A hand on one pre season trophy and a winning grip of another were just rewards for two more impressive CD Tenerife displays. Newly loaned forward Choco Lozano from Honduras is waiting in the wings and even a pea souper fog in La Orotava couldn’t obscure the hopeful signs.

Can it ever be a friendly against Las Palmas? Well the 4,325 crowd for the home leg of the Mahou Cup hinted that this wasn’t expected to be the full fire and brimstone of a league derby, but it had its moments. Performance was more important than the result but we got both, Nano got the nod ahead of Cristo Gonzalez for the main strikers role and looked lively, after 17 minutes he was chopped down by Culio when through on goal. Maybe this, and some verbals, led Javi Moyano to flat hand slap him on the half hour near the touchline, the pio went down theatrically and team mate Viera ran in and grabbed Vitolo by the throat as it got heated. The ref showed good sense to just book an offending player on each side, the police were less restrained and went onto the pitch to intervene – surely fines and suspensions for them?

Apart from that Tenerife comfortably shaded the first half, a neat Carlos Ruiz back heel went just wide prior to the break. The second half saw the pios struggle to produce a decent shot, Tenerife looked steady, Abel replaced Nano after 58 minutes and again pressed his claims for a league start. Subs flowed with the biggest cheer reserved for Suso’s first pre season appearance. A 0-0 looked certain but sub Nadjib scored on the rebound in the final minute after first hitting the post, the Barcelona born youngster was signed from Lanzarote youth football as Las Palmas weighed up a move. A good all round performance, especially as the touring 24 man pio squad won 0-5 at Mensajero the previous night and 0-3 at La Laguna the night after.

Onto La Orotava for the annual Teide Trophy, this year against Primera side Eibar. Heavy fog shrouded the pitch and a shipping forecast seemed more appropriate than a team list but both sides played some good football with Tenerife looking the more decisive. Jorge got a start in the centre of defence in place of Carlos Ruiz and Cristo Gonzalez got another chance to shine in attack. Dani Hernandez must have radar or Spider sense, he picked out two long shots that he can’t have seen coming. Abel made some clear chances and Cristo tested the Eibar keeper with a long drive. Pedro Martin was again a class act, playing a support role on the right he carved out a few openings, Nadjib nearly finished off one but it cleared the bar.

The opener came after 35 minutes, Cristo robbed a defender and drilled in a precise pass for Pedro to finish clinically. Just before the break Eibar leveled with a dipping free kick shot that beat the outstretched reach of Dani. Nano was on for the second half and was unlucky to get squeezed wide as he lined up a shot. Suso relieved Abel, Alberto swapped with Jorge and the Tenerife dominance continued, Nano chested the ball down for Pedro but the keeper did well to smother the ball at the base of the post. Eibar could have nicked it with a late free kick but hooked the ball high. Four straight penalties from Vitolo, Suso, Nano, and German, were too much for Eibar as Dani saved with his diving body and with his foot to give Tenerife the trophy.

When coach Raul Agne shouts “Action” on 23 August he is hoping for an Oscar winning season from CD Tenerife but the first two pre season games have shown that the cast list isn’t quite complete.

Sporting Gijon, recently promoted to La Primera were the first test in Santa Cruz and despite starting their top players they looked poor. CD Tenerife sporting director Serrano has only attracted two new players, Pedro Martin looked promising up front but for me central defender German Sanchez was the star with a cool and dominating display in defence. Dani Hernandez with a new contract in his grasp didn’t have a save to make until nearly half time, it came from a move down the left, Sporting’s repeated route.

Omar Perdomo showed at the end of last season that he has plenty to offer as a wide forward and he reacted well to grab a home lead after 65 minutes. Later in the game a raft of changes destroyed Tenerife’s rhythm and Jonay took advantage of poor judgement by Carlos Abad between the sticks, to tie the game. As the Emmasa Cup was put up by the sponsors a winner was needed, many of the sparse 2,687 crowd were caught out by the penalty shoot out and it seemed a few players were. Ricardo made a hash of his spot kick, Alberto also failed and when Pedro Martin put the fifth strike wide it sealed a win for Sporting. We left the Heliodoro relatively pleased with the performance and the promise of the younger fringe players.

Onto El Fraile and a match up with Ibarra, two divisions below CDT with many of last seasons CD Marino players. You can’t accuse Raul Agne of not trying different combinations, Oscar Gonzalez began at right back, he was only signed by the B team a few weeks ago from Sporting San Jose and found himself in senior action. The battle for back up goalie spot went head to head again with Angel Galvan taking the gloves in the first 45 minutes and Roberto coming on for the second half. Nano and Cristo Gonzalez started as the striking combination, Nano looked fired up but Cristo was a little quiet.

On a patchwork mess of a pitch thee home side had most of the play and Manzi scored with a free header after 26 minutes. Last year CDT was a steam roller romping to a 0-5 half time lead, this year they were more like a mobility scooter on low power and went in behind at the break. Ibarra could have increased their lead but Roberto scrambled away a net bound shot, Nano added to his three goals from the La Palma training camp tournament by pouncing to level after 60 minutes.

Ten minutes later CDT made wholesale changes and brought the big guns on, Pedro Martin adopted a main striking role, not his usual style, and posed plenty of threats. A draw looked likely but in the final minute Moyano fed the ball to Abel who blasted in a goal from outside the area – phew. Let’s hope director Serrano has auditions lined up for a couple of new faces before the serious stuff begins on 23 August.

Most teenagers on their first flight to Tenerife would be thinking of beaches and clubbing but for Bradley Mills it was all about boots and circuit training. The 19 year old from Middlesborough has joined CD Marino’s young pool of Tenerife talent as they prepare to make a mark on their Tercera Division group – and he is eager to embrace everything about his new adventure.

I caught up with Bradley six days into pre season training at the Estadio Antonio Dominguez in Playa de Las Americas. “I’ve been with Middlesborough FC since the under 9’s and was on loan at Conference Premier club Gateshead last season but I’ve always fancied playing abroad. My parents stayed at the Columbus Hotel across the road earlier in the year and went to a CD Marino game and talked to a few people about me possibly playing here.”

A club towel from the merchandise shop wasn’t the only link to Marino that his parents brought back. After swapping details with the blues management Bradley was offered a 10 day trial. “ It was all the encouragement I needed, I paid my own flights and came over to train, they must have been pleased because they signed me up after just two days. I liked the style of their football, the coach (Constantino Tirado) gets very involved with training, he’s got the same enthusiasm as the players.”

Bradley plays right back or central midfield and although softly spoken there’s an air of confidence and determination about him. Pressed for his strengths he put them as “two strong feet, good awareness, a good engine, and competitive.” Arriving during one of the hottest summer spells he was adapting well to the two hour plus evening training stints and even his first red hot morning session.

There will be a lot of learning going on this season, the club has always been big on youth development, but with this years modest budget the first team squad will be dominated by promising talent from the ranks and a few returning to their roots after drifting away. Passion for the shirt will be the driving force and it will be good to see the squad develop together. Once again entrance will only be 8 euros for adults with children free and the basic season ticket is just 100 euros. It’s unlikely there will be any home friendlies, the pitch needs to get its breath back after 22,000 packed in for the Marc Anthony concert, 8.000 for the motocross, and more to come for the Arona Summer Festival on 7 August. Just as well CD Marino start the league campaign on 23 August away to El Cotillo in Fuerteventura, make a date for Sunday 30 August at home to Union Viera, noon is the usual kick off time but check CD Marino on Facebook for updates. I will be prowling the touchline again with my camera and you can see match reports and photos on this blog.

Well we are the South Army so it was quite appropriate that the Armada Sur barbecue set up camp at one of our southern watering holes. Suters Bar at Parque de La Reina was a welcoming sight as our coach dropped us all off for an afternoon of fun, food, and of course beer.

It’s been another tough season following CD Tenerife but experiencing it in such good company always makes it bearable and the usual high level of organization ensured out change of venue from the mountains near Vilaflor had all that we needed. The heat wave was at its peak with temperatures well into the 30’s so everyone was primed up. I started my celebrations the night before and was still feeling rather alcoholically challenged, at least my camera steered me in the right direction.

Our hosts Antonio and Gillian had the beer flowing from a barrel set up outside and The General and Frank had fired up the charcoal so the fine array of meat was ready for noshing. It’s good when it all comes together for the annual bash, it makes Bob’s golden goal efforts all worth while. A few people took the indoor shade to keep an eye on the British Grand Prix but mad dogs and Englishmen (and women), German, and Dutch reflected the international membership of the Armada Sur.

There are always traditions to be maintained, a Pio has to be sacrificed to the flames, it seems harder to find one each year, maybe they are a protected species or the Las Palmas fans have them all rounded up somewhere. A suitable victim was found and given a good roasting on the grill, they seem to resist our flames these days but that makes their eventual demise even more pleasing. This is the best time of the football calendar, all hope lies ahead and we always think this could be our season for promotion.

The beer was quaffed noisily with a few suitable club songs thrown in, amazingly no one fell in the fire, although I think I wobbled dangerously close at one stage, and we were all standing for a late group shot before catching the coach back to our various drop off points. I should have staggered straight off home but common sense was missing in action by then. Ooh my poor head on Monday morning, but it was worth it for another rousing afternoon with my football family.

Guess which glorious island isn’t top of the Real Betis brochure list? The female footballers of Granadilla Tenerife Sur inflicted a 3-1 play off first leg defeat on the Sevilla visitors just a week after their men were humbled 2-0 at CD Tenerife.

A tougher challenge was expected in the final two games that separate GTS from a place in the Primera and Betis were quick out off the gate with a left break  created goal from top scorer Paula after just three minutes. I was worried that the local ladies might get swamped but they showed fantastic character to turn the tie around. There was a bumper crowd of 2,000 to 3,000, depending on what estimate you read, and where I was prowling the sidelines by the team benches there was a liberal sprinkling of non payers on the rocky hills above. Was that the smell of BBQs drifting across or was that a hint of rock and roll cigarettes?

Back at the game the inspirational orange booted Maria Jose Perez (cousin of Ayoze) was starting to make her prescence felt out on the left flank. Getting in a good position Maria sliced a shot over the bar. Home pressure was building and a teasing cross from Marilen found the head of Maria to level the scores just before the 10 minute mark. Silvia found herself free with just the Betis goalie to beat but the stopper raced out to snuff out the danger. Betis had their chances, a speedy raid brought out the best in home goalie Noelia who showed a safe pair of hands. Reichel was always a threat in the centre for GTS she worked hard to shake off her markers in the box and wasn’t far away from the target with her hooked shot.

Betis were on the back foot, Granadilla spotted their opening and charged at their rivals, Reichel was waiting in the goal mouth to add her header to the scoreline, 2-1 up and looking good after 30 minutes. It was vital to take advantage of a reticent Betis side and during another attack the visiting keeper could only parry a shot from Miriam leaving Maria to bury the loose ball in the net. The Sevilla team had their best spell at the start of the second half, now was the time for the Granadilla defence to show their worth, they didn’t disappoint.

Sub Ana caused lots of problems for the Betis defence, a delicate touch to the side of the goalie nearly brought a fourth goal. That was followed up with another good chance as Ana turned swiftly and fired a shot that Marilen couldn’t quite finish off.  There was still plenty of danger from Betis but the home defence, particularly Laura, were on top form. It was good to see the whole squad get involved, Tibi came off the bench for Maria Jose who departed to a huge ovation after a virtuoso performance.

A sloppy back pass nearly offered Betis a way back but Pizco covered well and took the ball away from harm and a great save from Noelia underlined the home win. It sets things up well for the away leg, coach Toni Ayala insists they will go for another win rather than sit back on thee two goal cushion. Come on ladies, one last push.

When we needed them most Diego Ifran and Suso came through in style with the goals that banished lingering thoughts of relegation for CD Tenerife. Real Betis as the last home game had looked ominous for weeks but even allowing for them having already wrapped up the Segunda title this 2-0 victory was well deserved and so sweet after a sour season.

The club did the right thing and slashed ticket prices to fill the ground, there were plenty of retro shirts on show as 19,193 packed in and made the atmosphere truly special. So many factors were in the mix, Betis managed by former CDT boss Pepe Mel had Las Galletas defender Bruno in their side after a move from the Heliodoro last summer. Just before the game we learned that Maxi was out injured but Omar Perdomo started again and showed what a prospect he is.

Diego Ifran’s fitness level has been a constant worry but he looked well up for the challenge, his early low shot had the keeper scrambling to the far post to make a save. Betis looked to have dropped down a gear with their prize in the bag, they still showed flashes of class but found the home defence on top form, especially Javi Moyano who didn’t put a foot wrong. The ref threatened to wreck our day, he turned down a strong penalty shout when a head down in the box from Diego was deflected by the arm of Piccini.

Vitolo and Suso were an inspiration for their team mates with their passion and hunger for the game and their efforts always fire up the crowd. Moyano pushed up to support another attack and his strike from the edge of the box nearly caught the goalie out. At half time it was looking good, a draw would have sufficed for safety but a win was what we desperately wanted. Cristo Martin could have opened the scoring ten minutes after the break, that was his final action as Juan Carlos replaced him. The new arrival had one of his better games and added a new zest to the attacking options.

A Diego strike was ruled a offside but he kept pressing and slipped a neat pass to Suso to hit the goal that made the stadium erupt. All the frustrations of recent months melted away as thee crowd noise levels hit a peak, suddenly we were greedy for more goals. Suso was on fire, he unlocked Betis again and fed the ball into Diego, it flicked off his boot and his head before it was cleared. The clincher after 80 minutes was worth the wait, Vitolo raced down the right and with a little help from Suso picked out Diego who slotted the ball past the keeper to ensure no return to Sunday noon kick offs.

It’s been quite a while since the Heliodoro witnessed Mexican waves and all sections up and cheering but that’s how it was for the final ten minutes of celebration. Calls for President Concepcion to go were a reminder that the hole we got out of was due in no small part to poor decision management last summer – and January. It was a win to savour, although my head wasn’t so enthusiastic next day, big decisions will have to be made in the next few months if we are to build on the few positives that came through this season. Raul Agne has agreed a new one year contract so we have continuity and the indications are that the young rising stars like Cristo Gonzalez will be given their chance to stake acclaim for a first team shirt in the pre season friendlies.

It will take all the saints and lots of divine intervention for CD Marino to progress in the Tercera division promotion play offs after a 0-2 home defeat to UD San Pedro. The Marbella side lethally exploited two home errors in the first half and Marino wasted too many chances in front of goal.

After dominating their Canarian group in the first half of the season Marino have suffered from internal conflict and the loss of some of their more experienced players. It all started to go wrong in the 6^th minute when left back Javi Marchena was tripped and limped off, a lengthy delay in replacing him allowed San Pedro to exploit the lack of cover down that flank to set up Juanfri for the vital first goal. Eslava eventually came on and had a great game in the centre of defence as Aridani moved to left back.

Balduino was leading the line up front but Nacho and Jose Carlos couldn’t give him the support he needed. When Marino did break through they found goalie Munoz in top form. San Pedro had switched their attention to their left wing with defender Mauri supporting and overlapping well with the speedy Pedro. Eslava tried to support the attack and sent a strong header over the bar but Pedro was always ready to test the Marino rearguard. On the half hour Pedro robbed Jose Carlos just inside the home half and sliced open the defence before releasing Juanfri to slot the ball past Sergio in goal.

Eloi got into the action setting up Pedro who floated in a high cross that Sergio took well at the top corner of his goal. Jose Carlos closed the half with a soft shot that cleared the bar, there was little half time cheer for the crowd of 250, it looked comfortable higher than that official figure. Changes had to be made after the break, Lamine was brought on for Jose Carlos, Marino had their most creative spell as the visitors looked to settle for the two goal lead, Balduino screwed a side on shot over the bar and there was always hope that a home goal could at least offer some encouragement for the away leg.

Juanfri couldn’t quite get his foot to a clear chance in front of the Marino goal, the let off spurred Marino on and first half sub Kevin Castro combined well with Airam Garcia to force Munoz to make a low save. Javi Jerez found himself through for the blues, Munoz reacted well and made another neat stop. The game was slipping away as Marino ran out of ideas, it could have been worse if Sergio hadn’t denied Eloi late in the game. San Pedro were well organized and took their chances but were only third in their group, an early Marino goal in Marbella could still extend the season but it will be tough going.

Plodding and predictable CD Tenerife failed to cash in their get out of jail card with a 1-1 home draw against Alcorcon who were down to ten men just before half time. Once again pre match talk of attack, attack, attack wasn’t matched by the squad selection, and I was dismayed at the lack of striking options on the bench.

Alcorcon hadn’t read the script and crashed in a second minute goal thanks to some weak defending, a cross in from near the right corner took out three defenders leaving Nagore to head the ball into the goal. That left a huge mountain to climb with Diego Ifran out injured and Abdon Prats taking his place alongside the industrious Maxi. In defence Hugo Alvarez covered for suspended Carlos Ruiz but the visitors, with faint hopes of a promotion play off place, decided to employ spoiling tactics to try to sit on their lead for 88 minutes. It was the most cynical display of diving, rolling, and time wasting that the Heliodoro has witnessed.

Having said that, it was down to Tenerife to grab the game by the danglies and make things happen, the 8,771 crowd did their bit with a constant wall of noise. Juan Carlos had another poor game, he lost the ball in a threatening position early on and just faded away. Suso was fired up but the Alcorcon defence, especially Nagore were crudely effective. Maxi made some good breaks, the goalie came out well to deny his best chance, and Vitolo looked through on goal when a harsh offside call hauled him back.

The first half was draining away when Abdon lobbed a lovely ball into the box, Maxi tried to chest it under control but was clattered by Verdes, he went off for his second card and Vitolo converted the spot kick to add hope to the half time break. That’s when a look at our subs told a sorry tale, Aridane was the only other forward, Cristo Gonzalez had scored again for the B team the day before and would have been an obvious choice in our perilous position.

So 45 minutes against ten men, surely CDT could take this. The chances came but the finishing was not up to scratch, Suso skinned two defenders but couldn’t get the ball to the waiting Maxi. Abdon Prats poked a chance wide before making way for Aridane, the other predictable change of Cristo Martin for Juan Carlos didn’t offer the key either. Aridane missed out on a rebound, Suso missed from outside the area, and Cristo put a shot into the side netting. Aitor Sanz should have been subbed, in added time he tried to trade up his earlier yellow card by diving into a melee of players. Dani Hernandez raced up the pitch and bear hugged his hot headed team mate away before it could get out of hand. We might be grateful for the point in the final reckoning but if we go down this is the game that many will point to as our downfall.

Womens football came of age in El Medano as Granadilla Tenerife Sur stormed to a 3-0 win over Levante Las Planas in the first leg of their promotion semifinal. The ultimate prize is a place in Spain’s Primera and GTS showed they have the hunger, the skill, and the passion to make it.

The home changing room was bouncing pre game as the ladies sang their inspirational songs and they clattered down the terrace steps to be welcomed by an 1,800 crowd. Granadilla attacked from the start with Maria Jose Perez (lime boots) showing attacking flair that would have made cousin Ayoze proud. Carla Gomez, one of three late reinforcements from Catalan side San Gabriel, gave good support and when Levante managed a break away goalie Pili was sharp with a clean catch of a high ball.

Silvia went close with a rasping drive for the home side and Maria Jose deserved better from a great turn with her back to goal before unleashing a testing shot. The opening goal came after 30 minutes from a raid down the left by Maria Jose who slipped a perfect cross to Reichel to beat the keeper. The crowd around the artificial pitch erupted, the extra few hundred perched on walls overlooking the ground joined in, and even the passengers on the constant flow of low flying airplanes must have felt some extra turbulence.

On the stroke of half time there was a scare with Levante bearing down on goal but Pili punched clear to avert the danger. Reichel opened the second half with a decent attempt on goal and Marilen gave way to sub Ana who added some extra power in attack. Continued pressure paid off for Granadilla after 63 minutes as Ana scored a well worked individual goal. The visitors were visibly shaken and started to wilt, they were clearly struggling with the evening heat and had few answers to a determined home team. Reichel curled in a teasing shot that just cleared the Levante bar but with the away leg in Valencia to come GTS needed another goal.

It was fitting that the games outstanding player Maria Jose Perez grabbed what could prove to be the decisive goal in the tie. As another wave of pressure pinned back Levante Maria Jose left the defence in tatters to bury the ball in the net. The celebration of the home players showed how much that three goal margin meant to them. It’s not all over yet, the return fixture in a weeks time needs to be treated with caution if Granadilla Tenerife Sur are to go one stage further than last year. It was a job well done and with confidence on their side few would bet against GTS making it through to a glorious two legged final.

Heat wave warnings advised of soaring temperatures but they didn’t predict a red hot goal feast as CD Marino fought back for a 3-3 home draw with Union Viera. Marino still had an outside chance of taking their section title and the visitors were hurting after just missing the play off boat, it made for an intriguing clash.

Before kick off Marino’s title winning Alevin B side were presented on the pitch, big respect to Union Viera who joined in the guard of honour for the triumphant youngsters. Chances went begging in the opening exchanges, Sesma headed a clear chance over and Sergio Aragoneses denied Union captain Peraza with a nifty low save. Union looked lively on the break, their skipper couldn’t believe how he put a simple tap in wide from a defence splitting pass.

Sesma was pushing down the left for Marino and looked odds on to score but put the ball outside the post, and Javi Jerez unleashed a fierce shot that Josue pushed aside in the visitors goal. There was no shortage of opportunities for either side, Peraza was again cursing himself when he let the ball run on too far before attempting a strike and a quick follow up was denied by a great save from Aragoneses. The Marino goalie did even better when he scampered across his goal to clear a net bound shot from Afonso. It took a Marino free kick to produce the first goal after 35 minutes, Mendy scrambled the ball over the line.

The half time water quenched Unions thirst and they left Marino panting with a goal from Kilian 10 seconds into the restart. Kevin Castro made some good runs in from the right and it took a combination of a defender and goalie to clear his hanging cross. Shortly after claiming the ball from Peraza’s feet, Sergio Aragoneses came out to claim a high ball and missed it, this time Peraza was more clinical and gave Union the lead. Airam Garcia came on for Javi Jerez but Marino found themselves two adrift as Yared cashed in on another error from Sergio.

To their credit Marino showed character by rallying, three minutes after the goal Nacho Suarez saw his well placed shot go in off the post. Sergio showed all his agility to tip over a Union header and as the play switched to the other end his team mates forced a free kick. Union Viera argued as they tried to sort out their defensive wall, the end result was a feeble obstacle that failed to stop a lethal shot from Suarez. The game was up for grabs now, it looked like there would be more goals, there were certainly more chances but both keepers make great saves to ensure the draw. Marino had the last word with sub Cristian Barrios threading the ball through to Balduino but Josue in goal was strong and pushed the ball over the bar.