The problems aren’t solved and there’s a big struggle ahead but for a few hours on Sunday night we could celebrate thanks to Ayoze scoring in the 1-0 home win over Real Madrid Castilla. The 20 year old starlet did much more than that, he showed us that we may have a goal scorer in out midst and he showed he is learning to improve his game. On the down side Borja Perez should wait a long time for another chance in the starting line up, he could earn a place alongside legendary bad forwards like Raul Sanchez and Frankowski.

It was a pretty even game between two sides desperate for points, thankfully we had Inigo Ros back to run the midfield, the dangerous sit back in the first half tactic was still in place but given the flat showing of Aridane and Borja in the first half it was hardly surprising. Castilla had the best open chance after 14 minutes as Borja Garcia dragged the ball wide past the post. It was a close call when Chechu planted the ball in the Castilla net on the half hour, the ref ruled Aridane was offside and interfering with play. Maybe Sobrino felt sorry for us when he scooped his easy chance up and off the underside of the Tenerife crossbar.

The mood was lifted at the start of the second half with Ayoze taking over from Borja Perez, this was a new look Ayoze, sharp, aggressive, and with a stubbornness in his play. Aridane was no longer abandoned and he was able to create space and pressure defenders into mistakes for the nippy Ayoze to move in on. Chechu spotted Ayoze and unleashed a perfect pass, the young forward eluded Pulido and tucked the ball past Pacheco, a rare and wonderful sight for all home fans. Within minutes Castilla were claiming a handball after a Ruiz tackle on Benavente, again it could have gone either way but for once it was our day and the ref waved play on.

More Tenerife chances followed, Suso firing just wide, and Ayoze finding the side netting, Ricardo had a long range effort which hasn’t yet come down and Ayoze was unlucky when his ball rolled kindly for the other Llorente to clear his defenders error. The referee made us suffer with five minutes of added time, a calculation made by the same mathematical genius who posted the crowd as 9,206. The final whistle brought huge relief and more calls for President Concepcion to go – this time with more support than last game. So all we have to do now is win at table topping Recreativo next Sunday, at least there is some belief back in the camp now.

Coach Alvaro Cervera has more problems to grapple with after this poor 0-1 home defeat to Lugo but it’s President Miguel Concepcion who has become the focal point for the fans anger. Cervera is playing with a weak hand of cards and the latest shuffle failed to produce a winning flush.

 Pre game it seemed to be an either or choice between Aitor Sanz and Quique Rivero in midfield but they both started with Ricardo on the bench and Inigo Ros still not back to sort out our engine room. Lugo were lively starters, Carlos Ruiz showed he was looking to erase the memory of last weeks shocker and made a perfectly timed block on Diaz to deny an early chance.

 The problem midfield was again stuttering for Tenerife, Rivero was playing deep, a waste of his attacking qualities, and even the industrious Cristo seems at half pace lately. Thank goodness for Suso, the man is a burning ball of desire, always looking to take on defenders and making sure that there is at least one source of supply for Aridane and Loro. Aridane had a couple of sniffs at goal but Loro looks a poor reflection of last years player.

Rennella was making the most of the few openings that were on offer from a tight home defence, he broke loose on the half hour but his finish was wide of the post. There was a surprise at the start of the second half with Borja Perez making his second appearance, in place of Loro. Chechu made a good run on the right and tempted Aridane with a cross but hi could only flick the ball wide with his head. Mallo in the Lugo goal looked uncertain and should have been put under more pressure but it wasn’t coming. The young inexperienced ref was no help, are they ever? We can put up with them being generally poor but why do they so blatantly favour the away side?

There was a big blow after 61 minutes, Ricardo had joined the action for Rivero and Sanz had already got a booking when a foul on Sanz was given against him and as he raged at the ref a second yellow card came out and he was off. The hill had just got steeper, Ricardo should have kept his shot down and made the goalie work, hanging on for a draw suddenly seemed the best we could hope for.

 Suso was fuming at the linesman for continued bad calls, thankfully he kept a lid on it and continued to charge at the defence. Maybe the ex Scottish League boys Perez and Suso would swing the game, but it was former Rangers player Sandaza who grabbed the winner a few minutes after coming off the bench. Sergio Aragoneses had to leap to get two hands to a stinging shot but he couldn’t hold it and it fell to Sandaza who fired it into the net.

The response was instant “Concepcion Dimision’ (resign) rang out from a large section of the 7,770 crowd. There is still a belief that coach Cervera can turn things around on the pitch but a lack of leadership off the pitch is seen as the long term problem and there’s a hunger for change. The game was beyond Tenerife’s reach, Lugo held firm and Perez withdrew deeper, he doesn’t inspire confidence that even with full match fitness he can produce goals. Bottom side Real Madrid B are the visitors next Sunday, we can only hope for better things before we get pulled into a relegation dogfight.

When people gather to chill each others blood with tales of horror and carnage, this game will be talked about in hushed tones. How awful was this display, well Real Zaragoza were in a mess on and off the pitch but Tenerife made them look good.

Take a bow Carlos Ruiz, the central defender had a mare and was involved in all the goals as the home side won 3-0. The first came after 48 minutes, Ruiz gave away a free kick with both knees in an opponents chest – just after the Cabildo advert against violence and for fair play had appeared on the TV coverage. The defending wall jumped but Victor’s shot sailed over them and gave Sergio Aragoneses no chance in goal. Then after 62 minutes Ruiz got his boot to a shot from Mantanas but it just helped it into the net. The final nail in the Tenerife coffin came within three minutes as Victor skipped by Ruiz who didn’t offer a tackle – oh the shame, the shame.

Good points were hard to find, Aridane was a passenger but the service to him was poor, Inigo Ros wasn’t even on the bench – I assume he got a reaction to his mid week run out, the midfield is like a dessert without him. The first half offered up a good few chances for Tenerife, Aridane had a header deflected away, Aday Benitez powered through and unleashed a strong shot that wasn’t far off the mark, and home goalie Del Franco was dead lucky to see a Suso shot bounce away off his shoulder after he totally miss judged it.

Then the second half arrived and the wheels really fell off, the first goal rejuvenated Zaragoza and they showed a killer instinct that Tenerife are lacking this season. Even a double sub just before the second goal didn’t gee up Tenerife, Rivero  and Rigo replaced Suso and Loro but nothing changed. Victor could have completed his hat trick if Sergio hadn’t tipped over his 75^th minute shot and saved at his feet as the game ebbed away. Let’s not hit the panic button yet, two home games on the trot can put us back on track but will they?

With a sweet stroke of his boot Luismi Loro lifted the pressure building on CD Tenerife, a goal after three games and 37 minutes, and didn’t he take it well. It was already looking a better performance despite the frustration of a cynical Barcelona B side that hit the floor and milked every tackle, brush, or stray breeze. The long awaited goal came from a free kick out on the right, Loro wafted the ball over the defence and goalie for a deserved lead.

Aridane was the architect of this encouraging 2-2 draw, we have missed him so much, holding up the ball, taking the pressure off players, and providing a focal point he was magnificent. Tenerife had most of the first half play, the midfield still looked a bit creaky but with Suso getting stuck in Loro back to something like his best there was cause to feel hopeful. Suso clipped keeper Masip’s fingers and Aridane went close with an opportunist chip that had the goalie scrambling.

Nieto was Barcelona chief tormenter up front but he spent so much time rolling around in mock agony he made a mess of the chances that came his way. It was clear we weren’t going to get anything from the referee, his booking of Aitor Sanz just before the half time whistle was a disgrace brought on by Espinosa making three square meals of minimum contact. At least we had that Loro strike to ease our sense of injustice at half time.

It all came crashing down as the second half opened, the introduction of Denis Suarez gave Barcelona a new dynamic and they were encouraged by loose home defending. Espinosa finished off a good move started by the former Manchester City forward, five white shirts surrounded Espinosa but he still got through with ease to score. Then a few minutes later Roman picked out Nieto unmarked at the far post and he posted the second goal. It was a test of spirit now and Tenerife responded well, Ricardo on for Cristo put in a good shot and Moyano overlapping well found the keeper with his shot.

Ayoze replaced Kike Rivero and provided the key pass to Aridane who brought the ball down with his chest before making a mug of Planas and cracking a lovely goal. The ref compounded his blinkered view of the game by booking Aridane and Ayoze after more play acting by Barcelona. Ayoze had the best late chances but couldn’t quite control a shot on the turn and had his second effort deflected away off a defenders legs. Llorente was the last minute hero getting back to foil a sitter for Barcelona in front of the post – again unmarked. Maybe coach Alvaro Cervera will try some experiments in Wednesday nights Copa del Rey game at Eibar, we have no great expectations in the cup so there’s nothing to lose.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from a mainly young and newly recruited CD Marino team but what I got was bags of spirit, hard work and plenty of promise. Relegation was the inevitable end of a disjointed campaign last season so it’s back to basics in the Tercera Division.

Aaron is one of the survivors from the drop and he prompted a lot of the early moves from right back. Marino looked lively from the off against CD El Cotillo, one of the fancied teams of the division. Josito saw his chance after five minutes and burst into the visitors box but Pedro upended him and the ref gave a penalty. Captain Airam struck it true to beat the keeper but the ref made him take it again – no problem, it still hit the back of the net.

Pulido made a strong dash in from the right and crossed the ball to the far post, Roberto Carlos racing in got a boot to it but it flipped up over the bar rather than doubling the lead. Eslava found himself free in front of goal but headed weakly into the hands of keeper Omar. Cotillo started to come into the game more and ended the half the stronger but the home defence was well organized and cqlm and were able to cope. Roberto Carlos nearly opened the second half with a cheeky goal, his lob caught the goalie out but cleared the bar. Cotillo recovered their composure and put pressure on Marino, Pablo showed his strength, battling with Isaac to deny the away forward a chance at goal.

Balduino, last seasons main striker came on and was in amongst the action shooting just wide of the Cotillo post. Aaron did well to get through the visitors defence but couldn’t quite tuck the ball back into the goalmouth for a clear shot. Marino looked comfortable but the ref was getting a bit whistle happy and disrupted their flow, a second yellow for Airam  was a big blow but his sending off just seemed to increase the determination of the gutsy Marino side. Cotillo staged a late charge, Alberto showed the summer hasn’t blunted his goalkeeping reflexes, and weighed in with a series of close saves. The win was well deserved, I’m looking forward to seeing this team grow as the season goes on.

NOT SO CHEERY FOR CD TENERIFE

We weren’t that bad, before CD Tenerife fans make me have a check up from the neck up after the 2-0 defeat at Mirandes, let me add …for much of the game. The defence looked solid with Moyano magnificent again and Raul Camara doing a great job at left back instead of Raul Llorente. There were plenty of chances created without any end product and that’s what is proving so costly, eventually it wore the team down. I have never seen despair rip through a team as fast and as deeply as it did after Aridane came on after 60 minutes – once it became painfully obvious that he was nowhere near fit all the heads dropped, there would be no goals on this day.

Mujika scored the home opener after 73 minutes almost in slow motion, a chip over the static defence found him wide and able to slot the ball in the goal. The 91^st minute goal from Muniz was even easier as the Mirandes player danced through a clutch of switched off defenders. In between those markers Sergio Aragoneses worked wonders to hold back the tide with continued quality saves.

The elephant in the dressing  room is the lack of a main striker, Aridane at his best will make a big difference but how much harm will be done by then. Ayoze was best out of it today, we don’t want him ground down, and with someone to feed off he still has a glittering future. Guillem Marti was shocking, The Invisible Man he did nothing and once again showed he is only good for a short burst. The fans support will be vital next Sunday at home to Barcelona B – Keep Calm – and pray for a goal.

Maybe we should have bought some of the religious icons on sale among the Dorada at the Oasis bar, divine intervention in front of goal would have been welcome. We are going to have to fight for every point this season and should have punished Hercules during their 52 minutes with 10 men.

The five changes from last week included debuts for Salva Ruiz at left back and Borja Perez up front, both were ok but didn’t offer anything out of the ordinary, hopefully there is more to come from both. The same can be said for much of the team this week, promotion means that everyone needs to step up their game, and if they want inspiration they should take a hint from Cristo Martin. The midfielder has stepped up two divisions in the last two years and has taken it in his stride. Maybe he did miss the best chance with a poor header after the half hour but his work rate and desire are always good.

Inigo Ros is sorely missed in midfield and Aridane can’t return soon enough, Suso will welcome him back with a big hug, he saw much of his hard work on the wing wasted as his crosses weren’t pounced on. Hercules didn’t add much to the game themselves, a little curiosity value from Chile international Campos Toro playing with MCT as his shirt name – never seen that before. Assulin could have shortened his name to Ass after his crunching foul on Carlos Ruiz got a deserved red card, he was helped off the pitch with a hefty shove in the back from a team mate not impressed by his stupidity.

Tenerife tried to freshen things up as the second half wore on, Oscar Rico replaced Salva Ruiz and Chechu took over from Suso but the problem was still the end product. Aitor Sanz could have grabbed some glory but placed his shot past the post just before Ayoze arrived for the sluggish looking Loro. Pamarot tried to encourage CDT, his loose back pass had his goalie Falcon scrambling but there was no waiting to punish them.

A draw was a fair result, the 8981 crowd accepted it as part of our new learning curve, at the moment though it’s hard to see where the goals are coming from, the first win will make a big difference, can we have it next week at Mirandes please.

We could be kind and say Raul Llorente was trying to share the love and give Sales a cuddle but it looked more like a wrestling maul than his first booking earlier in the second half. This second clumsy block in injury time got him a red card and gave Alcorcon the green light to press for the winner from a crazy penalty call on Bruno leaving CD Tenerife to lose 1-0.

Caution seemed to be the game plan in this first match back in the Segunda and it was working well, Tenerife packed the midfield leaving Ayoze to use his pace to chase half chances up front. Even Chechu and Oscar Rico tucked well in rather than exploit the wings and the Tenerife defence looked solid with Bruno and Carlos Ruiz continuing their pairing in the centre. Neither keeper had a lot to do, Sergio Aragoneses punched clear from a corner and easily picked up a weak shot from Juli and at the other end Gimenez watched Bruno head a corner over and a Chechu free kick elude Ayoze as well as his defence.

The second half brought drama as a body check from Cristo saw Sanz tumble and smack his head on an advertising hoarding. There was a ten minute delay as an ambulance cut across the pitch to bring him round and then take him away for safety checks. Chechu had the best chance when he turned smartly in the box and fired low but the goalie reacted well to save. Then Raul Llorente had his first close encounter with Sales stopping him in his tracks with all the subtlety of an oversized wardrobe. The left back had another scare when a cross hit him on the shoulder, the penalty appeal was quickly dismissed.

Guillem took over from Ayoze late on before an extra 11 minutes injury time kicked in. Raul’s red changed everything, Mora curled the resulting free kick just over the Tenerife bar and a few minutes Bruno dropped his body to block the ball and an attacker let through by Chechu. Even though the defender ended up with his back to the Alcorcon player the ref gave a penalty and Juli picked out the bottom corner of the net. The home side were close to increasing the win as Afonso smashed a shot off the underside of the bar but it’s been a good week for late escapes for Alcorcon so they wont lose any sleep over that near miss.

Hercules are the visitors in Santa Cruz back at a normal time of 6pm and new left back Salva Ruiz will get his chance to stake a claim for Llorente’s place.

High visibility orange jackets were the uniform of the day for the motorway walkers heading to Candelaria but our pilgrimage by car passed them on the way to La Orotava to worship the boys in the pink change strip. It was Teide Trophy time again and late replacements Rayo Vallecano were run ragged as CD Tenerife beat them 5-0 and that hardly reflected their dominance.

The ground in its magnificent setting is always a good place to visit, especially after a few quick Doradas at our regular bar down the road. Tenerife came out with their tails up and Suso was unstoppable down the left, he bulldozed his way through two defenders and nearly skittled me over as well. The midfield was working well with Cristo Martin the creative spark and Ayoze’s speed and enthusiasm up front provided the cutting edge.

It took just 20 minutes for Ayoze to latch on to a pass from Loro to open the scoring. Rayo were struggling to create any decent chances, a wild looped shot over the goal didn’t need any attention from Sergio Aragoneses. Rayo’s six most experienced players were subbed after 35 minutes and Tenerife stepped up the pressure. Ricardo found Ayoze who shot wide and another Suso break ended with a teasing cross that Raul Llorente just failed to reach with his head. Suso charged again and this time he found Cristo who turned his markers and made it 2-0. The evening sun had set and a damp mist moved in by half time, combined with the pitch sprinklers it left perfect conditions for Super Mario to do his floundering fish impression on the grass.

Tenerife made their own raft of changes at the break without losing their rhythm and Chechu nipped in for the third goal to kill off Rayo. It would have been easy to relax but Tenerife showed a positive attitude and continued to exploit Rayo’s slow defending. Aday Benitez finished well for a fourth and even a change of goalie couldn’t stem the tide. Guillem got in on the scoring act 15 minutes from the end and had all the time in the world to find the net.

The La Orotava pitch is open on all sides and the final whistle was the cue for many of the 3,500 crowd to spill onto the playing surface and get photos and autographs with the Tenerife players. The presentations were a bit too laid back this year and players weren’t sure whether to go up or not, Ayoze got a man of the match award and captain Sergio picked up an old cracked trophy but was relieved of it as soon as he got down to pitch level again. As for the fans, we were still a little shell shocked by the ease of the victory and trying to reign in ambitious thoughts of the Segunda season ahead.

A goalie a goalie, my kingdom for a goalie, well maybe it wasn’t that urgent but a lot of interest had been voiced about getting a more experienced back up CD Tenerife keeper to shadow Sergio Aragoneses. What better time then for our two young stoppers to show their best qualities.

Roberto was first in the spotlight in the home friendly with Osasuna and he did his reputation the world of good with a couple of strong early takes. The Primera visitors didn’t look that good but somehow sneaked an 11^th minute lead through Ariel and wouldn’t you know it the telling pass was supplied by Mr Popular Marc Bertran. The former Tenerife full back and captain was roundly booed at every turn after he bailed out as we slid into Segunda B, I always thought he was over rated and towards the end of his time in the blue and white he often looked uninterested.

Chechu is another player that some fans, myself included, saw as at best a fringe player in the Segunda, he has had a lively start to the friendlies and opened up Osasuna after 19 minutes with a determined run down the right before planting the ball in the net to level. Roberto made a decisive intervention of a high cross just after that and ended the half with an inspiring double save.

Despite lots of changes Tenerife kept their shape in the second half and soon grabbed a winner with another classy goal, this time it was Oscar Rico after good work from Ayoze. Osasuna had little to offer after that, the 4,285 crowd was left to practice chants and songs and admire the latest B team prospect Amorin who made a sound second half debut.

Onto Wednesday and a trip to El Fraile to play Ibarra. Meeting in the little bar opposite the ground we got stuck into the owners Dorada stocks, well at one euro a bottle it would have been rude not to. Ground entry was just eight euros and we got in Justin time for the presentations and kick off. This time Nauzet the third choice goalie was between the sticks and from the start he looked secure and confident. Cristo Martin took just three minutes to open the scoring with an opportunist goal and things were looking good. After ten minutes the Guardia Civil stopped the in ground bar from serving beer, that didn’t go down well with anyone, if it had been in the UK we could have bleated about having our human rights infringed.

Ibarra were keen and put pressure on Tenerife, after 30 minutes Roberto was tested and made a great save followed soon after by a strong punched clearance. Kike Rivero, already looking a good signing, reacted well to pounce for our second goal just before the half time whistle. With dry throats at our end of the ground Gordon did the decent thing and sneaked out to buy up the canned beer supplies from a local shop and sneaked them in over the fence. A sneaky beer always tastes better and we were soon in good voice again, just in time to see sub Suso latch on to an Ayoze pass for our third strike of the night. That was about it for the game and we streamed out with the rest of the 600 crowd at the end happy with another winning game with no goals conceded. Let’s hope this form continues into the serious matches.

After eons (well a couple of weeks) without football it’s all kicking off again and it’s that wonderful time of year when all things are possible. You probably guessed that I’m the sort of sad act that couldn’t wait to get his hands on the Shoot league ladders to start planning my season. There’s only so much Big Match Revisited you can watch so the return of live football is very welcome.

Anyway after a 1-0 win in a training camp friendly in La Palma CD Tenerife were back in action at CD Marino for the Sebastian Martin Melo Cup, a short yomp down the hill from me at the Estadio Olimpico on the cusp of Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Americas. Pre match meet up of the Armada Sur was at The Whisky Jar a few yards stagger from the stadium. It was good to see so many old friends again and a few cold beers slipped down nicely on a muggy evening.

It felt strange not being properly dressed, I left my CD Tenerife colours at home in favour of a neutral choice from my vast summer collection. The start of a new era at CD Marino meant meeting the new regime at the club and picking up a press pass to take photos at pitch side for The Tenerife Weekly. Inside the crowd looked reasonable, about 1,500 filling up as the bar emptied, the banners were out in force and I even saw James Brown AKA Pepe Barrios the recently resigned president of Marino taking a guest place in the VIP seats along with Sir John Madejski on one of his regular visits from England. I had already arranged an interview with the former Reading FC owner, look out for that in The Tenerife Weekly.

Pre season games are all about seeding in new players so the games are often disjointed but this was a decent display. Marino showed  plenty of effort and made some chances but were a bit blunt up front, in contrast Tenerife made the most of theirs with Cristo Martin converting an Aridane cross in the first half and Sandro conjuring up a magnificent second goal just after the hour mark. Late strikes from Sandro earning his man of the match trophy, and Guillem Marti near the end made the final scoreline 4-0.

It’s going to be fun watching the two teams fortunes, Marino have lots of new blood and new leaders after their relegation to the Tercera and Tenerife will be hoping a sprinkling of new faces will bolster the squad after promotion to the Segunda. Marino seem to have “lost” the loud screechy female fan whose dainty voice rang out at games last season but they have gained a new pena or fan club, you can join them at their Facebook page.

Onto Saturday night and CD Tenerife followed up with a 2-0 home win over Las Palmas in the first leg of the Copa Mahou, a friendly by another name, the second leg is at the Pio’s ground on Wednesday night. I missed this one, well the league clashes with our mortal enemies will be the real thing. What a great result though, a 2-0 home win with goals in the first minute of each half, from Chechu and an Aridane header. There are still a few more signings to come for CD Tenerife and with the CD Marino fixtures finally due out I have a long and interesting season to  look forward to – bring it on.