And the Oscar for worst defensive performance goes to…..CD Tenerife. Ok with captain Bertran out injured for a month, and Luna suspended, it was a patched up back four, but letting a 1-0 away lead slip to a 3-1 defeat at Deportivo made it 12 goals conceeded in the last 3 games. The win moved the hosts to fifth in La Liga, but they looked very ordinary and Tenerife’s goalie had a quiet evening – apart from picking out the ball.

Culebras came into the centre of defence, Hector went to left back and Sicilia moved to the captains berth. Deportivo started off as luke warm as their lowly crowd and CDT took advantage with a well worked opening goal after 17 minutes. Sicilia put in a perfect pass for Juanlu, and he turned superbly and placed his shot in the net. As always Tenerife were playing some good football with Alfaro looking much livelier than lately. Sadly a rare Deportivo raid just after the half hour was panic cleared out to Guardado on the wide open left wing, he crossed and Rodriquez rose for a free header to equalise.

Tenerife had more chances before the break, Juanlu floated the ball in but home keeper Aranzubia, beat Alfaro to the loose ball. Nino had a great opportunity, he let off a shot as a defender closed in on him but the goalie made a strong save. The little striker blasted another over the bar just after the re-start before Deportivo took the lead. Valaron crossed to Guardado, and as three CDT players tried to clear, he calmly scored.

Deportivo still looked a beatable side, Juanlu set up Alfaro but his glancing header went just wide, and Richi went close with a looping shot. Tenerife had 5 players behind the ball as Colloto moved in but they backed off and the home player took his chance for a 3-1 lead. The inevitable late changes saw Angel for Ayoze and Omar for Alfaro but despite another wide shot from Richi, the scoreline stayed the same.

They may be a little old but I love to admire their curves and sleek bodywork, but enough about the mature ladies on the beach, lets look at the Autoepoca Classic Car Show in Santa Cruz. I headed up from Los Cristianos on the early 110 Titsa with Ian from the Armada Sur and his good lady, Janette. Isn’t fate cruel, I ended up sat at the back of the bus next to a Scottish family with a ginger sprog wearing a Real Madrid Ronaldo shirt – what self control I have.

Arriving in under an hour at Santa Cruz, us chaps headed off to the Recinto Ferial, buying our 3 euro tickets we waited outside for the dignitaries to complete the opening presentations. Looking around the concourse it was clear that there wasn’t going to be a mass scrum to get in, most people would no doubt visit after work or over the weekend. I’m no car fanatic but I appreciate the design and beauty of these great machines, the 200 cars and 50 motorbikes looked fantastic as they spread across the hall. It would have been nice if some brief descriptions of the motors and their history was displayed with them, mind you I was also hoping for a few dolly birds draped over the bonnets of the cars, maybe that’s just me.

Great names like Porsche, Ford, Ducatti, Kawasaki and Rolls Royce rang out from the highly polished chrome of the bikes and cars. There were a few more unusual models, early kit cars, camper vans, U.S Army jeeps, and police motor bikes. I also expected a few more trade stands, there were a few specialist dealers selling model cars and some technical gadetry for cleaning and preserving collectors wares, maybe more will turn up for the weekend.

Those are just small criticisms, at 3 euros the fair is great value and will evoke many memories of first cars and back seat fumbles. There is a large cafe bar upstairs if you want to take a break, good views over the hall as well. Autoepoca closes on Sunday March 7 and opens daily from 11am to 9pm. Walking down into the main shopping area of Santa Cruz, I showed Ian the CD Tenerife shop, they still have a sale on and a few new items to go with the kits, scarves etc. After meeting Janette for a quick meal as we beat off the pigeons, we hopped on the tram from Guimera back to the bus station for our speedy 110 direct bus home.   For more details on the motors and more photos go to www.tenerifemagazine.com

As the island braced itself for hurricane strength winds, CD Tenerife charged into the face of the oncoming Real Madrid storm. In the end they were ground down for a flattering 5-1 defeat, but they showed plenty of fight, it was just the cutting edge that was missing.

A sea of tifo and banners evoked the Guanche spirit that repelled the Spanish invaders for so long, and made a rousing welcome for the teams. Tenerife dived straight into the action, Alfaro was through on goal in the first minute, only to be denied by a Garay block. The home side pushed forward, strangely Mikel Alonso was left on the bench but Richi and Ricardo spurred the charge. Ronaldo got little change out of Sicilia and only really caught the eye due to his dainty yellow boots.

Madrid were put off at first by Tenerife’s energy but grew in confidence and broke the deadlock after 29 minutes as Marcelo set up Higuain to bury the ball in the top corner. Nino had a good chance to hit back but Albiol proved too strong for him and took the ball. With the half time whistle approaching, Garay whipped in a cross from the right and found Higuain for his and Madrid’s second.

Tenerife made a perfect start to the second half, Nino put the ball in to the area and Ayoze and Casillas both went up for the ball, Ayoze proved the stronger and bundled it into the net as the Spain goalie complained. That could have been a way back for CDT but as the crowd savoured the goal Madrid went forward, Higuain found Kaka and his finish was deadly to make it 1-3.

Tenerife kept pushing, coach Oltra made a brave move taking Manolo off and adding Omar to the attack. Ricardo went close but Casillas earned his keep for the afternoon with a quick series of 3 great saves. At the other end Sergio Aragoneses denied Ronaldo one of his few clear chances to loud cheers from the crowd. Both sides continued to create openings, Higuain hit the Tenerife crossbar but Luna gifted them a 4^th goal handling the ball, leaving Ronaldo to convert the penalty.

Still Tenerife refused to lay down, substitute Mikel Alonso came close with a shot from the edge of the box and Alfaro twanged the crossbar. There was time for one last goal in injury time, Raul showed his class turning quickly to fire a 5^th marker for the visitors.

Zaragoza’a 2-0 win at Getafe was not the news the fans wanted, it pulls them out of the bottom three and makes it even tougher for penultimate placed Tenerife. The fight for survival continues with a tricky away game next week at Deportivo. Real Madrid managed to rub our noses in it a bit more, the Armada Sur had to wait an hour for their coaches, to let the pampered and over policed Madrid coach eventually pass by.