As Santa Ceuz squelched and splashed under torrential rain, Mario Gonzalez left UD Ibiza high and dry with a two goal home debut. Precision finishing made CD Tenerife´s January window signing an instant hit in a 2-0 victory that regained third place in the second division.
Just four minutes after kick off, Aitor Sanz threaded a pass to Mario who spotted the keeper stranded off his line and slotted the ball into the back of the net. The same cool instinct doubled the damage after 18 minutes as Mario dragged a defender wide to his right and rippled the net after squeezyng the ball through the free space. Claims for offside were defeated by VAR, Mario had calculated his move to perfection.
Brollies were rippling along the upper tiers of the stadium and the 13,177 crowd were singing in the rain in pure soggy delight. Ibiza have impressed in their first season at this level, they showed spirit with a fierce shot that ever alert goalie Soriano tipped over the bar. Alexandre Correrdera crafted another home chance but Ibiza weathered the storm to half time.
Ibiza made two subs for the second half including former Tenerife winger Javi Lara but although the white and blues intensity dropped a little, they ensured a fourth clean sheet in consecutive games. Elady had a header thwarted by the visiting goalie just before giving way to the other recent striking addition, Andres Martin who had a crisp shot repelled by the outstreched boot of the keeper.
When Mario was replaced by Michel after 70 minutes he received a thunderous ovation, and at the final whistle, the home players and the crowd lingered in the downpour to exchange mutual praise. Getting soaked had never been so enjoyable.
When the first United Airlines Boeing 757-300 touches the tarmac at Tenerife South airport in June 2022 it wont be an entirely new link with the New World. Cristopger Columbus blessed American soil in 1492 with water drawn from a well on La Gomera, the nearest Canary Island neighbour to Tenerife. That stop off influenced the rise of Playa de Las Americas, the biggest of the 1970 tourist boom resorts on the south coast of Tenerife, with a direct gaze to thee landing port of Cristobal Colon. The American legacy has spread around the south coast, Los Cristianos is almost knee deep in name dropping homage to the states. From the first view of Mount Teides´s peak through the clouds, Tenerife offers exotic landscapes coupled with rich history and culture.
The JFK (New York) to TFS air route will initially carry 13,400 passengers on three weekly flights in the first three months. Cruise liners have made fleeting visits to Tenerife, stopping off in the northern capital of Santa Cruz and famous US footsteps have passed through and are now imortalised among 60 tributes at the port. Herman Melville, a New Yorker and author of Moby Dick, Earnest Albert Hooton, an anthropologist from Wisconsin, and Paul Bowles, a New York composer and writer all sampled island life. American Sporting stars and actors have also beaten a path to Tenerife in recent years. Shaq Moore from Georgia is in his third season with CD Tenerife football team (soccer) and he is also a regular for the USA national team. For 2022, Shaq has two big aims, promotion to Spain´s elite Primera league, and the four yearly World Cup finals for the stars and stripes in Qatar.
The movie trail to Tenerife goes way back to Raquel Welch filiming 1,000 Years BC up in the national park of Mount Teide volcanic peak in 1966. More recent stars include Matt Damon (Jason Bourne) in 2016, and Sylvester Stallone (Rambo 5 in 2019). Current TV productions include Foundation, the Apple Plus science fiction epic with one series in the can and the second taking shape now. There´s also a continuous stream of advertising films for international high range productsand and musical promo videos enjoying some Tenerife time.
More formal ties include a twinning link with the University of California via the states side Santa Cruz and the Tenerife capital of the same name. The art faculty even sent some of their works over to exhibit on the volcanic island. Even with such popularity, Tenerife still has a wealth of secluded corners and natural treasures all awaiting to impress our new visitors.
Enric Gallego´s injury time shot hit the Leganes post and rebounded to safety across the goalmouth. That capped a frustrating 0-0 home draw for CD Tenerife against a negative Leganes team trying to squirm away from relegation danger. The home side wasn´t as fluent as usual and relied too much on high hopeful balls into the box. Leganes showed their intent from the start. Goalie Riesgo laboured every touch and goal kick, and defender Nyom added slow to clumsy in his plodding play. After 10 minutes Tenerife were still awaiting the arrival of a Leganes player in their half of the field. Arnaiz was first to cross the barrier but Mellot timed his intercepting tackle to perfection.
Home changes were needed in the second half, Andres Martin, a January window loan recruit from Rayo Vallecano took over from Bermejo whose weak header had failed to trouble the keeper. Samuel Shasoua was the logical next replacement and took over from Mollejo. Sam ´s ability to hold the ball up and channel play in a more centra zone encouraging direct attacks on the nervous defence, offered a different strategy. Leganes sat tight and killed time. Coach Ramis made a last double gamble after 78 minutes, Michel for Alexandre, and the second newly arrived striker, Mario Gonzalez for Elady.
The new target man from Braga in the Portugal league announced himself with a header that cleared the bar. The game ended in farce with three medics and a stretcher called on for a phantom injury to leganes player Garcia as added time dribbled away. Leganes held on for their point much to the disgust of the 11,058 reduced capacity crowd. The single point for Tenerife may be vital when it comes to promotion play off or automatic promotion time. Tenerife have the best away form in the division and with 16 regular games to go they are still in 4th spot,