Pigeons pecking at the Heliodoro pitch didn’t even bother moving as play headed in their direction, they seemed to know that CD Tenerife v Numancia was destined for a 0-0 draw. Both teams had their moments but that extra bit of class was missing from these mid table sides and the bumper 10,796 crowd, boosted by special ticket deals, left a little frustrated.
Tenerife could have blazed into an early lead, Choco ran onto a through ball but hit his shot at the visiting keeper, Omar went close a few minutes later and hopes were high that the goals would arrive. Carlos Ruiz was playing his 100th game in Tenerife colours and was cool at the heart of the defence. Just add a pony tail and new loan signing Saul could pass as a Raul Llorente play alike, just like our former left back he played the position in a very forward role, maybe that confused his team mates, they starved Omar of the ball on the left wing.
Suso got a harsh booking just after 15 minutes that rules him out of the away game at Nastic, thankfully Jorge and Vitolo didn’t add to their four bookings. We didn’t get the pleasure of abusing our former player Julio Alvarez who was out injured and when Numancia threatened they found Ruiz ready to rob them or a wasteful Valcarce. The need for an attacking midfielder for Tenerife is becoming glaringly obvious, Vitolo and Aitor Sanz looked jaded. Raul Camara had a shaky game, just before half time he was skinned down the flank and a cross ball was nearly prodded in, only an alert clearance from Dani ensured equality at the break.
The second half lacked purpose, Valcarce put a clear chance wide and Alberto threaded a clever ball through into space but his team mates couldn’t latch onto it to prise open Numancia. The home bench had a strange look about it, no Cristo Gonzalez, Nano replaced Aitor and almost brought instant success, Suso fed him from the right but the sub wasn’t quite sharp enough and ran the ball into the keeper. Omar went off and was replaced by Jairo, maybe his last chance to show why he shouldn’t be loaned out, he did nothing to strengthen his case, a late back pass from him had to be tidied up pretty smartish by Carlos to avoid any blushes. Pedro Martin was back on the bench but never made it over the white line.
Numancia were predictable in the last part of the game, theatrical injuries and general time wasting, how often do we see that now. The ref let Numancia get away with a lot but Raul Camara had cause to praise his name when he clashed with Valcarce. As the pair toppled to the ground and Raul knelt over him, Valcarce did the old cupping his face in his hands trick, red cards have been given for less but the man with the whistle saw it for the cynical ploy it was. Numancia had the last word in the third minute of injury time, scooping a shot over the bar when it seemed easier to score. On the plus side it’s now 315 minutes without conceding a goal, the 10,000 plus crowd triggered some more promised incentives for the next home game on Saturday 6 February. That’s at home to Huesca and it’s the Carnaval game, if the pigeons come back maybe Dastardly and Muttley (ask your Dad) would be good fancy dress choices.