As entertainment it was on a par with being dragged out for Christmas shopping but a 1-0 home win for CD Tenerife over Sabadell ensured a relieved festive break. You can only work with what you’ve got and the players have done well to pull away from the drop zone with a rugged, defensive, and very cautious mind set.
Sabadell were poor, and that’s being generous to them, but despite the boost of forward Diego Ifran returning from suspension Tenerife played deep and made sure they were difficult to beat. The back four are playing with composure and a good understanding between them, Raul Camara and Hugo Alvarez were the pick of the bunch this week but none of them put a foot wrong and Carlos in goal is such a calming influence. Aitor Sanz was missed in midfield and Suso had one of his quieter games, his best move was to run into the female lineswoman, if only he had some mistletoe on him.
Aridane thought he had scored in the third minute but the ref ruled it out as he was clearly offside, Collantes could have made the breakthrough for Sabadell on the half hour but Carlos took the sting out of his shot before gathering the ball. Ifran came close with a curling shot from the left that drifted wide of the goal but he was to get his reward a few minutes later. A scuffed shot from Cristo caught the keeper by surprise, he thought he had covered it but with thee ball squirming under him he pulled it back with his foot and the ref gave a free kick – harsh but let’s call it our Christmas present. Ifran blasted the ball in the top right corner from six yards as the entire defense and keeper tried to block.
The second half was more ragged, the win was so important the players were reluctant to take chances. Yeray fired wide for the visitors when he should have tied the game. Aridane was replaced by Uli Davila after 60 minutes, The Mexican had a chance to book a longer stay in Santa Cruz but his scooped shot wide may be the last we see of him in our colours. Creating chances wasn’t high on the Tenerife agenda as the minutes ticked down, Eguaras gave Tenerife another let off before Victor Garcia made his home debut with just four minutes left. The midfielder only joined the B team in the summer and has made rapid progress, another plus point from the game.
The 7,057 crowd were ready to start the Christmas celebrations but the dying moments saw another clear opening for Sabadell that they spurned. That’s just one goal conceded in five games, January should bring a new striker or two, then maybe the play will become a bit more adventurous. For now though the players can reward themselves with a extra beer and helping of pudding.