Well The defence was tighter and ensured a 0-0 home draw for CD Tenerife v Cartagena. Coach Ramis continued to ring the changes with Aitor Buñuel (right) and Andoni Lopez (left) starting in the full back slots. But the players that made way for them, Nacho and ultra consistent Mellot were back in their old roles within the hour. The constant tinkering is coming under the spotlight at the team struggles to put any prolonged form together.
Cartagena were revelling in their surprise status of third place. Home keeper Soriano had to be alert and agile to repel Borja Valle after the defence failed to cover the gap. Sipcic was magnificent at the heart of home defence, and Larrea was a quality playmaker in the middle of the park. It all ground to a halt in front of goal with Garces and Romero both struggling to cash in on the set ups from Appiah, and his later replacement Mo Dauda. The Ghana winger clipped the post with a rasping shot as frustration built.
Cartagena had their own hero in goalie, Escandell but were left to regret twice putting the ball in the Tenerife net – after straying into offside positions. Tenerife need to string a few wins together to get into the top half of the table and should be exploiting their home games. The crowd was up again, a bunper 12,180 turnout on an evening of extreme rain and sunshine but it´s the changing climate of the coach´s selections that are putting a few clouds in the Santa Cruz sky.