It wasn’t pretty to watch but CD Tenerife stretched the unbeaten run to six games and another clean sheet as they eventually saw off Ourense 1-0 in Santa Cruz. Ending the match with three recognized strikers was using a sledge hammer to crack a very frustrating and stubborn nut.
A year on from the loss of our friend Andy Glover we welcomed his family to the game, I think we all know some of the choice words that our old mate would have had to say about the first half performance. Ourense had a plan, they stifled Suso and Chechu with close marking and although Aridane was winning the ball when it came his way, he again showed poor finishing.
The visiting goalie Pato made a good save after 10 minutes from Bruno but an Aridane header soon after was an easy take. Ourense even made a few raids of their own and found our full backs Moyano and Alvaro in nervous form. Too often Tenerife players made silly unforced errors or backed off when they should have been closing down players. A long lob on the half hour had Sergio back peddling, thankfully the ball cleared the bar. Moyano was shy and let Ourense in again just before the break, the dangerous Ivan Glez was just a little high of his target.
We needed changes at half time but had to wait an extra two minutes for new midfield signing Fran Ochoa to replace Medina. Playing deeper than I expected, Fran soon got involved and showed a good eye for a pass. Suso was still running into dead ends and Chechu had bodies waiting for his cross but he wasted it by firing a wide shot. Suso gave way for Ayoze Perez, scoring freely for the B team and hungry to grab his chance. Any scouts watching will have noted his pace and a determination, he didn’t take long to unload a shot at goal that just missed the target.
The nerves were jangling in the crowd, more firepower was needed to force a break through so Guillem joined the big push as Chechu departed. It only took a few minutes for Guillem to work his magic and latch onto a long ball before beating the keeper on 80 minutes – cue mass relief all round.
Ochoa went close to increasing the lead and as injury time drained away Guillem was brought down on the edge of the penalty area, it looked a sure penalty but the ref opted for the final whistle instead. Another unconvincing win for the 8,035 crowd as the transfer window prepares to slam shut but maybe Guillem and Ayoze will focus coach Alvaro’s thoughts on the options he has in the current squad.