Two well worked goals and a solid team performance saw off a young talented Real Madrid C team with a 2-1 win in their own stadium. Prepare to faint – there was even a quality ref who let the game flow.

Medina got the nod ahead of Bravo and Abel to replace Yeray, suspended for two games, in the holding midfield role, Llorente returned at left back and Amado kept his place in the centre of defence ahead of Tarantino. Just three minutes into the match Cristo Martin put in a long deep cross from the left and found Loro who glanced the ball into the net with his head. Chechu looked back on form forcing a save from a Moyano (above) ball and hitting a short corner for Aridane to test the keeper after a flick on. Good moves were flowing, Loro found Chechu with a delicate lay off and his floated cross found Aridane to keep the goalie on his toes.

Llorente was again making runs up the left but was missing in action after 14 minutes leaving his flank wide open, a low pass eluded Sergio and Ramirez tapped the ball in to level. That stirred Madrid, Ramirez beat the static defence and it needed a touch from Sergio to send the ball for a corner, then Sobrino opened up the CDT back line, thankfully Sergio was on it again. Back came Tenerife, a looping corner from Chechu wasn’t far off target and Amado popped up in the box to go close. Cristo repeated his earlier bomb into the area but this time Aridane couldn’t quite reach it.

The second half started well, Loro’s shot was helped over the bar by a deflection, but the winning goal soon arrived. The ball broke to Inigo Ros in space, he took his time to pick out Chechu wide and admired the way his midfield team mate drilled the ball into the bottom corner of the net. There were still a few scares, Madrid flashed the ball across the Tenerife goal mouth and Llorente made two timely defensive interventions. Guillem Marti had already replaced Aridane and Suso swapped passing handshakes with Chechu. The first touch for Suso was to launch a raid and force a corner, Nico made his seasonal debut for Loro and also looked lively. The ref Lixandru , one of the youngest at 32 had been pleasingly invisible and when Ramirez launched himself into the Tenerife penalty box he wasn’t fooled by the dive – wonder who taught him that.

Nico and Marti both gave the home goalie some more practice, there was one last scare though in injury time as a home sub fired at Sergio who dropped the ball but recovered to scramble it away one handed. The win was fully deserved and loudly applauded by a good sprinkling of traveling fans.

People didn’t go to the shops, the shops came to them, all around the centre of Santa Cruz shopping stalls spilled out onto the street to boost trade. Dancing girls, marching drummers, and live music did the trick and ensured that customers were flowing between zones featuring fashion, electronics, childrens clothes and toys and even art and books.

I had a rough plan for what I wanted to see but drifting with the tide in Calle Castillo I was in no particular hurry. Little pots of fruit flavoured Actimel were being offered at every corner by some rather nice promotions girls, I had so many of these healthy drinks I’m now convinced I will live to be 150. I caught some of the early dancers on the main stage in Plaza La Candelaria and then popped along to Plaza del Principe where a carousel of tapas was the big attraction.

A dozen stalls were offering a tapa and a drink for 2 euros so of course I sampled a few, it was a lovely setting in the park area with plenty of seating in the shade, families were making the most of the relaxed feel and the wine samples from the stage were eagerly tasted – I tried a few glasses of the red just to balance things up a little after the healthy options. The previous night I attended the Excelencia 2.0 awards in Los Cristianos rewarding good use of social media and in the park I was impressed by a promotion run for Krakis, a new chocolate and nut biscuit with sweet chocolate cream inside mmm. Free bars came with a competition to pose in front of their giant internet screen to post a shot on your facebook page – the queue was massive all day.

Moving across to Parque Garcia Sanabria a sea of attentive children were enthralled by a puppet show. It was like Punch and Judy but involved a big ferocious looking dog – the teeny audience were made of stern stuff but it petrified me and I was found quivering like a jelly behind a bush. Parents were loving the free entertainment, the open air café was full as the grown ups enjoyed drinks and snacks with their offspring safe and in close view.

Cutting back through Calle Castillo I stopped to enjoy some street dancers evoking the spirit of Carnaval. I love living statues and a silver plated Robocop had me chuckling like a drain as he whirred into life to make passers by jump. A bit of rock music was on my list of must sees and I arrived back at the big stage just as a latin salsa academy were shaking their bodies. Los Descendientes then took to the stage and I was very impressed, their guitar sound owed a bit to Nirvana and the lead singers snarl reminded me of Alice Cooper at his best.

I had a few more calls to make away from Sal 2 but it was still in full swing with a10 pmfinish loosely kept in mind. Hopefully theSanta Cruzbusiness community will have topped up their tills and as for visitors they must have enjoyed the buzz that it brought to the capital city.