Gratitude for our rescue from Segunda B, and sympathy for working under weak  management kept Alvaro Cervera clinging to his job as CD Tenerife coach but a 0-1 home defeat to Ponferradina looks to have sealed his fate. It was another poor display devoid of direction and ideas, the boos have been growing louder by the week and something had to give, maybe the first 10 minute fan protest opened the exit door but the sound of a paltry 6,650 crowd baying for change at the end will surely pushed him through it.

The players will bemoan their bad luck against a terrible referee but they must take their share of blame for the nosedive in form. There is a solid platform for the new boss to build on, the defence was again strong apart from the left back spot where first Igor Arnaez and then Albizua failed to cover for suspended Raul Camara. Dani Hernandez again shone in goal and Jorge is the big find of the season at centre back.

Aridane got a recall up front, he had the best chance with a first half header that pinged off the inside of the post into the keepers hands but his lack of mobility and poor awareness were clear to see. Former CD Tenerife player Acoran skinned Arnaez down the right in the 16th minute and crossed for Sobrino to score at the far post. The rain poured down and Cervera must have been reviewing his CV, the fan protests were three pronged with President Concepcion and Director of Football Serrano getting equal blame but the team looked stale and the coach’s tactics looked tired and inflexible.

The ref threw a possible lifeline when he sent off Infante on the half hour but even a man advantage couldn’t swing the game Tenerife’s way. Diego Ifran was always willing to shoot but he was trying to do too much on his own as always. Numbers were even 10 minutes into the second half after Moyano went off for a late tackle that deserved a yellow at most. Ponferradina went down as often as they could to preserve their lead and even managed a three on one break that Tenerife bundled clear. Guarrotxena was brought on too late to make any difference and as large sections of the crowd headed for home the rest turned their frustration on the three men calling the shots.

This was the start of the second half of the campaign so time is on our side even if the transfer window has less than a week to run. A new chapter is about to begin and we are as ever , hopeful.