It was 50 years to the day since the official club hymn Tenerife Adelante was first performed but there was nothing to sing about after a late 1-0 defeat at Rayo Vallecano in Madrid. Played quite well, could have won but the defence keep taking their Tenerife holidays, this time parting for another sloppy goal conceeded. There seems to be something missing from the new team, the drive, heart and team spirit that served us so well just isn’t in evidence and stories of dressing room arguments seem to reflect dissent in the ranks.

Coach Arcanada promised a more defensive line up but got an early blow when captain and right back Marc Bertran pulled out pre match with a leg muscle injury, Juanlu Hens dropped back but looked ill at ease and was run ragged all afternoon, Nino forced an early corner but Sicilia couldn’t find the net from the cross in to the box. Sergio made a nervous save and Nino made a half hearted appeal for a penalty after being bundled over in the box. Sergio came to the rescue after 23 minutes with a great save from an Armenteros free kick. Melli was doing well to hold a sometimes jittery Tenerife defence together.

Rayo had the ball in the net at the half hour point but the chip past Sergio was clearly offside. CDT held out well until the break and after the restart the home side seemed to be getting frustrated. Omar and Iriome were willing workers down the wings and Nino hussled away up front as always but the midfield lacked bite and lost possesion too often. Julio Alvarez (above) had another quiet game, he needs to start showing why the club were so pleased to capture him. Rayo started to produce more chances but luckily for Tenerife they kept hoofing them high over the goal. Iriome and Nino had decent chances but a draw was looking a good bet. Alas with just 4 minutes left the Tenerife defence was caught out, opening up like a yawning chasm to allow Juli to stroll in and score. To make the day worse, Las Palmas won 4-1 at home with their shoestring team to move into third spot while Tenerife are just third from bottom.