If this had been a Subutteo game goalie Roberto of CD Tenerife would have been the one on a clumsy old metal stick while Manu of Deportivo Alaves would have been the hi tech flexi plastic version we all wanted. If your scratching your head to work out where the batteries would have gone, I will put it more bluntly, Roberto had another mare and Manu was an inspired, frustrating barrier in the 1-1 home draw.

There were a few other factors to blame for not making it three straight wins, a slow start with Suso struggling to find his groove, and a tendency to overcook the build up before taking a pop at the target. Carlos Ruiz could have kick started the party after eight minutes, he latched onto a Moyano cross and was unlucky to see his cracking shot ping away off the post. Suso tried the left side of the pitch and got a free shot but Manu took it cleanly.

The Alaves opener was partially due to poor defending as Raul Camara backed off from Ion Velez but it should have been a bread and butter save for Roberto , sadly it was more like a dogs dinner as he completely missed the ball. It just didn’t click for Tenerife in the first half, the visitors were happy to sit back on their lead so it was all left for the second half. There was a surprise when Hugo Alvarez didn’t come out after the break, Vitolo dropped back alongside Ruiz and Aridane came on to play a more interchangeable forward role with Ifran.

We were treated to the rare sight of Aridane sending in a good cross from the right for Ifran to meet, a defensive header cleared the danger but it was encouraging. Cristo Martin had an eye for goal, he saw his net bound strike skew off a defender to safety. Alaves tried to help our cause, Medina, already booked for one clumsy challenge made an even cruder one on Cristo and was red carded with 30 minutes to play. Kike Rivero replaced Ricardo to tweak the home midfield but Manu tightened his gloves and his resolve and set about defying Tenerife. The ball broke to Aridane from a corner, he turned and fired just wide, Cristo shaped up for a far post shot only to see Manu get down to turn the ball aside.
The leveler was well worked, Suso took the ball to the byline on the right and slipped it through a crowd of defenders to Ifran who finished with style. The striker turned supplier with a tempting ball to Aridane who was a bit too slow for the goalie who smothered the ball. Ifran tried a repeat of his wonder goal at Zaragoza, forced wide by Manu he tried to screw the ball in at the post but a defender had raced back in time to add a clearing touch. A double block was Manu’s star turn, punching a certain goal out and then saving from Ruiz.

The four minutes of added time offered some late hope, Suso was upended by Elberon, it looked a clear spot kick but in the refs eyes it was a booking for Suso. Sub Uli Davila could have proved his claim for more game time, Ifran opened the door for him but he hit the post. An in form goalie and some bad luck maybe but we should have beaten 10 men. A booking for Vitolo will sideline him for next Sunday’s game at bottom placed Llagostera, overall form is much better and there is a feeling that our Dorada is half full rather than half empty