As the island braced itself for hurricane strength winds, CD Tenerife charged into the face of the oncoming Real Madrid storm. In the end they were ground down for a flattering 5-1 defeat, but they showed plenty of fight, it was just the cutting edge that was missing.

A sea of tifo and banners evoked the Guanche spirit that repelled the Spanish invaders for so long, and made a rousing welcome for the teams. Tenerife dived straight into the action, Alfaro was through on goal in the first minute, only to be denied by a Garay block. The home side pushed forward, strangely Mikel Alonso was left on the bench but Richi and Ricardo spurred the charge. Ronaldo got little change out of Sicilia and only really caught the eye due to his dainty yellow boots.

Madrid were put off at first by Tenerife’s energy but grew in confidence and broke the deadlock after 29 minutes as Marcelo set up Higuain to bury the ball in the top corner. Nino had a good chance to hit back but Albiol proved too strong for him and took the ball. With the half time whistle approaching, Garay whipped in a cross from the right and found Higuain for his and Madrid’s second.

Tenerife made a perfect start to the second half, Nino put the ball in to the area and Ayoze and Casillas both went up for the ball, Ayoze proved the stronger and bundled it into the net as the Spain goalie complained. That could have been a way back for CDT but as the crowd savoured the goal Madrid went forward, Higuain found Kaka and his finish was deadly to make it 1-3.

Tenerife kept pushing, coach Oltra made a brave move taking Manolo off and adding Omar to the attack. Ricardo went close but Casillas earned his keep for the afternoon with a quick series of 3 great saves. At the other end Sergio Aragoneses denied Ronaldo one of his few clear chances to loud cheers from the crowd. Both sides continued to create openings, Higuain hit the Tenerife crossbar but Luna gifted them a 4^th goal handling the ball, leaving Ronaldo to convert the penalty.

Still Tenerife refused to lay down, substitute Mikel Alonso came close with a shot from the edge of the box and Alfaro twanged the crossbar. There was time for one last goal in injury time, Raul showed his class turning quickly to fire a 5^th marker for the visitors.

Zaragoza’a 2-0 win at Getafe was not the news the fans wanted, it pulls them out of the bottom three and makes it even tougher for penultimate placed Tenerife. The fight for survival continues with a tricky away game next week at Deportivo. Real Madrid managed to rub our noses in it a bit more, the Armada Sur had to wait an hour for their coaches, to let the pampered and over policed Madrid coach eventually pass by.

Shall we start with the good points? CD Tenerife didn’t give up trying, even late on when 4-1 down, and the traveling fans could still be clearly heard giving it their all as this dire defeat drew to a close. Monday nights stirring 1-0 home win over Mallorca was suposed to be the springboard for a decent run and escape from the relegation zone. Instead back came those stupid basic defensive errors as the away drought continued.

Llorente headed over the Tenerife goal just after the start but Nino had a half chance on the turn and Juanlu had a speculative cross, both were taken cleanly by the home keeper. Then the nightmare started, Bertran was too slow to get back from an upfield run and with Toquero bearing down on goal, Culebras had to try to intercept him. It seemed the gentlest of touches from Culebras but the forward went down, the ref waved the red card, and Llorente converted the penalty.

The second goal started with a long clearance from the keeper, Llorente won the aerial challenge with Alfaro and nodded the ball onto Toquero, who ran through the Tenerife defence for a simple goal. Alfaro and Nino worked a great exchange late in the half but Nino couldn’t beat Iraizoz in goal.

Athletic thought they had added a third soon after the break but it was clearly offside, another defensive lapse gave them the chance to make up for it. Koikili drilled a low cross in front of the Tenerife goal and Iraola had time to shape up and take his shot in the area. To their credit Tenerife hit back, Juanlu laid on an inviting pass to Alfaro, who slipped it past the keeper. The final nail came from Gabilondo, another player given the freedom of the goal area.

Alfaro tried a curling shot that just missed the bar, and Nino was through on a break and set up substitute Kome who skied his shot at the clouds. Nino managed another pop at goal but the game was well out of reach. The pressure is mounting now, getting at least a point at home to Real Madrid next Saturday night (7pm) is a tall order but vital to avoid slipping further out of touch.

This will go down as one of the classic nights in the Heliodoro, CD Tenerife full of confidence and passion seeing off fourth placed Mallorca 1-o, and the Carnaval crowd full of song (and beer) roaring them on to a much needed win. A late injury to Manolo meant changes to the defence, Culebras came in for a rare appearance and had a fine game.

The Armada Sur pre match Doradas went down well as we watched the colourful, crazy and downright strange costumes that fans were wearing, The Morons came as Batman and a Wicked Queen (you can guess which was which) and Twat Hat looked spooky in a Scream mask – well he does serve spirirts. Onto the game, there were some great outfits around the terracing, very camp looking security guards lent over the top tier but I was more taken by the police chicks, adds a new meaning to “will you come quietly Sir?”.

Mallorca are red hot at home but don’t travel well, Tenerife tested them from the start and soon got their reward. Alfaro  picked out Nino with a perfect ball and amid the hesitation for a possible offside call, Nino slotted it into the net for a 1-0 lead. A couple of minutes later he nearly added another but Nunes blocked his effort. The visitors only looked good in patches, Suarez unleashed a 25 yard rocket but Sergio pulled off a great save. Marti tried to squeeze the ball past Sergio at the post soon after but the keeper was again equal to the attempt.

Tenerife came out the stronger for the second half, lifted by the fantastic Carnaval atmosphere among the 18,000 crowd. Israel keeper Aouate had to be at his best to deny Omars top corner shot and a low effort from Nino. For once it was Tenerife looking the confident side, but Mallorca had their moments, Suarez tested Sergio again and lively sub Webo came close with a diving header. Nothing was going to spoil this party, not even 5 minutes of injury time conjured up by the ref, Tenerife held their ground to milk a deserved ovation at the final whistle. Any of the players going down to the all night Carnaval celebrations would be assured of a queue of free drinks, they earned it. More pics and coverage on www.tenerifemagazine.com

I change my socks at least once a season – even if they don’t need it, so why can’t CD Tenerife coach Oltra change his tactics. Another game with Nino stuck up front on his own, Alfaro lurking somewhere back in midfield, and no punch in front of goal. What a surprise, we lost 1-0 at Osasuna, still no away win this season, and firmly embedded in the relegation zone.

The pack remains the same after the transfer window was untouched by CDT, the least we can do is shuffle what little we have to break a formula that just doesn’t work. The first home game of the season saw CDT beat Osasuna 2-1Â but it never looked likely today, if it hadn’t have been for the dependable Sergio Aragoneses (above) in goal, Osasuna would have won by a bigger margin. They came out blazing Padiani hit the post in the first minute but was offside, Aranda shot wide a minute later and Sicilia made a timely interception a few minutes later with the dangerous forward in a good position. The former Birmingham City player came back for more with a sizzling long range shot that Aragonoses turned aside.

Tenerife got into the game, Alonso shot at the home keeper and later blasted a hard shot wide but in between Luna had to spare Sicilia after gave away the ball and Sergio was decisive running out to deny Masoud, and followed that by taking the ball cleanly as Pandiani bore down on him. Alfaro tried a weak chip, and Ricardo hammered a long shot wide, but for much of the time Nino was again isolated.

Just after the break, the winning goal arrived, Camunas put a good ball in from the right to find Aranda, he placed his shot as Manolo ran back to intercept it, but he was too slow and when he tried to hook it away, it was already in the goal. That sparked a brief flurry from Tenerife, Alfaro hit the target but was offside, Nino got the ball well up the field and held it up, but by the time Kome had arrived to help him, the defence had closed in on him. Alfaro pounced on a half clearance from Nino to shoot wide but Aranda came closes to scoring with a hard shot that brought the best out of Sergio again.

At least we got to see Omar back in action, on as a 70th minute substitute but even a draw was beyond Tenerife, Nino could have had the last word, instead his shot sailed by the home post. And so the pressure builds, next Mondays 8pm home game with Mallorca is vital to get Tenerife back on track, or it could see coach Oltra becoming a hot dog seller at Santa Cruz Carnaval. In the meantime he might like to look at Airan who scored 2 more goals for the B team in their 3-0 win over Leganes, taking his tally to 25.

A squad boosted by 6 transfer window signings, good use of substitutions, and clinical finishing. Sadly that was Real Zaragoza, not CD Tenerife as one of only 2 teams below Tenerife snatched a 3-1 win in Santa Cruz. This was awful, especially after last weeks hard fought home 0-0 draw with Valencia, leading 1-0, coach Oltra went against all his past attacking swaps and took Kome off to bring on holding midfielder Roman. A disputed penalty later the visitors were level and Tenerife surrendered.

I feared a bad day, storms were swirling around the island and once at our pre match bar, I realised I had forgotten my season ticket, thankfully The General had a spare to sell. As we entered the ground, the rain began to pour down, but we were happy to get wet, as Tenerife started well, and were all over a disjointed Zaragoza side. Juanlu continued his great form, setting up Alfaro after 11 miutes, but his header went wide. Sicilia could have gone one better, his header was blocked on the line by Contini. Former Liverpool player Jermaine Pennant was getting nowhere down the wing as Bertran stood firm, and new Czech signing Jiri Jarosik showed little of his glory days with Chelsea, Birmingham and Celtic.

The first half went much the way of the previous few, Tenerife well on top but unable to finish, Nino and Alfaro got into some good positions but just didn’t have the killer touch. The home fans did their best to lift the players, the heavy rain was now joined by bright warm sunshine, giving a surreal feel to the terraces. Half time chatter was about regretting our missed chances but there was a nice surprise after the resart. Sicilia crossed the ball in from the left and Juanlu popped it in the net from close range for a 1-0 lead. Then came that crazy change from coach Oltra, of all the players to bring on, Roman had to be the most puzzling and unpopular, his first action saw him get booked and he was back to sloppy passing and losing possesion.

A few minutes before Romans arrival, Zaragoza introduced new forward Colungu and Gabi, and they added more punch to the visitors. Arizmendi joined the attack a few minutes later and on one of his first runs he went down in the area after a Luna tackle, Chilean Suazo, another new player, stepped up and equalised. Suddenly Zaragoza had control and looked hungry whilst the Tenerife players heads dropped. Suazo set up Colungu and the lively forward put the ball over Sergio in goal to give the visitors the lead. The game was over, it was just a matter of how heavy a defeat, 4 minutes later Suazo turned provider again, passing to Lafita who unleashed a 30 yard screamer into the top corner of the net.

The rain was easing by then but the depression was just setting in, all our worst nightmares had come true. Fans streamed off the terraces to the exits, and at the final whistle the Tenerife players slunk off with barely a wave to the crowd. All eyes are now on the transfer window, midnight monday is the deadline – we need a helping hand.

This was much better, a tighter defence, lots of width and creativity in attack, and a 90 minute performance. It could well have been a home win if it wasn’t for the inevitable poor finishing and some great saves from former Spurs keeper Cesar Sanchez. Captain Marc Bertran returned at right back last week but looked a little rusty, here he was at his inspiring best, Manolo Martinez had one of his best games dominating central defence, Luna had David Silva in his pocket most of the game, and Sicilia looked much more composed in the left back role.

It was a frantic start, a Juanlu free kick found Sicilia whose shot was well saved by Sanchez and Nino just failed to convert a rebound from a Kome effort. David Silva had a clear chance after 6 minutes, his shot nearly eluded Sergio in the Tenerife g0al, but he held it at the second attempt. Alfaro found himself through 2 defenders and bearing down on the visiting keeper, he was a bit hesitiant with his shot and Sanchez mopped it up with ease.

The initial pace slowed a little but Tenerife kept on probing forward looking for chances. Ricardo sat this one out on suspension, his replacement Roman again looked poor and failed to control the ball when it mattered. Tenerife were the better side but couldn’t make the advantage pay off. Valencia had a rare but strong chance after 34 minutes when Mata unleashed a rasping shot, but Sergio made a magnificent save to turn the ball away.

There was nearly a perfect start to the second half, Alfaro thought he had scored but a Valencia defender managed to scramble the ball off the goal line. Hernandez revived the visitors interests 10 minutes into play with a shot that shaved the crossbar but Tenerife were still looking good. Silva wasted a good chance, passing to David Villa who could only manage a tame shot that hardly troubled Sergio. Manolo was a towering prescence in the home defence and made a strong clearance from Silva when he went for goal but it was a brief respite for Valencia as Nino had another chance but couldn’t neat Sanchez.

Coach Oltra could see the game was up for grabs and brought on Ayoze for his 150th game in CDT colours, replacing Kome. Angel came on a few minutes later for Sicilia to boost the attacking options, and both sides had further chances to take the 3 points. Sergio reacted well under pressure to turn a goal chance into a corner, and Angel saw his late shot hit the post. The final whistle heralded a well deserved draw for Tenerife, hopefully a good boost for next Sundays must win home game versus Zaragoza.

It would be cruel to blame anyone for letting a first minute lead slip to a 1-1 draw at Almeria but, Dani Kome, just how did you miss that second half sitter? To be fair, others were also guilty of similar crimes, Nino and Alfaro both looked woefully casual in front of goal.

It started so well, captain Marc Bertran (pic) was back in the line up, releasing his stand in Juanlu to a more attacking midfield role, and it paid off. Kome had his first minute shot parried by the Almeria keeper and Juanlu drove the rebound into the net. The restored midfielder could have added a second 10 minutes later, breaking before firing to the keepers left. Cisma was a big threat for the home team, but Sergio denied him with a strong low save. Alfaro was blocked by Chico and Nino forced him to give away a free kick, alas the resulting shot went wide. Ricardo showed good vision, sending in a long looping shot which the keeper held. Â

Into the second half, Almeria thought they had scored but it was ruled out for a foul on Sergio the CDT keeper. Nino set up Alfaro but he ran into the home defence, and then came Kome’s moment. Alfaro crossed the ball, Juanlu nodded it on across the goalmouth and it fell to Kome who shot over the bar. A few minutes later Almeria were level, Soriano put Goitom through and he walked through the centre of the Tenerife defence, Bertran really should have got a tackle in, and scored. Tenerife needed a helping hand, Almeria obliged, Piatti stupidly kicked the ball away after an offside call, and with a yellow earlier, he was sent off.

A big push was needed, Ayoze came on for Mikel but Tenerife were guilty of some sloppy passing and half hearted shooting. Nino had a great chance and hit it sky high, and spurned another chance in the final minute, again putting it over. This really should have been the elusive first away win, the 7 yellow cards Tenerife picked up in a game that was never dirty, could also come back to haunt them. Next week will be tough at home to Valencia, and the week after Zaragoza come visiting, one of only 2 sides below Tenerife – and that’s only the start of the second half of the season!

Like a sleek majestic Rolls Royce, compared to CD Tenerifes snow plough with no grit, Barcelona cruised to a 5-0 win in Santa Cruz. Early promise for Tenerife faded as their old finishing problems saw them squander 3 good chances, you just can’t do that against the best team in the world.

Even before the game, Barcelona were dictating events, our 2 coach loads of Armada Sur fans drove into Santa Cruz only to hit a road block as media and fans mobbed the city centre Atlantida Hotel, waiting to see the Barcelona players head to the ground by coach. We all piled off and made our way around the back streets to the ground, police were everywhere, there were more than we normally get for the Las Palmas derby.

The night before, 600 Barca fans converged on Tegueste, home to one of the 25 peñas (fan clubs) that the Catalan team has across the Canary Islands. Around the Heliodoro fans queued, a few wore Barcelona shirts and Tenerife scarves, how patronising is that? so kind of them to have us as their little second team. The pre match tifo (banners and tick a tape) was stunning, turning the whole ground into a cascade of blue and white.

For the first 30 minutes Tenerife took the game to their visitors, Alfaro had 2 clear chances but couldn’t beat keeper Valdes, and Nino saw his shot hit the bar. Bojan produced the only real chance for Barcelona after 9 minutes and for a while the illusion of parity continued. Barcelona stepped up the pace after 36 minutes, Bojan dashed down the left wing and crossed the ball for Messi, who finished with ease to take the lead. Thiery Henry could have quickly doubled the score, his shot trickled wide of the Tenerife goal with Sergio well beaten. Messi played his part in making it 2-0, his free kick finding Puyol just before half time, and Barcelona rammed home their advantage, Messi tapping in a third from a break by Iniesta, 3-0 game over just as the half time whistle blew.

The second half saw Tenerife chasing shadows, Dinei came on for Ayoze but couldn’t add a spark to the attack as Nino struggles alone again, Alfaro having another poor game. Messi completed his hat trick with a classy little chip into the top corner of the Tenerife net, and Pedro, their Abades born youngster that slipped through the Tenerife scouting system, took to the field.

Kome put a shot well over the visitors bar, a rare chance for Tenerife, before Pedro made it 5-0 with a hint of own goal from Luna, a former college friend of Messi back in Argentina. It was a sad sight to see many part time Tenerife fans streaming towards the exits long before the end, the referee showed a sense of compassion and called time spot on 90 minutes. In the end an easy win for Barcelona, good job their top scorer Ibrahimovic was suspended.

Thankfully the other results down the bottom of the table went Tenerife’s way, but next Sunday is a mammoth game at Almeria, but it is difficult to see where the goals will come from without some new blood before the transfer window closes.

Before the game the groundsmen forked the UK style quagmire of a pitch, but after 90 minutes it was CD Tenerife who were well forked off, not offering enough in a 2-0 defeat. Racing were just below CDT with the leakiest home defence in La Liga, they were there for the taking, but Tenerife looked lightweight up front, Ayoze (below)Â being the pick of the bunch.

Tenerife relied on the offside trap and it saved them after 3 minutes when their defence opened up and Racing put the ball in the net, only to have it ruled out. Neither side shone in the first half, Alfaro has been the big let down of the season so far, and had another quiet game, Kome showed why Cameroon haven’t picked him for their African cup squad, and Nino was again crying out for some decent support.

Juanlu filled the right back slot again and was exposed a coupl of times, but there were chances for Tenerife. Ricardo went close after 30 minutes with a long range fierce free kick and Kome missed his chance after Nino unselfishly let the ball threw to him in front of goal. Sicilia had to come to Tenerifes rescue with a timely intervention in the box and Bellvis made a good late clearance, but at half time a 0-0 draw looked favourite.

Ayoze was bundled down in the penalty area just after the break, worth a half jearted shout, and kome couldn’t clean up after the home keeper failed to hold the ball. Tenerife played some of their best football at this stage but there was no end product. Angel replaced Kome, Mikel had a strong shot tipped over but Colsa found himself with no Tenerife defender near him, to make it 1-0 after 72 minutes. Three minutes later the frail Tenerife defence was caught on the break as Xisco marched through to seal the game at 2-0.

Dinei, on for Ayoze, just about squeezed the ball over the Racing goal line but was clearly offside, and Juanlu looked more at home when he went forward and set up Nino, who put his shot over. A flat start to 2010, January is a hard month with Barcelona and Valencia the next visitors to Santa Cruz, the lack of an away win is hanging heavy on Tenerife, a transfer window addition would be very welcome.

It was so close, CD Tenerife matched Athletico Madrid all the way in an exciting clash in Santa Cruz, but they will look back on the 1-1 draw as a great opportunity missed. Nino was buzzing and caused the visitors loads of problems but Asenjo was the star for Madrid, crowning a fine goalkeeping display with a penalty save from Nino.

The north put the south to shame for once, dry and no sign of the heavy rain we left behind  in Las Americas, a near full house only had to wait 2 minutes to rejoice. Juanlu’s free kick found Alfaro and he flicked the ball on to Nino who placed it perfectly for an early lead. That sparked some great creative play from both sides, Mikel Alonso was bag pulling the strings in midfield for Tenerife, and Athletico had 2 sharp forwards in Jurado and former Man Utd player Diego Forlan.

Alfaro hit the post after 10 mins, Forlan flashed a shot past the CDT goal shortly after, and the fabs were lapping up a feast of football. Jurado and Forlan combined after 21 minutes and opened up the Tenerife defence, beating Bellvis down the left, and ending with Jurado hitting the equalizer. Just before half time Tenerife were gifted a penalty when Dominguez handled the ball, Nino hit a weak shot and Asenjo saved it with some ease.

The second half saw both sides chase the game, Ayoze, Nino and Alfaro created plenty of chances but found the visiting keeper a tough barrier to beat. Both sides tried to spaice up their attack, Angel came on for Tenerife and former Liverpool front man Pongolle left the bench for Madrid. Kome, having one of his quiet games, went close on the counter attack after 86 minutes, but the best chance came in injury time. The ball came across to Nino in the area and he tried an overhead kick that just missed the target, what a finish that would have been.

If pre season you had asked offerd Tenerife fans a 12th place for the festive break, they would have gladly settled for that. The transfer window flies open in January and a couple more key players would be very welcome, but we know that money is tight at the club. A strong end though to a mighty year in the history of CD Tenerife.