At half time in the home game with Villa Santa Brigida the world looked wonderful to CD Marino. Leading 1-0, playing some terrific football, and with a three point lead at the top of the division if the score held. But it didn’t hold and finished 1-1, wind on to the midweek holiday game at El Cotillo and a 3-0 defeat put the blues down into fourth spot.

There’s plenty of skill in this Marino side and in their stride they flow and compliment each other but now they will have to regroup and show their character. These opponents were two of the best in the division but Santa Brigida, last years champions looked anything but in their slow, careless start on Sunday. Adan was the spearhead causing problems for the Gran Canaria side but it was Kevin Castro tucked in behind him that inflicted the opening goal after 10 minutes with a calm finish.

It was a slap round the face for Santa Brigida who started to put together some good moves, Cicovic was always ready with a sharp save and captain Ubeda and central defensive partner Mendy limited their chances. Facu was one of the stars of Santa Brigida last season and started to show glimpses, his rushed shot just before half time was a warning to Marino. Losing Adan early after the break with an injury took some pressure off the visitors, replacement Ammed drifted away from his central role and when Kevin was subbed it was like a come on for the yellows.

The equalizer was a defensive mix up as Santa Brigida opened up Marino’s left side and a cross from wide wasn’t intercepted, Facu was lurking and had an easy tap in. The visitors could have stolen the game late on, both subs missed glorious chances, Juanma was left shaking his head after trying to part the sky with his high shot in front of goal. A draw still looked a decent result at the end, especially as close rivals El Cotillo lost heavily away.

What, no goals again! This is getting a bit habit forming, a second home 0-0 from CD Tenerife in two games was cause for concern. Getafe were just one place off the bottom before the game and there for the taking but one again the team play was predictable, even with changes to the line up.

Pep Marti’s favoured pivot system in midfield was dismantled with Marc Crosas left out, in theory it looked like a more attacking formation. Starting Jouini was a popular move but countered by dropping Amath to the bench. To be fair, a training injury to Camille forced a rethink down the left and Inaki was the natural choice to fill the full back slot.

Tenerife were the marginally better side in the first half but Choco looked tired and laboured, at least Jouini  showed plenty of fight. There had to be at least another of those “what you doing” moments from the ref, in the first half he ignored a blatant handling outside of his area by the keeper.

The worst decision came 10 minutes into the second half, even the most biased of CDT fans didn’t expect a penalty when Jouini went down in the box after trying to force his way through but to give him a second booking and a red was ludicrous. The draw seemed almost inevitable from then on, Amath took over from Aaron but his early promise has faded a little, confidence is probably in short supply at the moment.

Molina did the decent thing for Getafe, getting sent off in the 79th minute after bowling German over, still there was no home goal. Dani Hernandez even had to make a couple of important saves during the game, points at home just don’t raise the roof. The only laugh of the game was the announcement of the 9,053 crowd, even with fans clinging to the shadows to avoid the baking sun, it was a really creative figure.

Predictions for the new season held out little joy for CD Marino but they are proving them wrong in style. This 1-0 home win over Arucas was hard fought and the blues enjoyed some good fortune but it pushes them two points clear at the top of their Tercera group and there is a belief and spirit at the club that suggests big things are possible.

Hopefully local Canarians will return in numbers to the stands, at the moment there is always a good sprinkling of British tourists, a credit to the clubs advertising in local hotels. Even the pre match music has a familiar sound, you can’t knock a bit of Nirvana blasting over the speakers. Marino looked confident as they started against the Gran Canarian strugglers, Adan was leading the line well and Kevin Castro was always a threat drifting in from the left. Killiam and Alex tried their luck for the visitors but Mendy showed them how to finish with a strong header when surrounded by defenders.

The pitch was in surprisingly good condition after the Ricky Martin concert two weeks ago, both sides used it well to show their speed, Brad had to race back and make a couple of well timed interventions but Marino were good value for the lead.

My slight hangover told me it was hotter than usual but I realized how much when the teams took a pre arranged water break after 25 minutes, this was repeated in the second half. Arucas put the ball in the net just before half time bit the ref, after a prolonged pause, gave a home free kick, that angered former Marino coach Jose Juan Almeida who got his first warning from the ref. Arucas put some pressure on in the second half, Cicovic was having another good game, he takes everything that comes in the air. It was interesting to see a new back up keeper on the bench, Petar is an experienced player with Granadilla and Las Palmas Atletico.

Even after having their coach, and defender captain Cone sent off, the visitors showed resistance but a little too much fight, there were some shocking tackles and cheap kicks after play stopped. Marino kept cool and with Ammed on as sub they nearly doubled the lead. There was a tense finish, Kiliam was on a breakaway in injury time but couldn’t get his shot in and the whistle sealed the victory.

Raul Camara will look back on his 100 th game for CD Tenerife and think that he might yet get a call as a striker. This was a blunt 0-0 draw, not entirely unexpected as we struggle to put long runs together, four straight wins was beyond the reach of poor creativity in midfield and half hearted finishing in front of goal.

It’s understandable that Pep Marti went with an unchanged team after the 0-1 win at Almeria, even if it did take an own goal to move the scoreboard. There were just too many holding players in midfield, Vitolo and Aitor Sanz are so similar and Crosas was about as deep as he could get without forming a double act with Dani in goal. There would have been room for both on the goal line, Mallorca were very negative and it took them 30 minutes to even test him.

Amath was again our best chance of cutting through Mallorca down the left, on the other side Suso was also deep leaving Choco with only rare chances to shoot. The forward missed from a headed attempt and was unlucky not to get a penalty after being forced over in the box. I blame the fixture planners, Thursday night at 9pm is hardly traditional, some players seemed to be playing in their slippers.

The second half couldn’t have got worse and to its credit it improved a little. Amath lit the fuse for Choco again with the same result, another miss and from the other flank Suso set him up again with a header to the keepers hands the end result. Subs were needed, Aaron took over for Crosas and made some impact, Jouni was again a late sub, he must be close to getting a longer run, he is awkward to mark and gives defenders problems. Omar was another late addition as Raul went off, he nearly let Mallorca in for a late winner after failing to close down an attacker. Even five minutes injury time for play acting from Raillo couldn’t change the outcome, that’s just four goals from six games.

That Suso Santana has a lovely pair of heels, ask the Valladolid defence, they had fleeting glimpses of them in CD Tenerife’s home 1-0 win. While I’m dishing out admiration, how about Dani Hernandez hands, the home goalie defied the visitors with a series of classy saves. But special mention must go to referee Monesellio and his benevolent eyes, it was a clear sending off tackle for accident prone CDT defender Jorge after 20 minutes but the ref only showed a yellow card. His generous spirit not only saved us from surviving 70 minutes a man short but also restored some belief that we do sometimes get a lucky break.

From that pivotal moment, Tenerife grew beyond a poor first half to offer some encouraging play, especially from the transfer window young pups, Amath N’Diaye and Haythem Jouni. It was another changed starting line up, Inaki and Omar out injured, German dropped in place of Jorge, and Cristo Gonzalez confined to the dog house after more public petulance. Valladolid had the better of early play, Carlos Ruiz had to put in a winning tackle to stop a goal run from Mata. Dani rose majestically to snuff out a dangerous corner, and tipped aside another shot after a defensive mix up, and with that Jorge moment the storm seemed to have been weathered.

Camille did well at left back, not as adventurous going forward as Inaki he did a job, Marc Crosas sat in front of the central defence and broke up several moves. Senegal born Amath, on loan from Atletico Madrid, showed some genuine pace from the left of midfield but in the first half there was never quite the ball needed for Choco and Suso up front. We were resigned to a goal less break but in the final minute Suso picked out Carlos Ruiz from an in swinging corner to make the break through. Suso was back in the groove and at his inspiring, tireless best in the second half, two fine moves opened up the Valladolid defence, the second a free kick that stung the opposition goalies hands. Amath showed he could cut inside as well as romp down the wing, he was crudely blocked when at full steam, just before departing to a generous round of applause.

Jouini arrived from the bench, the young Tunisian striker soon showed what he has to offer. A genuine target man, tall and awkward, he gave the rest of the team a boost. It could have been a dream debut, drifting right with the ball he rushed his shot straight at the keeper. With five minutes to go Aaron Niguez replaced Aitor Sanz and took up a position to the left of midfield. There wasn’t much time to make an impact but the run out will help him to get a feel for the task ahead. Suso produced another half chance, hooking the ball just high of the goal from a tight angle before making way for Alex Garcia. The skipper deserved the ovation of the 7,785 crowd, even if the legs are feeling the years he has so much heart and a stubborn determination. The final word should have belonged to Choco, in injury time a long clearance found him deep, turning on the pace he outstripped two defenders but tried to score himself when a lay off was the better option. Still an important win and it marks Valladolid’s card for the Copa del Rey game at their place.

Laughing, singing, and guzzling Dorada. What a happy bunch the Armada Sur were before the first home league game v Sevilla Atletico. But then news began to filter through that La Laguna born Nano would not be returning from injury but would be leaving CD Tenerife to join Primera division Eibar for 3.2 million euros. Ninety minutes later heads were down but bottles still up after a poor 1-1 draw including 69 minutes with a man advantage.

There was some joy left to us pre game, Choco Lozano was back from Olympic duty with Honduras – albeit before racking up more air miles to return home for World Cup qualifiers. Cristo Gonzalez started as Choco’s strike partner but the first chance fell to Sevilla’s Matos who drilled his shot straight into Sani Hernandez waiting arms. Raul Camara made a strong interception to snuff out another attempt and his ball up to Cristo looked like setting up a home chance but he was crowded out by defenders. The last thing Tenerife needed was an unforced error but that’s what happened, Cotan couldn’t believe his luck when Jorge made a soft half attempt at a tackle that gifted the ball to the Sevilla player who placed it perfectly in the back of the home goal after 19 minutes.

Maybefate was going to even out, visiting striker Ivi forearmed Raul Camara over and then stamped on his leg, the red card couldn’t have come out of the refs pocket quick enough. There wasn’t any significant shift in the balance of play, Aitor Sanz recovered well to mop up his own mistake in losing the ball and Choco tested the Sevilla keeper but it remained 0-1 at half time. Choco put the ball the wrong side of the post just after the break and. Marc Crosas took over from Aitor Sanz adding his impressive distribution of the ball from midfield, Cristo had a couple of decent attempts but it wasn’t quite coming off. Choco gave us a sight of the gold medal when he slotted home a Cristo pass for a 67 minute leveler, surely the win would now come. Ale Pipo replaced Alex Garcia and despite looking a little out of his depth he gave plenty of effort.

Choco and Cristo worked hard to try to break the deadlock, Choco got up well to a high ball only to have it snatched away by an alert Soriano in the Sevilla goal. The keeper was willing to use any means possible to repel Tenerife, already booked he continued to blatantly waste time as the game went on, the ref resisted the urge to give him a deserved second yellow. Inaki did his late push on the left sending in teasing crosses and corners, Cristo in particular wasted a couple. The game fizzled out into a 1-1 draw leaving the 7,959 crowd praying that Nano’s transfer money is put to good use before the transfer window slams shut at the end of the month.

When Rivelino introduced himself to me, before a CD Tenerife home game, I was staggered at how deeply he had drunk from the fountain of youth. Of course it wasn’t the 70 year old wizard from Brazil’s football giants of the 1970’s but Joe Roscoe who is playing the footballer in Tina and Bobby, the new three part ITV drama about Bobby Moore. It was enough to rouse memories of a surreal spell in the 1980-81 season when my non league team Oxford City were managed by Bobby Moore with Harry Redknapp as his assistant.

Let’s start in the present, Joe, a fashion and management student in Manchester works part time as a film extra and recently had a walk on part in Coronation Street. I was more impressed by his role in Tina And Bobby, and not just because Corrie cutie Michelle Keegan plays Tina. Lorne MacFadyen (ex Grantchester) plays the great man and filming for the football action has taken place at Leeds Rhinos Headingley Stadium. When we met there was still a fair bit of filming to go so keep an eye out for the programme over the next few months. Sadly they wont be covering the Oxford spell but it was quite a drama in itself.

How the hell did Bobby end up at Oxford City? A local businessman Tony Rosser had left the board of Oxford United, disgruntled that his plans were not being well received. Looking for a way to upstage the county’s senior team he ploughed money into my beloved City and made big promises of a major managerial appointment, even better than his word he unveiled Bobby Moore and my gob had never been so smacked. It was Bobby’s first move into coaching and City were a struggling side in the Isthmian League Division One .

Suddenly City were national media stars, everything became polished and professional, the team got their own luxury coach, left early, and had a light brunch stop at a posh hotel on away jaunts. Unlike the supporters rust bucket, they didn’t have a human chain to dish out coffee from an urn, or the pre ordered greasy chip supper for the trip home. It should have been a springboard to greatness but there were a few built in flaws. Bobby was a soccer god trying to teach mere mortals, and sadly some of his”friends” in the game took liberties by offloading misfit players on him. One of the first new boys was ex Tottenham defender Phil Beal, a legend in his time but now way past it, 1975 FA Cup Final left back John Fraser arrived from Fulham and tried to squeeze a few last drops out of his game, Stuart Haigh from Bradford City, and a clutch of Bournemouth players rolled in headed by goalie Kieran Baker, but he was soon replaced by Martin Le Blanc – who flew in from Jersey for games. How can I put it kindly, Martin wasn’t the safest pair of hands and soon became known to the fans as Martin Ker Plunk. Martin Chivers turned up to watch one away game, maybe to see his old Spurs team mate Phil Beal standing still.

Home crowds swelled a bit to over 1,000 and we delighted the rest of the league by boosting their attendances when City came to town. Bobby was always the focus of adoring fans and he was a true gent, taking time to sign autographs and talk to all his new best mates. Strangely the spotlight shifted slightly when City played at Clapton’s Old Spotted Dog ground, a short sprint from his old West Ham home. Harry Rednapp got more hero worship than his boss, his autograph flowed that day like signing a cheque book. Sadly it was all a bit of a mess, the constant changes made it impossible to create a winning team and Bobby’s role turned out to be part time as Mr Rosser used him more as a marketing and promotional attraction for his business interests.

It all came to a sorry end with relegation for City and a dreadful 5-1 defeat to Thame United in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup final. In those last few days Bobby was making the worst football film ever, Escape To Victory, with Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone. Not surprisingly in the close season Bobby left the club, being at City was not really a fitting stage for such a great man but his dignity, enthusiasm, and all round decency impressed everyone who had the pleasure to come into contact with him.

A killer instinct in the final minutes earned new CD Marino a convincing 4-2 home win over Tenisca to start the season with a home victory for new coach Toni Dumpierez. There were new ideas and new players but even with a five minute lapse that allowed the La Palma side to level, there was a growing confidence and plenty of promise for the Tercera campaign ahead.

Kevin Castro was as always a terrier as the main striker, he tried to exploit an early chance but the visiting keeper raced out to deny him. Bradley Mills overlapped well from the right back position to deliver a swift cross that flashed by Valiente as he raced in. Tenisca had their best chance after 15 minutes when their shot was scrambled away from just in front of the home goal line. Hammed tried a long shot for the blues that rose over the bar and then supplied a good pass to Valiente who had a hopeful penalty shout after being dispossessed in the box.

Kevin Castro gave the Tenisca plenty of uncomfortable moments, he forced a corner that Lolo Armario floated in just a little too high for a team mate to connect with. The opening goal came after 35 minutes, Valiente’s shot rebounded off the goalie and Lolo pounced to bury the ball in the net. Just before the break, home keeper Cicovic out jumped Ahmed to rob the ball off his head, that ensured a happy half time team talk, and it got better within two minutes of the restart. Ahmed fouled Kevin Plassencia in the penalty area to get a second booking and a sending off, Hammed converted the spot kick and Marino looked to be cruising.

Then came a nightmare few minutes for Marino, a free kick from Josua eluded the diving Cicovic to pull a goal back. A loose tackle on David gifted a penalty which Chema converted to level at 2-2, Kevin Castro missed a chance to restore the lead as a Josito cross came in, then the man advantage was wiped out after Bradley got a second booking for a rash tackle. This burst of bad news encouraged Tenisca but Marino stood firm and with Adan replacing Hammed they had new options up front.

There was a storming finish as Marino stepped up the pressure and put the visitors goal under siege, In the final minute of regular time Kevin Plasencia floated in a perfect free kick that beat the defence and goalie and nudged the home team back in front. Tenisca charged down the other end on an injury time breakaway but Josua found Cicovic on top form to deny his shot. There was still time for more drama, Marino sub Alberto hit a powerful strike to make it 4-2 and Cicovic made sure the final score stayed that way by blocking a last gasp Chema shot with his knees. Marino will take a lot of confidence from this encouraging performance and the character they showed after the Tenisca fightback.

Like the pilgrims walking up the motorway to Candelaria, CD Tenerife coach Pep Marti is traveling with faith but needs a helping hand. This Copa Emmasa 1-0 home win over relegated Getafe showed that regardless of Nano’s injury and Choco’s Olympic football extension, a big new forward would be well handy before the August window closes.

Looking at striking alternatives, the coach started Omar in the central role with Ale Gonzalez and Suso supplying the ammunition from the flanks. Suso came close to grabbing a lead after 10 minutes with a shot from outside the area that tested the keeper. The game was pretty flat, Getafe were also tinkering with their squad and looked poor, the crowd was a mere 3,453, with most of the noise coming from Super Mario giving a concrete pillar a right old slapping. Aitor Sanz showed some initiative with a clever run that just failed to unlock the visiting defence, and Oriol was lively, putting a shot wide and setting up Omar who fired straight at the goalie. Falcon was hardly troubled in the Tenerife goal and the half time break left us hoping for more action.

A change of cast after the break saw Dani Hernandez back in goal, Ale Pipo for Raul Camara , Darixon for Ale Gonzalez, Marc Crosas for Vitolo, and Alberto for Carlos Ruiz, as well as some positional juggling. Crosas looped in a pinpoint ball to Suso’s head but he couldn’t bring it under control to launch a clean strike. Cristo Gonzalez took over from Suso and looked a bit keener than in the previous friendlies but it was Getafe who came closest with a shot that clipped the home bar.Cristo got into the groove and tried to hook the ball into the net, he wasn’t too far off target.

Getafe brought on a clutch of subs with barely 15 minutes left, they showed more urgency. With a penalty shoot out looming Cristo hit the winning goal after 88 minutes, thanks to a lovely pass from Darixon. Hopefully it will get the young striker back on track, a lot is resting on him. Nano watching from the sidelines leaning on crutches was a sad sight for the fans and a few hours later it emerged he is angling for a transfer out. Cordoba away will be a tough opener in the league, two pre season cups in the cabinet might look nice but league points are what really matters, it would be nicenot to have the usual slow start.