The dust has not yet settled on CD Tenerife’s frantic summer but with this 5th pre season friendly we were expecting a glimpse of the favoured starting line up. Real Madrid Castilla (B team) were not the big draw of previous seasons and that was reflected in the less busy streets of La Orotava as we made our way to the game. The Teide Trophy was up for grabs but ending goal less it was down to penalties, no extra time, to settle it 4-1 in favour of our Segunda B rivals.
The watery sun peeping out from the low cloud was probably the best weather I have seen for a game here, the southern blow torch heat was muffled by swathes of dark cloud as we reached the north airport and rain seemed briefly to be a possibility. A few beers and unexpected free tickets into the stadium put us in a good mood, Tenerife started with Sergio in goal, Cristobal and Meji at full back and Luna and Tarantino sharing the central defence. Many fans were hoping to spot future Madrid stars but they were a poor ill disciplined side with Alvaro Morata the only one showing any pedigree.
Tacon made some good runs on the right for Tenerife, Kiko was his usual handful as the main attacker and Perona looked a useful partner for him. Perona should have given CDT the lead but the goalie prodded a foot out to stop his shot after 20 minutes. The referee was card happy from the off and Madrids loose tackles didn’t help them, Vazquez got a straight red after 23 minutes but Tenerife couldn’t make the advantage pay and it was cancelled out when Meji went off for a second yellow just before half time.
The second half saw a few changes with latest addition Sergio Rodriguez making his debut replacing Perona. The rest of the Tenerife squad warmed up in the far corner near the large clutch of our fans and Julio Alvarez got a roasting, with Natalio taking a deal to get out of town Alvarez is getting the full glare for last seasons poor overpaid displays. Latest addition Sergio Rodriguez made his debut and another new boy Alvaro Zazo (above) nearly unlocked madrid after 68 minutes. Omar took to the field and showed some skill and urgency but after only 20 minutes he was holding his sides and looking like he had just run a marathon. Bravo and Raton combined well for another Tenerife chance but the game drifted towards spot kicks.
Cristobal skied his penalty over the bar, Bravo was on target but with Luna hitting a soft shot at the keeper Madrid kept cool and won 4-1. At the final whistle the usual friendly pitch invasion was allowed and players of both sides happily posed for photos and signed autographs. Not a lot learned from this game except that another forward would be handy and we are desperate for a strong leader to pull the players together as a unit.