place, a relegation slot, and leaves a mountain of questions to be answered by club President Concepcion and player recruiting Sports Director, Serrano.

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