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As the referee blew the whistle for full time I quite expected some fans to turn on the CD Tenerife team for their inept 2-1 surrender to Cordoba but there was a feeling of numbness and the awful realisation that relegation could now be a reality. The talk after the game wasn’t about how we can claw our way out of this mess but more about what teams we will play in Segunda B and which, if any, players are worth keeping at the end of season. There are 12 games left and CDT are 4 points from safety so escape is possible but the players, Nino apart, need to find some balls and some heart.

There were pre game boosts with Nino’s yellow card at Numancia recinded and Sergio reporting fit after his head wound in the same game, on the down side Julio Alvarez pulled out on match day with a muscle strain. Igor started up front with Nino and hit the post in the first minute, Sergio Aragoneses fumbled a save and gave Diaz a reat chance but he blasted wide. Cordoba looked very poor and Tenerife grabbed the initiative after 13 minutes, Dubardier sent in a tantalising cross from the left and Nino met the ball with a great header to make it 1-0.

That was the good stuff but it soon degenerated into gloom, the home side were playing far too deep, Omar looked like an extra full back and worse was to come as Bertran continued his poor form with a stupid tackle that gave Cordoba a free kick. Callejon stroked the ball up and past Sergio to level at 1-1. This was the time to show character but it was nowhere to be seen, maybe in the scorching sun the half time pitch watering would put the skids under Cordoba – sadly no.

Melli got himself involved in a tussle with Diaz 5 minutes into the second half and dragging him back he earned a red card, that left the home defence in a right pickle, they were still adjusting when Alberto made the most of a break to plunder a second goal for Cordoba. The rest of the game was a slow torture, Natalio and Juanlu Hens came on for Hidalgo and Igor but it made little difference. Nino carried the fight to Cordoba with little help, he was unlucky to see his shot trickle wide of the post as Natalio steamed in and when he laid the ball back to Ricardo the third sub blasted his shot high.

Cordoba couldn’t believe their luck, a win would pull them away from the fringes of the relegation zone, they were determined to hang on and didn’t care how they did it, diving and theatrical rolling around all won favour with the weak ref. As the game ticked into injury time Pablo Sicilia got a second yellow card and became the ninth red card of the season for Tenerife. Things could get worse, the scoreboard flashed a 1-0 away win for Las Palmas at Albacete. Depressed? you bet I am, a lot of the players just don’t seem to care and Bertran should be relieved of the captaincy, he doesn’t lead by example and doesn’t motivate his team mates. With 2 away games coming up I’m hoping for a miracle, is that too much to ask?

Lack of consistency is one of the most annoying traits in a referee, Molero Lopez gave a penalty against CD Tenerife for a dubious hand ball and ignored a stronger claim in their favour in the dying moments of this 2-1 defeat at Numancia. When the anger has subsided it’s difficult to ignore the fact that Tenerife’s shooting in front of goal was woeful and a third straight defeat has left us in deep relegation danger.

Natalio was preferred in a supporting strike role to the large and lumbering Igor and he fired wide in the opening minutes. Early play was scrappy but the ref made his presence felt, after 14 minutes Kitoko was called for a harmless tackle and although Sergio fussed over the placing of the defensive wall Bakero’s free kick curled between them and into the net for an early lead. Neither side was shining but Tenerife got a lucky break when Nagore under no real pressure headed into his own net when trying to nod a cross over his goalie’s crossbar.Nino had looked quiet in the first half but a few minutes after the break he forced La Fuente to tip the ball away for a corner.

Igor had come on just after half time and gave Tenerife a target to aim for but it was the home side that grabbed a goal. Cedric broke down the left and put a cross in from the byline, Kitoko had no chance to pull his hand away before it hit him and the ref pointed straight to the penalty spot, Bakero sent Sergio the wrong way and restored the home lead. The rest of the game was dominated by Tenerife but it’s all about goals and their finishing let them down time and again. Natalio was the main culprit although he was unlucky to see his acute angle shot nutmeg the keeper but ping back out off the post, his next effort was skied over the bar after Igor had chested the ball down for him.

Omar still hasn’t scored a goal for Tenerife and should have broken his duck after turning in the box and screwing his shot wide. Sergio had already made 2 strong saves at the other end but after spilling a catch he went to reclaim the ball and took a stud in the head from an incoming Numancia player who was making a legitimate challenge. The gash just above the eye was a mess and he will have a nasty scar as a reminder of his day out on the mainland. That challenge didn’t hurt half as much as the referees final act in stoppage time, a through ball was heading for well placed Nino in the penalty area when former Tenerife defender Culebras deflected it with his hand, a clear spot kick but the ref didn’t want to know and blew for time soon after. Even after the game things got worse, Las Palmas won 2-0 at home and jumped over CDT in the relegation zone. Tough times indeed.

Way back on 28 November was the last time CD Tenerife kept a clean sheet and Monday night visitors Barcelona B had racked up 10 goals in the last 2 games, it was going to be a tough one. A look at the morning papers had further worrying news, Nino was an injury doubt, he was cleared late in the day and took the captains armband from Marc Bertran who failed to recover in time.

Despite those portents of gloom the Armada Sur were well up for it as our 2 packed coaches arrived in the capital. Carnaval was weaving its spell and the passing fans put on a good show with their imaginative costumes. Coach Tapia made a bad move putting Juanlu Hens at right back and he was soon shown up by Barcelonas flying forwards, Soriano gave him a nice all over roasting. Luna was too slow to pick up Oriol after 10 minutes and Sergio had to come to the rescue with a timely save for a corner and then another from Santos straight after. Juanlu looked slower than the “fat ladies” on the Grada Popular Alto as he lost the ball but at least he recovered to spare his blushes. Nino had a great chance a few minutes later but failed to make it count, Barcelona were settling in and Roberto laid on an inviting pass to Oriol to open the scoring after 22 minutes. Barcelona were stroking the ball about, their mainly young side showing great composure and confidence so it was no surprise to see Nolito crack in a fierce shot from the edge of the area to make it 2-0 just before half time.

The black clouds were gathering over Santa Cruz as the second half kicked off, Omar came on for Pablo Sicila with Kikoto dropping to centre back. The coach’s tactical gamble was understandable, Kikoto is a great ball winner, but it robbed the midfield of the little bit of steel that they had. Big striker Igor made his home debut after 64 minutes and gave Tenerife some much needed prescence up front alongside Nino. Igor was giving the Barcelona defence some new problems in the air which made it seem wasteful when Omar sent a rare corner in along the ground. The referee had forgotten his clown costume but his decisions gave him away, Nino was assaulted by a high flying Barcelona boot with no punishment given. The ref had no trouble finding a second yellow for Dubarbier after 74 minutes leaving CDT with 10 men.

The home defence lost their footing and concentration as the heavens opened and poured industrial quantities of rain on players and fans. Nolito latched onto a counter attack and hit his shot against a post, bizarely it bounced out against Sergio’s back and into the net. As players looked forward to getting dry, fans on the terraces soaked up the rain singing and dancing in their lovingly made costumes. Nolito had plenty of room to complete his hat trick with 10 minutes left but that didn’t stop the Carnaval singing from the hardy faithful in the 17,587 crowd. Igor showed that he can play a part in the survival struggle as he used his height to set up Nino to pull back a late goal.

Barcelona were very impressive and look set to fill one of the promotion places that they can’t accept due to the senior teams status. If only we had pots of money to tempt away some of their bright nuggets, but we don’t, it’s going to be down to grit, hard work and character. At least the club know that the fans are serious about their football, although you might find that hard to believe looking at the way they dress.

With the home form dramatically improved the odd away draw would sit nicely in CD tenerife’s rising points total but at Cartegena Sicilia and Luna had a collective mare which was eventually punished for a 1-0 defeat. The centre back pairing looked like strangers and left Sergio exposed in goal in the first half, thankfully Sergio mopped up everything that came through, a 5th minute header by Toche was expertly punched away. Bertran was having one of his better games and even Beranger at left back seemed untroubled but again Sergio was left scramling to clear after 23 minutes as the central defence went missing.

Overall Tenerife performed well, Durbarbier was again industrious on the left and Kitoko looks like he has been the midfield ball winner for years rather than a recent addition. Nino (pic v Cartegena at home) looked ready to spring the offside trap at any moment and was unlucky to see his header from Bertrans cross go wide and a snap shot go straight at the home goalie. Luna’s wild lunge just before half time put Tenerife under pressure but they survived successive corners and at half time a good result looked on the cards.

Cartegena improved in the second half with toche and Victor looking dangerous but Nino was still sniffing at goal and Natalio had a weak shout for a penalty after going over. The middle road was always tempting for Cartegena and Toche picked up a clearance and darted between Luna and Sicilia and slotted the ball beyond sergio for the winning goal. Coach Tapia gave Igor his first taste of action up front but he made little impression, Kome came on and added some thrust but the home side took the points with a win that they barely deserved on the balance of play.

Everyone is in a better mood when CD Tenerife win. After this 2-1 home victory over Zerex the young ladies working the street near my bus stop flocked around me to discuss the game, good job they said, well some sort of job was mentioned. Ok maybe they weren’t bothered about foofball but I couldn’t have been happier, a convincing win and out of the relegation zone above Las Palmas, how sweet.

Tenerife looked determined from the kick off, Julio Alvarez forced an early save from a corner and Dubarbier shot high from the edge of the box. The midfield was struggling to take control despite another impressive display from Kitoto and Xerez showed they would be no pushovers. Tenerife have bags of confidence these days and stuck to their task, Julio saw his shot hit the post after 25 minutes and Bernager had an effort deflected off target. Pablo Sicilia was unable to make his interview with me last week and I joked that he owed me a goal, blimey he certainly delivered, Julio swung in a corner and Pablo was there waiting to score his 5th goal of the season, this time with his foot rather than another header.

The second half opened with Sergio Aragoneses looking sharp to turn aside a Redondo shot for a corner but Tenerife were soon pushing forward. Pablo was sniffing around in the box when Bermejo fouled him and the referee awarded a penalty. Hidalgo was cool as he stepped up and easily converted the kick for a 2-0 lead. Even in these improved times, lapses in concentration can prove costly for Tenerife, just a few minutes after the penalty Xerez broke and Cordero found a clear route on the left before slotting the ball in the corner of the home net. That could have marked the way back for Xerez, Sergio produced another superb save, this time from Vega, Capi also came close but Tenerife held on for a deserved win. Despite the Friday night scheduling for television, another 16,545 crowd was able to savour the winning feeling. Tuesday there is a tricky game at Cartegena but Tenerife will be confident of pulling away from the trap door.

This should have been a useful goal less away draw for CD Tenerife but with 2 minutes left a well taken Celta Vigo goal was poor reward for a strong disciplined display by the visitors. There was an enforced change in the centre of defence with Melli slotting in to replace the suspended Pablo Sicilia who joined the Armada Sur down at The Royal Oak in Las Americas.

Celta are a good side and worthy of their second place in the table, they started strongly and gave Tenerife plenty of problems, with former Pio Trashorras threatening to be the spoiler. The turning point came after 20 minutes when a Celta raid became a mad goalmouth scramble, a home player swung a boot and missed but it was still goal bound when Melli scooped it off the line. A few minutes later Dubarbier latched onto a through ball and ran on to score but the referee called it offside and there were few complaints from the Tenerife players.

Nino had a couple of decent chances but couldn’t make them count and at half time it didn’t look a bad scoreline. Melli had a good header saved early in the first half, Kitoko was again looking speedy and strong but after a sending off in his first game he left this time with an injury. At least his departure marked the return of Mikel Alonso (pic) but Tenerife lacked a bit of inspiration up front and a draw looked almost certain. Celta showed their class in the dying moments as a defence splitting pass found Michu who finished with ease to grab the win. As the goal went in our guest Pablo Sicilia must have learned a few new interesting English words, he will return to action for Friday nights home game with Xerez.

Roses Are Red

Chicharreros Are Blue

Vallecano Score One

But CD Tenerife Score Two

This was the big test of the new look CD Tenerife, following last weeks great win at Salamanca the Segunda Division leaders came to Santa Cruz and to be honest pre match most of us would have settled for a draw. Coach Tapia had other ideas and for the first half the home side more than matched their opponents. Left back Beranger had a rare goal chance after 7 minutes but it wt that as not enough to test Rayo’s Cobeño in goal. The Madrid based team were big and strong and Tenerife didn’t help themselves at time by giving the ball away too easily. Dubarbier gets better with each game on the left but was always looking over his shoulder to make sure Beranger was covering at full back and after 20 minutes Dubarbier picked up a booking for hand ball stopping a Rayo break away.

Dani Kome was making good progress down the right side but was wrestled to the ground several times, or were they pre Valentines cuddles? TV giants Canal Plus were the reason for the 11am kick off and at our end it was noticeable that the camera operators were women, what on earth would Andy Gray have to say about that! Going into the break it was level and goal less with good reason to enjoy the hot sunshine but it’s all about goals. Rayo aren’t top for nothing and had plenty of fire power but returning home keeper Sergio Aragoneses was on top form easily taking a Piti free kick just after the interval.

With 62 minutes gone Arribas handled in the box and the referee pointed to the spot, Hidalgo stepped up and fired it in for the lead (above) but the fussy ref called an infringement and ordered a retake.Hidalgo kept his nerve and sent the keeper the wrong way (below) to delight the home fans. There was better to come as Nino won the ball to the left of the goal area and lobbed it delicately, it hung in the air but eventually arched down into the goal, a superb bit of skill.

Tenerife had to withstand a Rayo fightback, Sergio was masterful punching clear as Piti bore down on Bertran and luck was on our side as Rayo hit a post and the shot pinged back onto the legs of Pablo Sicilia but rebounded just past the post. Time was ticking away when the ref threw a spanner in the works, calling Sicilia for a push in the box and awarded a penalty to Rayo, Armenteros scored and the four minutes of injury time were sheer agony especially as Gomez had a clear last gasp shot but could only direct it into Sergio’s hands. The whistle was greeted with joyous celebration, apart from the near 200 Rayo fans on the upstairs tier above our home stronghold, how did security let them get in there?

Thankfully a happy ending but it doesn’t get any easier with 2nd placed Celta Vigo away next week and the aftermath of another 6 bookings bound to disrupt the starting line up. On the plus side big new striker Igor has still to taste action and even sweeter, Tenerife are now just one point behind the Pios.

There was no early church service for the Armada Sur, honest we would have, it was mid morning as we emerged from our after celebration slumbers, you can’t let a 2-1 away win in Salamanca go unmarked. First shock of the day, if you ignore the horrendous hangovers, was finding that Gordon (AKA The Moron) had fallen over (damm unsteady those local streets) the night before and had paid a visit to the hospital for 4 stitches above his eye. That was in the second group across town, myself and Andy did a zombie walk down the road from the hotel for a coffee at a service station but both found a chocolate pastry too much to stomach and left them part chewed. At least we managed a chuckle as we found a bizarre statue to pose with, clearly someone had more warped minds than us.

The General turned up in reception looking like Keith Richards on a bad day and we headed into town to meet the others, obviosly we didn’t mock our injured comrade Gordon in any way at all, even if he looked like Rocky 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. All safely gathered aboard the trusty mini bus we set off for Madrid with a half way stop at Avila penciled in. There had been some suggestion of taking in a Tercera Division game in the small historic town but with an eye on seeing the Chelsea v Liverpool game in Madrid we just took a meal break.

Avila is stunning, a medieval fortress wall embraces the town and after food we drove inside the battlements and had a quick poke around the plaza (above) and cathedral. One of the big pluses of popping over to CD Tenerife away games is the chance to taste some of Spain’s history, the cathedral was built in 1095 and is surrounded by a pride of stone lions. Looking up to the buttress’s I could see and hear large storks that had nested on the turrets, they were huge, no use offering them a bag of crumbs and a bit of bacon fat, they looked capable of swooping down and stealing a small child – we kept a close eye on The General.

The wheels of the bus were soon going round and round again as we neared Madrid close to kick off on the TV game, The General headed to the hotel after dropping us off near a Metro (underground) station. It just happened to be by Real Madrid’s impressive Bernabeu Stadium, DJ Johnny looked a little conspicuous in a CD Tenerife track suit top but it was several hours before Madrid’s home game with Real Sociedad – and no I wasn’t even tempted to go. Madrid is a great city and the Metro is just one euro for any journey, we had to change at Tribunal and Johnny our resident scouser peeled off to watch the match with the Madrid Reds at their Cavern look alike, The Tavern. The rest of us emerged at Sol, the city centre Metro stop and took the side street to our regular haunt the O Connell Street Bar, a big popular sports bar where the order of the day is a bucket of Coranita beers packed in ice and large baskets of crisps to tuck into.

Liverpool’s win merged into another victory for the local white menace, then with a ridiculously early wake up in mind and Johnny back with a contented look on his face, we adjourned to the local kebab house for a suitably greasy nosh up. This is another part of the Madrid ritual in a food house that features a large painting of a horse on the wall – they didn’t did they? Time for a bus back to our Hotel Torre Laguna, and like the Metro the bus was also just one euro. I grabbed a couple of late beers at the bar before kipping down for just over 3 hours only to rise like a zombie for our return trip to the airport to return the minibus and pile onto the plane. A gorgeously sunny Tenerife morning welcomed our return to the island blinking in the light like pit ponies that hadn’t gone to Specsavers. Good company, good fun and good grief a win, now for the rest of the season.

Like a bizarre new version of the A Team the Armada Sur minibus inched its way out of Madrid airport car park, B.A and the boys would have been making impressive weapons out of scratch but we would have settled for working out how to open the windows. Never mind, it was cold outside so we settled for snug and warm as we headed up north to the snowy hills on the way to Salamanca. The two and a half hours trip passed pretty quickly especially after we loaded up with beer at a petrol station stop, it was like christmas for them as we plundered the expensive cans soaked up with nosebags of crisps and doughnuts – well it’s good to have a balanced diet.

We had alaready lost Tolf at the airport, his residencia was out of date and a couple of hundred euros to book a new flight would have dwarfed the mere 10 euros we paid for the Ryanair return trip. There was a hopeful mood as the snow in the Salamanca fields became deeper and the mountain range glistened in the sun. Arriving an hour before the game we headed straight for the ground, parked up and hit the nearby bar, it was small and basic but we spilled outside as more and more CDT fans joined the pre match jolly with some good natured locals enjoying our songs and antics.

It got a lot colder inside the ground but we had a good spot just behind the goal close to the pitch with just a few stewards seperating the near 200 Tenerife fans from the touchline. It was an encouraging start, Bertran looked more comfortable and tested the home side early on with a raid down the right. Salamanca had lost 8 games on the bounce but surprised us with Moraton heading home after 25 minutes, making the most of a hesitant defence. Kitoko was making his debut in the holding midfield slot and looked strong and purposeful but Luis Garcia in goal had a few juggling moments to keep us on our toes. Pablo Sicilia is on hot form and on the half hour he rose majestically to head in an equaliser, bringing a noisy response from the travelling chicharreros.

Tenerife looked more confident and had the better of the second half, Alvarez came close to beating Bernabe in the home goal and Natalio wasted the best chance of the game. New striker Igor was on the bench but coach Tapia was in no hurry to use him, Sicilia is revlling in his new role as a goal scorer and after a poor attempt to clear from a corner launched himself at the ball and headed it into the net. The home fans turned on their team and coach as our fans grew louder with the players clearly enjoying the support. Salamanca responded by bringing on ex Pio Marcos Marquez, my how we enjoyed taunting him, even better as he was clearly riled by it. Holding on to a lead has been a problem and when Kikoto was sent off for a second yellow card after 79 minutes every tenerife bum was squeaking. Coach Tapia clamped down the defence by bringing on Melli and Juanlu for Alvarez and Nino and it did the trick, the final whistle spawned a crescendo of noise from our blue and white sector as the players and Canarian media flocked to share our joy.

Leaving the stadium in full cry we were rudely interupted by a small gang of home nutters armed with flares and home made batons but thankfully they were repelled by our more vigilant fans. Even that could’t dampen the mood, we regrouped and caught our mini bus to the Hotel Recoletos for a quick check in, change of clothes and out on the town. On the way in earlier we had already been impressed with the beauty of the viaducts general layout of Salamanca and with our local guide Juanma we combined sight seeing with drinking. It’s a big student city and had a vibrant feel to it, Plaza Mayor was a wonderful ornate and stylish centre piece and provided a great first floor window view froma posh bar restaurant where we watched the Barcelona game. A tour around the back streets around the cathedral impressed us all even in our lubricated state. Karen needed a toilet stop so we dived into a small non descript bar only to find it bouncing with Tenerife fans.

We knew this was the place for us as our feet stuck to the floor and they played some fine tunes including The Smiths. By this stage our original group had fragmented with some relocating nearer to Juanma’s family home. It was around 3am that I headed back to the hotel via a kebab shop, well we had to eat eventually. Poor Andy my room mate was serenaded by my gold medal snoring as I went into an instant sleep, elsewhere the night still had more surprises.

In a storming finish CD Tenerife grabbed an injury time 3-3 home draw with Girona to lift them off the bottom of the Segunda Division on goal difference, but they shouldn’t have needed rescuing. Defensive changes were forced on coach Tapia as Luna, Beranger and Melli served supensions, in came Bellvis at left back with Prieto and Sicilia filling the central roles.

What a start Tenerife made, Nino tested the Girona keeper twice in the first few minutes, the second effort had the keeper fumbling to hold on to the ball. Just 14 minutes in and Alvarez corner was met sweetly by Sicilia for a desrved lead. Nino is always a whirlwind but even by his standards he was blowing strong forcing the keeper to block and then having 2 close encounters in quick succession. It was all CD Tenerife but after 25 minutes they relaxed again not heeding previous slip ups. Girona came into the game and Jandro set up Despotovic who finished cleanly.Tenerife should have brought it level again but kome’s deft touch to Ricardo completely confused the midfielder who looked like he had never seen a ball before.

The worries were back, the Tenerife midfield was soft and generous and the same combination worked their magic again with Despotovic slipping the ball into the corner of the net. Half time was as grey and depressing as the weather but worse was to come. Just after the restart Sergio dashed out of his goal to stop Despotovic from completing his hat trick and handled the ball outside his area for a red card. Tapia sacrificed Bellvis to bring on goalie Luis Garcia with Juanlu dropping into the left back slot. Garcia lasted 10 minutes with little to do before Chechu easily evaded 3 defenders before giving former home player Kiko an easy finish for a 3-1 lead. Some fans started to head for the exits but their lack of loyalty meant they missed a quick reply, Hidalgo dug in and made an opening for Nino to give renewed hope.

At last Tenerife hit top gear, Dubarbier came on for Juanlu at left back and again showed what a good signing he is, prompting a series of threatening attacks. Garcia had nothing to do as Tenerife lay siege to the other half of the pitch, Nino was unlucky with a couple of shots as the game dragged into injury time. Then with time evaporating Alvarez unlocked the Girona defence and Nino was on hand to plunder the equaliser for a desperately needed point.

It was still a case of what could have been, just 3 points from the 4 January home games is a paltry return but it’s time to move on into February with hopefully at least one new player. Big forward Igor de Souza from Segunda B Pontevedra was at the game and is having a medical as I write. The crowd of 14,148 showed amazing support for a 3rd home game in a week and the Armada Sur had the usual 2 coaches including the Barnsley Babes (photo). The last Tenerife win was in November at Villareal so it’s time for another, this time at Salamanca next Saturday, I will be there for the Armada Sur weekend away and hope to bring back 3 points.