Just the name Girona stirs emotive memories in CD Tenerife fans, today’s 2-2 draw at the scene of our 2009 promotion to the Primera was not such a landmark but for the Armada Sur it evoked cherished memories.

Watching from many diverse Tenerife bars thoughts of Karen Andrews one of our “family” who we lost this week, made us smile from that June afternoon where we shared elation and a few beers in good company. Blimey four years on one of our players Juanlu Hens had switched sides and their ground and fan base had definitely grown.

It took just seven minutes for Aridane to grab an away lead, Chechu, captain against his former team, drove the ball in and it broke kindly to our striker to finish off. Chechu looked a little over excited on his return and hit a tame shot wide after some wizardry from Ayoze to make the opening, a few minutes later he scooped his own shot over the bar. The first half ended with Gerard, looking offside, taking a pop but Roberto got down well to cover.

Roberto was having another commanding game so the manner of the equalizer was particularly cruel. Girona were having one of their best spells, Roberto dived low to parry a shot, then dived the other way to save the return, this time it rebounded into the path of Gerard for an easy goal. Coach Cevera had rested ever present defenders Moyano and Ruiz with an eye to Wednesdays derby clash and the defensive unit wasn’t quite as tight as normal, Girona mounted a big charge and Rigo with hands behind his back in that annoying modern manner, didn’t face up to Gerard and he nipped in for a 2-1 lead.

You can’t fault Tenerife’s character, they bounced back and went looking for another goal, a ball over found Bruno running into space to calmly dispatch the ball into the net. A late push for a winner saw misses for Aridane, and sub Borja was denied by a desperate sliding block from a home body. An away draw is always good and the run now goes to seven unbeaten with the Pios at home on Wednesday. CD Tenerife and the Armada Sur keep moving on –  but we will always take out special memories with us.

Ricardo and Ros may sound like a couple of 1980’s TV detectives but they nabbed the headlines with goals in another accomplished CD Tenerife win, this time 2-1 at home to Real Jaen. In the clash of the form teams Tenerife had the greater passion and hunger as every player pulled together and worked for the shirt.

Although it was difficult to single out any player, Suso was outstanding, Jaen must have been sick of the sight of him surging down the right, the only way they could stop him was to crunch him down or give him a shove. That last option was what opened the scoring as Servando gave Suso a blatant push as he powered into the penalty area. The penalty was given and Ricardo slotted it home for a 22^nd minute lead, the defender was lucky not to get a second booking and a sending off.

It was good to see former Tenerife favourite Kitoko back in town, he looked a bit out of sorts at full back and went off to a generous round of applause shortly before half time with a muscle injury. His replacement Gaitan was hopeless, bet Jaen wish they had such versatile players as Tenerife, coach Alvaro Cervera was spot on again with his selection. Bruno and Aridane returned from injury and didn’t shy away from the action, Aridane was even spotted tracking back and defending.

Jona arrived with a nine goal reputation but some of his shooting was pretty hit and hope, there’s no way he could beat Roberto on his current form. Late in the opening half Cascon had a clear chance to equalize but as he hesitated Roberto took charge and punched the ball away. Ayoze was hustling as usual but was getting plenty of attention, early in the second half he was squeezed out by two defenders as he made a run for goal.

Jaen made the most of their best spell, a break on the left and a sharp inswinging ball was met by the head of Hugo Alvarez to level the scores. A double substitution had seen Ros and Rivero replace Ricardo and Cristo and it produced the goods. Rivero took control of the set pieces and swung in a perfect corner for Ros to glance past the keeper at the near post. It was richly deserved by Tenerife and Jaen fell apart, Alvarez must have been replaying his goal in his head, meanwhile his feet were all over the place and along with Gaitan they gave their goalie the jitters. A sloppy back pass invited Aridane but he couldn’t quite reach the ball and Alvarez gifted the ball to Suso, keeper Rene saved their blushes that time. Even in the final minutes Tenerife were pushing for more, Rivero curled a lovely corner just under the bar and it needed a helping hand over to avoid another goal. More of the same at Girona next Sunday will do nicely.

Maybe 3-0 at home to UD Realejos was a little kind to CD Marino but it put them right back in the promotion frame. A clean sheet and another small but steady increase in the crowd made Sunday dinner slip down nicely.

For a bottom three side, Realejos from the north of Tenerife, were one of the best visitors so far this season – well at least until the ref sent off their playmaker Armiche late in the first half. The Marino forwards Balduino and Murci looked a bit slow in the first half, Realejos used the offside trap well and the linesman made it easier by giving them the benefit of the doubt again and again. Pulido did well down the right, an early run opened up the visiting defence but Coper was able to head the loose ball over.

Mendy was a new addition to the centre of the home defence and he looked good picking up any runners that got through. Realejos had their best chance from a break down their right, a good shot brought a sharp response from keeper Matias who stuck his boot out to clear. At the other end Murci was through as the goalie made contact and he went down, the ref wasn’t impressed enough to give a penalty and was just about right. Josito snatched at a good chance late in the half, his shot went straight to the goalies hand, just a little wider and it would have beat him.

The turning point came when the ref pulled a second yellow for Armiche, he was gone and so was any chance Realejos had of springing a shock. Pulido started the second half with a shot across the Realejos goal and Murci was too casual with a clear chance that he put over the bar. Fair play to the visitors for spirit, they forced Matias to make a full length push wide but it was one of only a few efforts on goal. Aaron Darias slipped into the right back slot from the bench and prompted plenty of raids down that side, it gave Murci a big boost and he drew a low save from Sosa.

The breakthrough had to come but it caught everyone out as Murci’s long range free kick left defenders and goalie standing. That was all the encouragement that Marino neeeded, a few minutes later Darias was again the provider as he drove in a hard cross that Murci met well with his head to double the lead. With barely a minute left defender Gil tackled Balduino in the box and although the striker went down it was difficult not to feel sorry for the keeper. Balduino showed no mercy and cracked the penalty high over the goalie and into the net.

Over in Numancia a coating of snow had to be cleared before the game against CD Tenerife. It looked perishing cold but that and the absence of injured players Aridane and Bruno didn’t detract from a well deserved 0-0 draw. Borja Perez was the target man and he did a good job and actually looked like a forward allowing Ayoze and later Suso to hassle the home defence and Rigo filled in comfortably for Bruno. Former Santa Cruz flops Natalio and Julio Alvarez whinged well but did little else and Roberto was again commanding in goal. Raul Camara was about the only player not to wear gloves or a long sleeved under shirt – he must have a bit of Geordie blood in him. Ayoze had several clear chances and Loro hit the bar but that’s five games now without defeat.

What a versatile squad we have at CD Tenerife, Raul Camara continued to stamp his authority on his new left back role, Aitor Sanz plugged the centre of defence with ease and we were even able to overcome the tremendous drag factor of Borja Perez coming in for injured Aridane. But the biggest pleasure of all was to see Ayoze Perez shrugged off the transfer speculation of the week to set up the first and score a wondrous second in a 2-0 demolition of Eibar.

By all accounts Baden Powell is the only scout who is not beating a path to the Heliodoro door to drool over the skills and finishing of our 20 year old prospect, and he showed again that he is the ging gang goolies of the jamboree. As early as the 5^th minute Ayoze unleashed a shot at goal that wasn’t far wide, Suso was starting, always a popular sight, and Tenerife settled into a nice rhythm. The loss of Bruno with a twist of his right ankle could have derailed the whole show but Inigo Ros came on to join the midfield as Aitor Sanz took his place alongside Carlos Ruiz, an inspired move from the coach.

Raul Navas was seething after his headed goal for Eibar was ruled out for a foul on Sanz – we breathed again. Suso was ready to take on the whole defence, there proved to be just one defender too many in his 38^th minute run but it didn’t put him off. The flying winger brought the ball inside and a nice touch from Ayoze allowed Ros to tuck the ball in the net for his debut goal for CDT.

Eibar didn’t react well, their play became rough and angry as they tried to barge their way back into the games second half. Eizmendi missed the target but even when his team mates got a clear sight, Roberto was in top form in the air and on the ground. Ayoze produced his party piece in the 59^th minute, the ball came to him just outside the box and he took his time to measure his shot perfectly over the hesitant defence and into the top corner of the goal – worth the entrance fee – and certainly another big hike on any possible transfer fee.

That was the game sewn up, it didn’t matter that the ref had gone card crazy or the Eibar players just plain crazy – Vera tried to pick a quarrel with a ball boy and Yuri blatantly caught a Sanz clearance as if he was an aspiring goalie. There was still time for Roberto to show a safe pair of hands to several hopeful shots but the final whistle brought a huge cheer from the 10, 198 crowd. Tenerife are out of the relegation zone and upwardly mobile, as for Ayoze, his star is still rising.

Remember in the first Austin Powers film Dr Evil, recently thawed out after decades in suspended animation, threatens to destroy the world unless he gets – dramatic pause – one million dollars. All his henchmen and the NATO chiefs fall about laughing at his stupidly outdated valuation. That’s how I felt when hearing that CD Tenerife wouldn’t accept less than – dramatic pause – one million euros for Ayoze Perez.

It seems that Real Madrid are willing to give us minnows half a million euros and a few trimmings for Ayoze – hey throw us a fricking bone will you. It’s a shame to see Tenerife setting their sites so low, remember Sergio Canales a few seasons ago, he went from Racing to Real for 4.5 million euros and he was more of a midfielder. Then there was our former forward Frankowski (the Pole with no goal) who shortly before joining us had signed for Wolves for one million pounds, and he was bad, I mean very very bad and so short he had to stand on a chair to reach puberty. Goal scorers are the Holy Grail and you don’t sell that for chump change at the local boot sale.

Ayoze is 20 years old, has a fantastic scoring record in the youth and B team, and lest we forget he has jumped up 2 divisions in little over 6 months but is now showing his class at Segunda level. Speed, a great touch, and an eye for goal, just beef him up a bit and he will be even better – West Brom put the young Bryan Robson on a Mackeson diet to build him up.

Anyway, it’s probably inevitable that Ayoze will leave sooner or later and I don’t begrudge him more money and international prospects but let’s just make sure we get what he is worth and don’t just bow down to the big money boys – or President Concepcion may be cast as the biggest villain of all time.

Half hearted tackles were nowhere to be seen in this full bloodied local derby with two stings in the tail. CD Marino shared the points with Ibarra after a goal each in injury time but they will be regretting not turning their first half dominance into a strong lead.

The early morning rain subsided for the game but left a legacy of a fast greasy pitch as thunder rumbled around in the hills. The visitors from El Fraile made the early running with Angel on the left always ready to break but Marino soon imposed themselves and a deep cut back from Aaron at the byline found Balduino but his shot was saved by visiting goalie Fran. That was the start of a siege of the Ibarra goal, corners followed at regular intervals only the finishing touch was missing.

Alberto Noah looked keen to impress on his return to Marino and he linked well with Angel to give Ibarra a rare chance to test Matias in the home net. Lamiae, a former Ibarra player was in the Marino starting line up and he impressed me with his hard graft and strength in midfield, he never gave up on a ball and was there to support the attack when needed. There were some pretty hefty challenges going in but that’s what fans want to see in these near neighbour match ups.

The referee took a different view and in the second half he went card crazy booking anyone who even breathed heavily. Ibarra having weathered the storm came back into the game and Matias was called into action with a strong booted clearance and a good claim of a threatening ball. Josito had one of the games best chances when a cross found him at the far post but he couldn’t get his footwork sorted in time and the ball escaped him. Noah went for a cheeky chip at the Marino goal, his shot wasn’t far off target as it went over the bar. Marino felt aggrieved when the ref turned down their penalty appeal and after coach Sosa Espinel let the ref know his feelings he was banished to the stand for the rest of the game.

Both sides wanted the win, Balduino hooked a shot over the goal and at the other end Noah fired in a low drive with Matias partially unsighted but the keeper reacted well to collect the ball. Marci had been having a quiet game by his high standards but he showed his class in the final minute as he pounced on a defensive miss and steered the ball around the goalie and fallen defenders to score. That should have sealed it but the ref found five minutes of injury time to add on and when the ball broke down the left side Adan took his chance well with a precise shot to make it 1-1. Marino are still in fourth place and it was good to see a slightly bigger crowd with a good sprinkling of tourists.

Looking like a drowned rat I arrived at The Devon Arms to see the Alaves v CD Tenerife game with my pink clad heroes 2-0 down thanks to some poor defending. The cascade of rain in the south of Tenerife played havoc with the television picture but through the breaks I was pleased to see Tenerife fight back with another Ayoze goal and a last minute penalty from Loro after he was tripped in the box. Once again top marks to coach Alvaro Cervera, at 2-1 down he brought on Loro for Ricardo after 69 minutes and then sacrificed left back Camara for attacking midfielder Chechu with just 11 minutes to go.

Purring and grinning like a cheshire cat you could say I was happy with CD Tenerife’s well crafted 2-0 home win over Deportivo. After so much early season sour milk this was the cream, a commanding defensive show, a pleasing midfield blend, and two classy goals, all against a Primera side marking time in the Segunda.

The sharp showers I had experienced all afternoon in Santa Cruz stood aside as Tenerife dominated the first half, Roberto had to wait until the 18^th minute for a slice of the action, he made a strong intervention to take the ball cleanly as Deportivo threatened. Before that Carlos Ruiz headed on from a corner but the ball eluded everyone to run out of play. Ayoze had a half chance when Aitor Sanz threaded a good ball through for him to run onto but a visiting defender forced him wide so his shot went straight at the goalie. Aridane had his moment but a speculative long range shot kept rising and was well clear of the bar.

Rudy was the danger man for Deportivo, he led the few breaks they were allowed, he sneaked in on the right and put a threatening cross into the goal area, Ruiz got a foot to it but as it bounced up invitingly Roberto leapt and made it his. Aitor Sanz and Rivero worked well together in midfield and it was Rivero who created the opening goal wit a corner that Ruiz met perfectly with a powerful glancing header that buried the ball. Veteran Pablo turned back the years to get past Raul Camara, a rare weak moment at left back, and sent a swirling cross just under thee crossbar, Roberto took no chances and pawed it over the woodwork while under pressure.

 Suso had come on for Chechu and gave Deportivo a torrid time, he played a key part in the flowing move that sealed the game. A deep clearance found Aridane, he passed to Suso who hurdled a couple of defenders before laying the ball off neatly to Aridane as he charged in and gave the scoreline the weight it deserved.

A terrific game, the only down sides were the booking for Sanz that gives him a suspension for next Sundays game at Alaves, and the poor crowd of 7,929. We can’t blame this on financial problems. When I was down in the city centre the bars were packing out from mid afternoon for the clash of the fat cats, a few thousand must have chosen to go out and spend money on that rather than watch Tenerife. Even CB Canarias basketball had an increased gate of 3,400 for their 8pm game. Oh you fickle floaters, you missed a cracking game.

The headline grabbers in this surprise 0-1 win at Ponferradina were Ayoze with his third goal of the season and Roberto with a mature, confident display in goal but maybe the biggest praise should go to coach Alvaro Cervera.

The boss was bold and brave in dropping club legend Sergio Aragoneses and giving a Segunda league debut to 22 year old Roberto from Icod as well as starting with Raul Camara and Salva Ruiz in the full back slots and Rivero starting in midfield. All his decisions were vindicated and we know he would have been slaughtered if it had all backfired.

The defence looked strong, the midfield productive, and Ayoze, our 20 year old from San Andres continued to grow in stature. Roberto was a star from his first big test, a 20^th minute corner save from Fofo, to his late push onto the post to preserve the first away clean sheet and win of the season. Carlos Ruiz gave Aridane a good opening but he put it wide, then a small slip by Ruiz was expertly mopped up by Roberto. Ayoze could well have grabbed a lead just before the break, his strike was judged offside, but it was a very close call.

The reward for cool heads came after 58 minutes as Ayoze showed his star quality with a well taken piece of individual skill. Of course there was a fight back from Ponferradina but Roberto showed character to deny the home team with three more confident saves. The value of this win can’t be overestimated, it offers hope and shows the team can win on their travels – and hey there were no silly red cards this week. Deportivo come calling on Saturday night, kick off 7pm, now let’s put that home form back on track.

That was probably our best chance of a home win thrown away, not just more wasteful finishing but also another silly sending off and even a schoolboy error by Sergio Aragoneses to gift Mallorca a 0-1 win.

Yes it was nice to see returning heroes forward Alfaro and coach Oltra but the big problem is here and now and we should have gone all out to plunder a poor team with a terrible defensive record. The tone was set early on with a Raul Llorente long range thunderbolt hitting the post with the goalie stranded. Ayoze set up Aridane but the keeper blocked his shot and it didn’t break kindly to Raul Llorente.

Mallorca looked weak and hesitant in the first half, Alfaro had a couple of nice touches but they didn’t make Sergio break sweat. We thought we had made the big breakthrough after 25 minutes but Aridane was offside and the goal was ruled out. Mino wasn’t inspiring in the visitors net, he needed to be put under plenty of pressure and it wasn’t coming, Suso had a decent shot which Mino could only parry but there was no follow up.

In the second half as Alfaro faded before being subbed, their main man Ximo pushed up and started to create problems for Tenerife. Suso had a passionate appeal for a penalty but the ref was right to ignore it. The killer goal should have been cut out by Llorente on the left, the lively Thomas exploited the space and put in a weak cross cum shot close to goal, Sergio seemed to have it covered but it went through his hands leaving Gerard Moreno an easy tap in.

Aday and Rivero arrived in quick succession for Tenerife with Chechu and Ros making way and Aday made some good runs down the left flank. Ayoze was again the pick of the bunch but needs to pick his shots better, he rushed one straight at the goalie. His next effort was worthy of a goal, he took the ball past the keeper and screwed a shot in from an acute angle, it meandered slowly along the goal line before bobbling off the post to Nunes who cleared it after taking a moment to realise how lucky he was. The final blow was a wild midfield challenge by Moyano that earned a second yellow and a dismissal, it was a stupid move and effectively killed off all hope of a fightback.

Next week is Ponferradina away, 5pm Sat, let’s hope the team have better luck with their plane than the Armada Sur did when our bus broke down on the motorway, it didn’t even break down near a bar – now that’s what I really call unlucky.

Funny chaps goals, they always look so easy when you see a montage of them flying in on television but in reality confidence and even a bit of luck can soon separate two teams. The good news is my double football Sunday brought plenty of goal chances but the bad news is that although CD Marino were clinical finishers in their 4-0 home win over Union Viera, CD Tenerife went down 2-1 at Recreativo.

CD Marino are basking in the glow of success after starting again in the Tercera, I saw their first home league win and was looking forward to picking up the thread again. Their performance was as blistering as the weather that scorched down as I watched their young line up show plenty of skill coupled with good team work and a hunger for goals. The first goal was along in 13 minutes after concerted pressure, a good ball across from the left made Viera jittery and Ramon turned the ball into his own net.

Balduino was promoted to captain for the day and led the line well, around him he was blessed with the terrier like Pulido on the right and instinctive goal poacher Murci. Both sides were in the top four and Viera were always on the look out for a chance at goal, their nippy main striker Peraza should have pulled the trigger himself but drilled the ball across the face of the Marino goal and it went to waste.

Murci battled his way into the visitors box, turned and shot in one movement but got his foot under it and sent it over the bar. Yosimar (below) saw an opening and cut in from the right before stinging goalie Li’s finger tips. Richard Jimenez (above) showed them all how to finish when he struck a sweet volley that was only going one place, that was 2-0. Murci showed his strength powering in with the ball, Li had to get down well and block him at the near post. It wasn’t like Alberto was having an afternoon off in the home goal, Viera let rip with a couple of long range shots that he saved in fine style.

The second half brought more good football from both teams, Alberto showed his agility again early into the play. It’s very much a squad thing this season at CD Marino, the bench was packed with talent and coach Sosa Espinel has no reservations about using them. Lamine arrived for Yosimar and put himself about, it paid off as he won the ball off the under pressure defence and squared it across to Balduino who popped it in with ease. Nabil took over from Pulido and saw plenty of the action including a touch towards a quality strike from Murci. The forward ran at Viera, nicked the ball off a defender, drew the keeper and slid it under him.

There was still time for local boy Luis Sierra (below) to make an appearance, he looked a handful up front and was unlucky not to get on the score sheet. Union Viera may feel the score was harsh on them as they put plenty into the game but Marino are a strong all round side this season with a cutting edge and were good value for the big win.

Over in Recreativo it was a story of squandered chances but at least Tenerife are still creating them with Ayoze improving with each game. The youngster will need to sharpen up his finishing, a weak shot and one off the post could have set up a shock win at the Segunda leaders. Aridane was guilty of missing a few too especially from Ricardo’s corner just before the half time whistle.

Recreativo showed better aim, Montero struck just after the restart from outside the area but sub Suso found Ayoze with his pass to level. It was short lived, Arana took his chance well a few minutes later and Tenerife were chasing again. During one concentrated spell Ayoze, Suso, and Moyano all missed the target and the task was made harder with Ricardo getting sent off for a harsh second yellow. The last two games have revived confidence and the unpredictable Mallorca are definitely beatable next Sunday in Santa Cruz.