The whole squad needs to be up to scratch if CD Tenerife are to escape Segunda B so a midweek friendly against Ibarra at El Fraile was the perfect setting to look at some of our fringe players.

Catching the bus over with Barnet Dave we made the short walk to the bar opposite the ground and met Kevin for a pre match Dorada. The first pleasant surprise was the 7 euro admission for the game, how different from CD Marino’s 15 euros for the Las Palmas friendly. Once inside it was clear we didn’t have that many players on duty, the training injury to Josmar will keep him out for 3 to 4 weeks but he still had his usual beaming smile as he sat on the terraces with German – not sure if he is also injured.

There were around 300 people present as the action kicked off, Roberto started in goal, other notable faces were Sergio Rodriguez at right back, Abel, Bravo and Jeremy in midfield, and Guillem Marti as the main striker supported by Nico. Ibarra are one of the better sides in the Preferente but Tenerife made them look poor, there was a good cohesion about our side.

Jeremy set up Nico for the opening goal and Abel added a second with a strong strike from outside the box. Marti was very aggressive up front and looked keen to prove his worth, Jeremy looked strong and confident and a good play maker. As the second half kicked off there were no wholesale changes, a good idea to make sure players got a much needed full run out. Ayoze Perez and Ayoze Placeres were the major changes and later Angel Galvan took over in goal. Junior scoring sensation Ayoze looked lively and went close to scoring several times.

By now the sun had set and the floodlights were on, trouble is they only have two pylons on one side so players were difficult to spot in the dark, I’m sure at one point I spotted Lord Lucan and Shergar prowling the touchline. Nico made it 3-0 and Jeremy (above) capped an impressive display with the fourth. A good workout and nice to hear several players knocking loudly on the first team door.