A flush of four red cards ignited the Canarian derby when a scathing tackle sent CD Tenerife’s Nano to hospital. A weak ref and some loose discipline made this the focal point of a 0-1 home defeat to Las Palmas but it was an absorbing game of real passion topped by a penalty shoot out win for CD Tenerife.

The fuse had been lit in the away leg, the Las Palmas coach fumed afterwards that Tenerife were over physical, Suso cranked it up before the home game by publically reminding the Pios there is no such thing as a friendly derby. The visitors looked sharp from the off, former Spurs and Portsmouth player Kevin Prince Boateng gave them a big presence up front, it took just four minutes for Michel to convert a neat pass from Viera on the right. The first half belonged to Las Palmas who stroked the ball about with confidence and looked a division above their hosts

Half chances encouraged Tenerife, Nano was lacking support on two promising breaks, and Omar saw his header glance off the post. After the break home coach Pep Marti made some changes, Inaki replaced Oriol and started to create some openings down the left. Just when it seemed the tide was turning, Aretcibia dived in with a two footed lunge from behind on Nano and as the young striker went down it was clear he was in agony. The red card for the offender was richly deserved but as players poured into the combat zone the ref dished out further reds for home player Vitolo and two more Las Palmas players. It was mainly pushing and shoving as tempers flared, the three additional expulsions barely deserved yellow cards.

That left Tenerife with a two man advantage for the final 30 minutes, it was worrying that they couldn’t make that tell. Inaki fed a good ball to Cristo Gonzalez whose shot was tipped aside by the yellows keeper. More changes saw Darixon and Younousse Diop paired up front, the combination showed a lot of potential, the speed and guile of the young Honduran and the power and strength of the Senegal youngster. The Las Palmas keeper helped his side to hold on with continual time wasting that earned him a booking. The 6,553 crowd, stoked up by the Pios tactics, gave full vent to their anger at the old enemy and their complaining coach Setien but Las Palmas survived and it was down to penalties to decide the trophy.

It was so good to have Dani Hernandez back between the sticks and once again he was the hero with two confident saves. Carlos Ruiz, Inaki, and Jorge struck their spot kicks straight and true to clinch the silverware. Overnight news from the hospital was better than first feared but Nano emerged with a splint on his leg and up to four weeks sidelined. On the same night Choco was scoring to put Honduras through to the knock out stages of the Olympic football, delaying his return from Rio. With just over a week to the league kick off, there are still plenty of problems for the coach to grapple with.

It was easy to feel the Ibarra goalies frustration, CD Tenerife didn’t trouble him for 70 minutes but bailed themselves out from a 2-0 deficit at Ibarra for an unconvincing 2-3 friendly win. The first half in particular was disjointed, aimless, and confused and not just because there were a lot of B team players filling in for injured seniors.

These warm up games are the perfect stage for the young rising players to get noticed, Bolaños had a shaky start at the back but settled well and Oscar Gonzalez played wide on the right and left before finding his groove in a more central role. Omar was playing as a central striker and it didn’t work that well, Cristo Gonzalez played behind him but did very little. The injured Nano was sorely missed, our striking options are a little worrying at the moment, with Southampton still keen on Nano, Cristo needs to raise his game this season to become a genuine contender for the next big thing.

Ibarra (in El Fraile) play in the same Segunda B section as CDT B and had most of the first half play, their 9^th minute lead had a touch of good fortune about it as a shot deflected in off Adrian Garcia. Marc Crosas failed to shine apart from a good cross to Adrian who blasted well wide of the target. Less then 20 minutes gone and Tenerife were exposed down their left leaving Sandro to finish off from a probing cross. Two goals down at the break prompted a wave of changes for the second half. Angel Galvan took over in goal and was relieved to see a shot that beat him ruled as offside, Tenerife suffered the same fate a few minutes later. Camille slotted in at left back and looked strong and eager to support the breaks, it was a neat cross from him that fed Omar to pull a goal back after 70 minutes.

It was good to see Suso back on the pitch, he may be clocking up the birthdays but he is still full of fire and took great delight in crashing the ball into the goal to draw the scores level. Senegal born Younousse Diop arrived in Tenerife on a refugee boat with little more than his football talent to sustain him, last season he was loaned out after a poor pre season but he looked more determined after coming on in the second half. A hand in the build up for the 2^nd goal was eclipsed by a superb finish to get a winner with just three minutes left. Maybe this will be his season to write another chapter in his incredible life story. Pre season games are notoriously poor indicators of league hopes, although this was hard to watch, it was a win and players and coach can learn as much from this below par display as from an easy goal fest.

Trying to match new faces and new squad numbers, looking for who has put on a few pounds, and feeling the buzz course through my body again. It must be pre season time and Las Zocas were the hosts for CD Tenerife’s opening 0-3 victory.

Pep Marti was beginning his first full campaign and only a few days in had been getting the players puffing with work outs in the hills, on Las Teresitas beach, and on the morning of this game, a full training ground session. Even so match fitness is another matter and some of our players were clearly not at full pace but there were lots of encouraging signs, most notably the first half display of Honduras 18 year old Darixon Vuelto. The under 17 international has arrived with an eye to playing for the B team but on this showing he could be hammering on the first team door. The sometime midfielder shared the main striking duties with Ale Gonzalez, another rising star, he took just over 20 minutes to grab his first goal from a short pass by German.

Las Zocas were restricted to a few chances, one long shot brought a good turn aside from goalie Angel Galvan. Omar Perdomo was another player who impressed, he forced the home keeper to make a smart save before latching onto a cross for a 36 minute goal. Marc Crosas looked strong in midfield and Camille looked solid at the back. There were wholesale changes at half time, Nano and Cristo Gonzalez took over up front but Las Zocas replacement keeper did well to block their best openings. Another sub, Oscar Gonzalez, brother of Ale, looked good as an attacking wide midfielder, both brothers made great strides with the B team last season after joining from Sporting San Jose and will fancy their chances of earning a senior shirt.

The floodlighting struggled to illuminate the second half, Carlos Ruiz put a strong header wide and Nano went close a few times before being bundled over in the box for a third goal from the spot. It was a good workout on the long road to the Segunda Division season, the Armada Sur were in good voice and the coach even had the players in a circle at the final whistle, stretching and warming down, they looked a little shell shocked by the extra exertions. There is still another new striker to sign and Choco Lozano to return from Honduras duty, the season tickets are cheaper than ever, and the after match beers slipped down nicely. Welcome back live football.

Never one to shirk a tackle when playing for CD Tenerife, Pier Cherubinho is showing the same dogged determination in his quest to become President of the club he loves. Barring a late landslide of   share holder votes he looked certain to lose out to long serving rival Miguel Concepcion but was already planning a December challenge.

The 44 year old, born in Rome but raised in Puerto de la Cruz played 137 games for the blanquiazul and has been the fans choice in the election. Meeting with the Armada Sur and small share holders at the Gaelic Corner in Playa de Las Americas, he was signing up late pledges of support but warned it was a near impossible task as Concepcion has squeezed out every last favour and remaining loyalty from his backers. However the momentum gained by Pier in this campaign will drive him on to build towards a December challenge to cut short Concepcion’s planned five year extension.

Pier made a point of speaking to small groups among the large crowd and did well to get his message across to our Armada Sur contingent originating from the UK, Sweden, and Holland. Battling the live band next door he dismissed any suggestions of working with his rival as he felt it needed a new approach after the old regime had failed to change over 10 years in office. There was a clear passion about Pier and his willingness to come to see us echoed his view that the club has abandoned the south of the island. Another criticism was the clubs stance on dealing with only big sponsorships at the expense of many smaller companies that would like to get involved.

Tapping into local talent was another popular theme with Pier, he wants a squad of mainly locally raised players with just a few outside signings that can make a difference, not imports to just make up the numbers. The clubs coaching staff would also include many ex players passing on their passion for the shirt as well as expertise. Marketing would be cranked up with a local company lined up to explore opportunities all over Tenerife and involving promotions through the big hotel chains of the south. Even during this current election campaign the club has been forced to show signs of recognizing the fans longing for new ideas. However for Pier it doesn’t go far enough and he is ready to take this game into extra time to get the best result for the fans.

We deserve a treat, it’s not always easy following CD Tenerife but the Armada Sur keep the faith with the help of good company and liberal amounts of Dorada. Thanks to a dedicated team of organizers we just had to roll up to Suters Bar in Parque La Reina and dive into a mountain of food and swim through lashings of beer.

The barbecue always attracts a few old friends that we don’t get to see that often and also we get some UK based fans flying in especially – come on where’s our award for services to tourism? The weather was just about spot on, a mix of passing cloud and sunshine, there were plenty of shades set up to make sure we were spoilt for comfort. As the beer flowed plenty of the old tales were rolled out for another airing, so many good memories over the years.

The get together also marks the countdown to the new season, at last definite news comes trough about pre season friendlies, player movement, and this year the build up to the Presidential election, a key point for our long term hopes. The new Armada Sur shirts made their debut as part of the membership package and were going like hot cakes, or hot burgers. Bob had a special surprise for The General, his own limited edition shirt with his name on the front, the comment on the back “Not Available For Away Games” drew some ironic cheers. The General’s record at away games has led to suggestions that he could be cursing our chances of more away wins.

The highlight of the afternoon is always the burning of the Pio (mascot of our yellow rivals), health and safety has made it more difficult in recent years as the damn things are mainly fire retardant. Even so, with plenty of vocal encouragement and prodding our two fluffy victims were dispatched to their rightful resting place. Back to the beer, our juggling Scottish waiter Bert nearly lost a tray of liquid refreshment but we discovered we have plenty of budding goalies who came to the rescue. We even got a visit from some hairy bikers, old friends of our, the hangovers were being booked by then, Armada Sur is a well oiled machine and I was certainly well oiled. It was a great afternoon and we are now refreshed and ready to follow our team on their wibbly wobbly road to destiny.

Who wouldn’t want a new 40,000 stadium as part of a 300 million euro leisure development? That’s the central policy of Juan Quintero’s bid to become the next President of CD Tenerife. The Armada Sur are supporters of old school football values but a small group of us were happy to welcome the front man of the project to Suters Bar in Parque La Reina to find out more.

Firstly we got to learn a bit more about the man, Juan Quintero, a 50 year old insurance broker born in Santa Cruz had requested the meeting and arrived informally dressed and greeted us all individually. There was a good cross section of our peña with Brits, Canarians, Dutch, and Austrian but our guest spoke to us in perfect English. It soon became clear that he is a football man, he recalled the glory days when he watched CD Tenerife’s exploits in the UEFA Cup, and stated his intention to see the club back in the Primera as an established fixture. All that would be backed up by an ambitious business plan to generate more support and income for the club.

It sounded too good to be true and even the sketchy reports so far had given us serious reservations. The big problem is the size and cost of the stadium, it was pointed out to Juan that even in the Primera we had struggled to fill the 23,000 capacity Heliodoro (owned by Santa Cruz council) and have averaged around 8,000 this season. There had been some doubts over who would own the new stadium, planned for Santa Cruz port, Juan made it clear that the club would own the new home, we could all see the implication that the club would effectively add a 300 million euro debt to the current 18 million owed to the bank. We were not told who the mystery investors are or their background, but investors would surely want a healthy profit on top. Juan

Onto more practical matters, does Juan have the shares and backing to oust current unpopular President Concepcion (below) who is up for renewal in December or before. Juan Quintero seemed supremely confident of amassing enough support to get elected, and vowed to sweep most of the long serving and under achieving board out. Former player Pier Cherubino is the fans favourite for the top job and Juan was asked if he would consider teaming up to make the most of both their attributes and backing. Although not dismissing the idea he said that he had spoken to Pier but had not seen any concrete proposals from him. I should add that the Armada Sur has only a few token shares and cannot affect the voting.

We were told that the new stadium would be built in 18 months from approval. It’s difficult for us not to be cynical about the slow bureaucracy here and the poor track record of completing major projects to a set budget and time scale. Juan also told us of two alternative sites, Hoya Fria on the southern edge of the capital, and the Cepsa refinery which is due to be decommissioned. In the meantime Juan said there is money and agreements from key players to join us to steer us into the Primera. He did add that current contracts would have to be respected, that brings us to one of his innovative fund raising ideas. Canadian kit makers DryWorld have a new approach to sponsoring teams, they give the kit freely, and offer good income to the club for selling replica shirts. Juan said he has a five year deal set up with them, it would have to wait for the final season of the Hummel deal. This deal would include 20,000 worth of kit for the other CDT teams and he says there is a 600,000 euros shirt sponsor lined up. One worrying aspect of this is the company would supply a big name football ambassador to promote the club, originally the unpopular suggestion was an ex big star from Real Madrid or Barca. I can’t help wondering if this ambassador would have any input into team matters or even play if the sponsors wanted that!

There was no getting away from our big concern of not getting a big enough increase in crowds. Special promotions with family offers, free buses from the south, and greater marketing were popular themes with Juan but breaking the mind set of armchair support for the big two in Spain is going to be a long hard push. On the plus side it was encouraging to hear Juan Quintero’s positive views echo ideas we have often proposed, and we appreciated him coming to see us in the long lost south. Each hurdle he can clear will increase his credibility. He has promised to be always approachable so if he becomes President maybe we can get more in depth details about his investors but for now our thoughts are on team building for the 2016-2017 season.

The ovation for departing midfield veteran Ricardo was warm and deserved, likewise the appreciation of the team’s progress under novice coach Pep Marti. The end of season party mood in the 1-1 home draw with Ponferradina was offset by a demo and prolonged chanting against President Concepcion’s intention to serve another two years.

With play off hopes gone this was always going to be a time to look at fringe players but injuries to Aitor Sanz, Saul, and Suso, suspension for Carlos Ruiz, and Copa America duty for Dani Hernandez with Venezuela dictated changes. The defence had a very unfamiliar look, Aurtenetxe took the left back slot, Cristian Garcia the right, with Alberto and German in the centre, Roberto got another call up but it all looked a bit wobbly. It was a different story up front, Choco seems to have continuous injury problems but again looked sharp and has a strong understanding with Nano who just keeps on improving.

The forward potency was soon making an impact, a long ball was neatly nodded down by Choco to Nano and the rising star reacted well but hit the post. Ponferradina still needed points to avoid relegation and weren’t shy in having a pop at the target, they put a speculative shot just wide and Casado came close with a free kick that cleared the bar. It was strange to see a big gap at our popular baja end, the noisy hub was dispersed as a protest against the President “empty seats call for change” being the message. We did get back to a goal less first half but Ponferradina looked ripe for the taking. It took just over 10 minutes from the restart for the opening goal, a breakaway found Nano on the left and he delivered an inviting cross which left a defender and the goalie scrambling, Choco saw his chance and slid in to bury the ball, his 10^th goal.

When Jorge came on after 66 minutes for Ricardo it gave us the chance to applaud the released midfielder, 241 games in two spells at the club brought more ups than downs from the hard working 33 year old. Choco nearly doubled the lead, again he ghosted in but the visiting keeper got a hand to the ball. Tenerife were the better side but maybe the changes and a little end of term feeling weakened their resolve, even the scoreboard had given up part of it’s duties. Melero swung in a long flighted free kick to the far post and Raillo had room among three defenders to nod it down past Roberto.

It stayed at 1-1, Javi Lara for Moutinho and the final minute for Cristo Gonzalez in place of Omar couldn’t conjure up the win. There’s still the last game at Bilbao Athletic to come but thoughts are turning to building for next season. The big challenge is not to let the good work slip away, that means nailing down Nano and most of the loan players like Javi Lara, Saul, and Moutinho. The crowd of 8,279 was good with nothing to chase, it’s been an enjoyable season and the Armada Sur are not the only ones itching to get back into the Heliodoro stadium.

Perky and thrusting, there were no thoughts of premature capitulation for CD Tenerife as they turned on the style for a 3-1 home win over Real Valladolid. The pressure was off with a promotion play off place disappearing over the horizon but our players are proud and stubborn and two goals from Nano and one from Choco Lozano left the tiniest of chances alive from three remaining games.

This was not a day for sitting back, Tenerife flew at Valladolid, Suso put a shot over the visitors bar after just two minutes. Nano was ready to chase everything up front and the midfield was strong and supportive with Mountinho and Javi Lara on top form. Roger was the main threat up front for Valladolid, he wasted two half chances, one straight at Dani Hernandez, and one comfortably wide. The opening goal on the half hour was a peach, Nano ran onto a deep ball from Aitor Sanz, his finish was perfectly measured and timed.

Javi Moyano got a mixed reception on his return to Santa Cruz, Suso was under his skin all game, the CDT captain used his knowledge of his former team mate to press all the right buttons. Home goals normally arrive in the second half but it was all change as Nano took a pass from Suso and beat two defenders before plundering his 14th strike of the season. There was a let off just before the break, Mojica smacked the post with his free kick and thankfully the rebound was scrambled away.

Aitor Sanz had a muscle pull and departed for Ricardo at the restart, it weakened the midfield but Tenerife were still attack minded. Suso went on one of his determined runs but this time it fizzled out before he could make it tell. Dani kept alert with a two fisted clearance as Valladolid sensed a lull in the home momentum. Launching another attack they caught the Tenerife defence napping and Oscar was able to elude four defenders to score. It brought an attacking substitution, Choco left the bench as Javi Lara went off, the Honduras striker showed no ill effects of a knock picked up the previous week.

Nano looked to have completed his hat trick as he leapt to head the ball down into the bottom corner of the Valladolid net, it was a close off side call that denied him. Soon after he put another shot onto the roof of the net before retiring, with a muscle tweak as Omar replaced him. Cristian Garcia went close with a header at the visiting keeper, the slender lead didn’t reflect the dominance of Tenerife but there was still four minutes injury time to come. Choco showed his speed of thought and feet as he rounded the advancing goalie and split two defenders with a perfect shot to make it a 3-1 victory.

Harsh reality may finally snuff out the promotion dream but this game showed the progress made during the second half of the season and the hope it promises for the next campaign. It’s a shame the crowd dropped to 7,714 but us lucky ones there can now make our leap of faith stretch to at least another 90 minutes.

Football is a game of emotions, CD Marino thought they had experienced them all this season but their nerves were shredded to the final whistle as they closed the relegation trap door with a 1-0 home win over Union Sur Yaiza. Javi Marchena will have hazy memories of the victory as he was felled by the full force of the ball in the face at close quarters with just 15 minutes to play. Dizzy and in pain he needed treatment on the pitch but in time added for that stoppage Quintana crashed the ball into the Lanzarote team’s net to ensure survival.

With two games to play and a slender two points above the drop zone CD Marino were in attacking mood but they had to on guard for Yaiza breakaways, a goal conceded would have left a mountain to climb. Coly unleashed the first home attempt on goal but it rose over the crossbar. Kevin Castro at right back robbed the ball from Rami when the green shirted forward threatened and pushed the ball upfield. Hammad is one of the later arrivals to the Marino team, he’s made steady improvement and this was to be his best game in the home shirt, he worked tirelessly and tested the Yaiza defence twice in the first ten minutes.

Javi Marchena forced a corner as Marino turned up the pressure, the ball came out to Coly, his sliced shot wasn’t far off target. There was a warning at the other end as Yunes turned smartly to let fly with a shot that lacked direction. Adan was always a handful for the visitors defence, he beat two defenders before they managed to head the ball clear. Full back Javi of Yaiza tried his luck with a run that finished with his shot tickling the home post. It was pretty tense, Marino looked the better side but needed a goal to underline the fact. Coach Constantno shuffled his pack, replaced Alberto with Quintana, and Connor moved to right back to let Kevin Castro return to his former forward role.

The urgency was clear in Marino’s game, a deep free kick saw Marco Cicovic leave his goal area to launch the ball to the eager front runners. Josito closed the first half by floating in a hanging cross but there was no Marino head to meet it. Hammad thought he had made the breakthrough just into the second half, his shot pinged back off the bar with the keeper beaten. Coly nearly made a goal from nothing, his brave low diving header caught the Yaiza defence off guard but went the wrong side of the post. Pablo came on for Josito, his size added a new threat to the Marino attack and Coly tried his luck again with another crisp shot.

The injury to Javi Marchena cranked the tension up a few more notches, he was helped off the pitch as Cristo joined the game. Time was ticking away, signals from the bench kept the players aware that the team just below them, San Jose, were drawing 1-1, if both games were tied it would leave Marino sweating on a difficult away game at title hopefuls Las Palmas B. Quintana shrugged off a defender for a near miss, Cristo was causing plenty of problems to Yaiza’s right back but still the goal wouldn’t come. Moving into the extra minutes Kevin Castro was fouled, the free kick sparked a last big push and as the ball flew loose and Quintana struck the blow that finally saw off Yaiza. As the final whistle blew players fell to the pitch, tears flowed, and the celebrations started.

It was a nervous final home game but Marino showed great character and team spirit, survival meant so much to this young squad, many had grown up at the club, earning their way up through the age levels. There’s plenty to build on, the spirit is good and the passion for the badge is strong. Before the game the clubs other teams were presented to the crowd, the senior team is the aim for all of them and next year they will compete again in the Tercera Division of Spanish football.

Suso was having another game of fire and energy but he looked a forlorn figure crouched on the pitch not even able to raise a good rant at referee Valdes Aller. It was beyond good, bad, or indifferent, this ref seemed to have a genuine dislike of CD Tenerife. Denying a clear Choco penalty with a 1-0 home lead, it hurt when he then gave one at the other end for a 1-1 home draw with Elche that leaves the play off dream dangling by a thread.

A win was always the required result, maybe CD Tenerife could have been more adventurous in the first half but the players and the coach showed the right spirit after the break. Cristo Gonzalez got the nod over Choco for a starting place but showed that he still has some way to go before reaching the level of strike partner Nano. All eyes were on 20 goal Elche forward Sergio Leon (no 9), he may be gracing the shirt of Middlesborough or Everton next season but Carlos Ruiz had him in his pocket for most of the game.

Aitor Sanz was having a strong game in midfield, he stopped full back Noblejas with a crunching tackle as he tried to round the defence. Leon managed to get a shot at Dani Hernandez, it was high and testing but not clever enough to evade his welcoming gloves. A goal line clearance was needed to on the half hour to prevent Elche from going behind as Tenerife finished the half strongly. Second half, attacking the Grada Popular goal always brings out the best in our players, I think they like to see the bloodshot whites of our bleary eyes before shooting. Nano had an early opening on the left, Pelayo made a meal of his attempt to get past him and defused that one.

Cristo should have done better when the ball came to him in a good position but he hesitated and the moment had passed. With an hour gone it was time for change and Pep Marti made a bold double swap, Choco for Cristo, and Omar for Moutinho. It added a bit of fizz and the opening goal followed. Suso squared a lovely cross for Nano, his finish was cool and clinical. It should have been 2-0 within minutes, Nano was the target man again, it looked even easier but somehow he managed to loop the ball over the goal with the keeper stranded. It was Choco’s big chance next, he got into a clear scoring position in the box before Armando came at him to floor him directly in the refs line of vision. Valdes Aller didn’t blink, he just ignored it, not even a booking for Choco, if it wasn’t a foul it had to be a dive.

There was insult to be added to this error a few minutes later, Elche broke and Raul Camara clipped an Elche player in the box, he milked it for all it was worth and a penalty was given. Dani got his body to Sergio Leon’s shot only to see the ball agonizingly fall to Noblejas to tap in for 1-1. With 7 minutes left Javi Lara replaced Raul Camara in an effort to push for the winner, Nano was again close but the keeper reacted well. Into injury time, Saul couldn’t quite curl his attempt past the keeper, Suso had a strong penalty call, and at the death Javi set up Nano but the pass just eluded him. What a cruel outcome for the 10,337 crowd, just five games left, away wins are going to be needed now to salvage the dream.