I’m sure the girls room was all sweetness and lavender, but in the lads Madrid hotel rooms there was snoring on the richter scale, so I did well to hear the early morning knock on the door. I was just at the dream stage where Sue Barker was about to ravish me, and a glance at my watch showed it was 10am and all thoughts of an early start had evaporated.

At 30 euros a night our rooms didn’t include breakfast but a nice coffee and bakery cafe next door did the job. Sluggish was the word of the morning, so as the girls hit some more museums, and The General chilled out, 4 of us walked up into the city centre, braving the cold. It took us just over an hour but we took our time and savoured the delights of the city. Atocha station (above) proved to be very distracting, a huge indoor garden included turtles playing in the pond and a few suitable statues for us to pose with. Heading up the road, we saw the Villareal team out for a stroll in their team tracksuits, they were playing Athletico Madrid later that night, but with the TV cameras following them, we couldn’t resist showing our colours and singing a few Tenerife songs, hope we made the news reports.

Madrid is a very arty vibrant city, there was a big market on at Parque del Retiro, but we pushed on to near the centre as our beer taste buds were tingling. The Cathedral restaurant bar beckoned us in with its warm historic allure, what a lovely place, big, ornate and grand, we settled at the bar and tucked into the bottles of San Miguel, each round was accompanied by a plate of tapas – hmm we could get quite comfortable here. Time sipped by and we had to head down to Atocha station to meet the others and take the 10 minute mainland train to Getafe, a mere 1.35 euros each. What a dump of a place, like an old industrial estate, with an anoying lack of open bars, we crossed the wastelands and eventually found the stadium to buy our 40 euros (rip off) tickets. Thankfully with 90 mintues to go to kick off and the temperature plunging, we found some other CDT fans and tracked down a nice warm bar with a very welcoming barmaid, honestly I was only looking at here bar nibbles.

Into the game and we joined the 300 CDT fans on the freezing terrace, the ground was very open and we were just behind one goal. The game followed a familiar pattern, Tenerife dominating much of the early play but failing to make it pay, Nino went close on the half hour and Richi put the ball in the net only to have it ruled offside – well it was – just. Of course it came back to haunt Tenerife, a few minutes later Sergio failed to hold a cross and Albin bundled the ball in the net for a home lead.

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Another mistake in the second half effectively killed the game, Manolo Martinez tried to take on a Getafe forward instead of clearing the ball and let Albin in for an easy second. Oltra tried his subs and Juanlu, fresh on for Richi, pounced on a home mistake after good work from Nino, to make it 2-1. Tenerife were running out of time but tried hard, the fans continued to spur them on, at least it was a way of keeping warm, but the game was gone.

There were some moments of light relief, when the ball went out of play into a netted moat, a young lad had to fish it out with a net, of course we didn’t make fun of him or give him any abuse – well not much. Trying to get our blood moving again, we marched back to the train station, stopping off for a few beers at a bar, and then on to the city centre again for more beers and the inevitable kebabs. With a view to our 4am taxis to the airport, we headed back to the hotel and indulged in a few late cans while watching the football on tv in our rooms. The early start was tough but we managed it with time to kill at the airport, many of the Canarian lads had crashed overnight at the airport after a heavy session, but thankfully we overcame a 40 minute take off delay as blizzards swept the airport. It was so good to get back to the early morning sun of Tenerife, but I cant wait for the next away game.

Some offers are too good to miss, pre christmas Ryanair flights to Madrid for 26 euros return, to take in a CD Tenerife away, I couldn’t say no. Sitting on the tarmac at Tenerife South airport, waiting an hour for take off due to fog in the Spanish capital, wasn’t the ideal Saturday morning start, but we eventually got the ok.

I was in a group of 7 fine ambassadors from the Armada Sur,we soon found plenty of Canarian friends from the other peñas (fan clubs) some had made an early start on the booze, before boarding. Putting our watches forward an hour after the 2.5 hour flight, we bundled through Terminal 4 and found the Metro, loaded up on tickets and made a couple of changes on the way down to our hotel NH Atocha (another bargain at 30 euros a night)  near the Pacifico stop. Once we were out in the open, the cold started to bite and on went the extra layers, the remains of the fog lingered in the air, but we soon found our hotel and checked in.

Hey, we didn’t just throw this trip together, The General had sussed out that Second Division Rayo Vallecano were at home early evening, so as Kirstie and Nikki went up town to explore museums, the Freezing Five walked through the run down and strangely quiet neighbourhood, looking for bars on the way. Watering holes were scarce so we ended up at a bar near the ground, previously invaded by Tenerife fans last season. As we thawed out, the beer and tapas started flowing, it was fairly empty at first but a hoard of Numancia fans (above) descended, complete with drums and turned up the volume. We of course proudly uncovered our Tenerife colours and both the home and visiting fans were very friendly and welcoming.

Armed with our 15 euro match tickets, we grabbed a last cheeky beer opposite the entrance and took our place on the chilly terracing. Rayo is a 3 sided ground, flats are built at one end, the 11,500 crowd were pretty subdued, only breaking into song once they were 4-1 up well into the second half. We mingled a bit and tried to stop our feet from turning to ice, the Numancia fans up in the corner of one stand, did their best to life the atmosphere but lost heart as their team lost goals.

Heading back to the hotel, the streets had filled up, evening shopping seems the in thing at Rayo, we managed to resisit buying any of the tat on sale at the market stalls. Back at the hotel the girls were happy with their afternoons browsing and ready to join us for night time in the city centre. The metro system is clean and efficient and delivered us quickly to Sol, slap bang in the centre. You can never get enough football, so we found a large lively Irish bar with big screens showing the evenings games and set about demolishing a few cold Coronitas. Hunger was kicking in by this stage, so we found a big kebab restaurant, that worryingly had a huge painting of a horse on the wall-I was assured by those who indulged in a large kebab that the meat seemed true to its menu description.

Madrid is a lively and busy city, especially on a Saturday night, we had a little wander around the main square to take photos and everyone was friendly, enjoying the pre christmas lights , living art displays, and bustle. Three of our party went back to the hotel at a reasonable hour, while we headed to a rock bar, Parada de Los Monstrous, Â a short metro ride away in Iglesia. The beer was reasonable, especially the 6.5 % Yuste, and we even got a seat near the DJ, so we could feed him requests for old classics like New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen,he found most of them. By 2.30am we were flaging, even though the bar was just getting going, so we piled in a taxi and back for some sleep before the big day.

Life doesn’t get much better, CD Tenerife back to winning ways, Nino looking sharp and scoring goals, and CDT up in 12th position in La Liga, hmm wonder why my head hurts this morning. Coach Oltra surprised many people by recalling Hector to left back to replace the suspended Bellvis, but he played a strong part in this tremendous 2-1 home win over Sporting Gijon.

The game was just 2 minutes old when the 19,281 crowd erupted as Tenerife seemed to take the lead. Sicilia headed the ball at the goal and it looked to have crossed the line before former Tenerife goalie Juan Pablo clawed it back, the referee was having none of it and waved play on. Within a minute Sporting took the lead, Diego Castro beat Juanlu and fired the ball past Sergio for an early lead.

Tenerife reacted well and fought hard to control the game, Mikel Alonso was having another great game in midfield and Ricardo was on top of his game, spreading intelligent passes to pick out his team mates. Nino had a couple of chances but couldn’t quite convert them, it was clear that he was feeling more confident and looking like the player that led the scoring charts last season. Oltra got banished to the stands after 19 minutes, the referee said afterwards that he was shouting and screaming too much – sensitive soul.

Tenerife dominated the second half, Ricardo beat his marker and unleashed a goal bound strike from outside the area to level the scores after 54 minutes. Angel was brought on for Kome to add to the attack as Tenerife went in search of the winner. It soon came when Nino shrugged off the defence and fired a hard shot past Juan Pablo from an acute angle to make it 2-1. There was only one team in it now, Sporting couldn’t match Tenerife’s hunger and hard work, Angel had 3 decent chances to increase the lead, the nest just before the final whistle.

The several hundred Sporting fans went home empty handed, but for Tenerife fans it was another convincing victory. Next Sunday is Getafe away, I will be in Madrid for the weekend with a large selection of hand picked ambassadors for our island, confidence is high, even if the temperature will be chillingly low.

It took CD Tenerife 60 minutes and a 3-0 deficit to realise that Valladolid are a poor team, but after that they roared back to draw 3-3 for their first away point of the season. This was a weird game, Tenerife were awful in the first half and looked like they had given up before they started, in the end they will be able to draw a huge confidence boost from a spirited fightback.

Tenerife looked supect down their left side from the start and Valladolid exploited that, a 5th minute raid by Costa went all the way to the goal line before a frantic CDT clearance. Another break followed but this time Sergio Aragoneses was there to make a great save. Omar and Alfaro were having quiet games leaving Nino with a lot to do on his own but he had a good charge after 17 minutes but ran into a defensive wall. Just before the half hour Valladolid took the lead, Costa shrugged off Bellvis and Alonso trying to cover the middle, and powered through to score.

A few minutes later it got worse, Alonso fouled Canobbio in the box and he slotted home his penalty. Nino had 2 more chancs before half time, the best a header from a great Omar cross, but Tenerife could hardly complain at going in 2-0 down. Valladolid started the second half strongly with 3 good shots on goal, Sergio’s point blank save again saved his team mates but Costa rose above the Tenerife defence to make sure the next chance brought a goal.

This was looking very bad, thankfully CDT dug deep and came back into the game, coach Oltra brought on Angel for Omar and it livened up the attack. Nino took advantage of a defensive mix up to nip in and pull one back, Alfaro spurned a clear chance soon after, but the home side were looking jittery. Tenerife broke forward again, this time Angel was sharp and made it 3-2, he nearly followed up with another but his final touch let him down. With 5 minutes left  Ayoze’s cross beat the defence and an attempted header by Luna and tied the scores at 3-3. There was time for more drama, Luna got a second yellow card and was off, and Angel sliced a shot wide after good play from Nino. After such a poor start, Tenerife will be feeling they could have shaded it 4-3, still a point is very welcome.

Next Sunday Sporting Gijon visit Santa Cruz for a 4pm kick off, and the week after we will hope for that elusive first away win at Getafe, I will be there with a selection of other hand picked ambassadors for Tenerife, can’t wait.

This was a much better performance from Tenerife, but Sevilla looked a class act full of skill, speed and power, but they were still a little lucky to win 2-1. The pre match signs weren’t good Kome (injured) and Alfaro (his loan forbids him playing against his parent club) were missing and Sevilla were in a hot vein of form. Just before kick off there was a minutes silence for German goalkeeper Robert Enke, on loan at Tenerife in 2003, whose depression fuelled suicide shocked football.

From the off Sevilla showed their attacking flair, former Spurs and West Ham forward Kanoute dominated up front and speedy wingers Perotti and Navas were a constant threat on the flanks. Tenerife coach Oltra had another go at filling the problem right back slot, this time putting Luna there, and he had a torrid time. Mikel Alonso came back in midfield and had a great game for the home side, directing play and prompting his team mates.

Konko went close in the 2nd minute heading past the Tenerife goal and Kanoute had a great chance 10 mins later but fired it at Sergio Aragoneses in the CDT goal. Mikel forced a save with an ambitious long shot as Tenerife matched their 3rd placed visitors. Sevilla turned on the style at the half hour mark, Bellvis lost the ball at left back and Navas nipped in and cantered down the flank before crossing for Perotti to score. Ricardo ended the first half, forcing a save out of the Sevilla keeper.

Tenerife raised their game in the second half, Juanlu headed wide and Nino was flattened in the box, but no penalty was given. Sevilla made it 2-0 with a thunderbolt from Renato, and Tenerife were facing a near impossible task. That didn’t deter them, Nino was isolated up front but seemed to be relishing the challenge, showing some of his old confidence, he blasted a strong shot just wide and the 20,552 crowd responded, urging a hopeful revival.

Sevilla were always dangerous on the break due to their lighning reflexes, Navas fired a shot high over the Tenerife goal. Tenerife stuck to their task and got their reward after 74 minutes, Juanlu came in from the right and set up Nino who struck the ball perfectly to pull a goal back. Tenerife tried to get a deserved equaliser but Sevilla sat on their lead as the game ticked away. With just a few minutes to go Luna picked up a booking that will sideline him for next Sundays game at Valladolid, but Tenerife showed enough character and determination in this game to give then renewed encouragement for the next few games.

This has to be the lowest point of the season, losing 1-0 at home to Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey, even worse than the 2-1 defeat in the away leg. Celta are struggling in the bottom four of the Second Division but were more than a match for CDT. Poor passing, losing the ball too easily and a general lack of urgency and purpose all helped to humble Tenerife, there were schoolboy errors – maybe it’s time for a new teacher, coach Oltra chalked up his 100th game in charge but can’t seem to motivate the players any more.

Tenerife put out a strong line up, and there was a decent 13,328 crowd, so we were hoping they would go all out to claw back the one goal deficit, how wrong we were. Alfaro missed a good chance in the first minute but Celta soon put the pressure on the home goal, Garcia had to save from Saulo after 14 minutes. At times Celta had Tenerife pinned down in their own end and relying on some desperate clearances, Alfaro squandered a couple of more chances and it was all looking a bit desperate.

Tenerife looked a bit better starting the second half, but slipped back into sloppy habits. Omar continues to improve and made a great run down the left and into the box, leaving the ball for Dinei, somehow he managed to miss his golden opportunity, a signal that Tenerife were about to say goodbye to the cup.

Because of the away goal, Tenerife only needed to score once to go through and Celta could afford to sit on the draw. It didn’t look like that, Nino and Angel came on for CDT but both looked poor. Celta even went down to 10 men, Vasco got his marching orders for a second yellow, although his tackle on Omar looked fair. Time for a late Tenerife rally? not quite, Celta broke on the counter attack and Luna lost the ball to Danilo to score the only goal of the night.

Sad news reached us after the game, German goalkeeper Robert Enke (above), on loan at Tenerife in 2004, committed suicide on a rail crossing in Germany. Robert impressed with some great performances in CDT colours and went on to play for Hannover, he would have been at the 2010 World Cup as third choice keepr for Germany. Friends say he never came to terms with the death of his 2 year old daughter in 2006 from a heart problem.

The key to staying in La Liga looked like finding 3 teams worse than Tenerife, the reality isn’t quite that simple, we still have to beat them. This was a shameful waste of 2 points against the bottom placed team, CDT were cruising at 2-0 up after half an hour but a sloppy, uninspired performance let Malaga back in.

It was quite a low key start to the game, Malaga looked poor with Portugese forward Edihno their only real threat, Sergio Aragoneses denied him after 15 minutes. Tenerife gradually got into their stride and Omar showed some great ball control to set up Roman for a 17th minute home lead. It got better barely 10 minutes later, Nino found Kome and his ball to Alfaro was gratefully fired into the Malaga net by the CDT forward.

That should have been the start of an easy romp, but it’s never easy for Tenerife fans, Malaga hit back straight away, Edinho exploting the CDT defence to pull a goal back. Aragoneses was kicking the goal post in anger and frustration at his defence, but he showed his own class a few minutes later, arching his body back to tip over a goal bound shot.

Into the second half and Tenerife really fell apart. Alfaro had a penalty claim turned down, he was tackled in the box and had a fair claim but made the most of his fall, and put doubts in the referees mind. Duda forced another save out of Sergio and Alfaro went close again at the other end, but there seemed a lack of urgency about Tenerife. They paid the price after 76 minutes when Sergio’s save came out to Lopez, who scored on his senior debut. It was a dismal ending for the 17,761 crowd, Nino looked poor again, near the end of the game he froze when the ball broke free in front of goal, and then fired a shot outside the Malaga post.

Tuesday night it’s home in the Copa del Rey 2nd round, with a 2-1 deficit to make up from the first leg, kick off 7pm. Internationals mean a blank weekend next week, but in 2 weeks time Sevilla are the visitors, at least it brings us a bit nearer to the January transfer window – reinforcements are definately needed.

It’s cat kicking time at Kirby Towers after a hefty 5-0 away loss to Villareal, one of the teams below CDT in La Liga. Tenerife played well in the first half and had much more possesion but poor finishing was again their downfall.

Tenerife coach Oltra described Champions League regulars Villareal as slumbering beasts, sadly for Tenerife they chose today to wake up. Llorente was nearly on the score sheet after 5 minutes, thankfully Aragonoses was more alert than his defence and foiled him. Nino had a good chance just after but skied it over the goal, Llorente showed him how to do it, slipping through CDT’s slack centre backs Sicila and Martinez to make it 1-0.

Alfaro put Omar through in front of goal but the young striker couldn’t quite control the ball to convert it, Nino (pic) had another clear chance and hit it straight at the keeper, and Omar hit the post. Llorente showed he was human, failing to score after a slip by Sicilia, and trailing 1-0 at half time, Tenerife were still hopeful. Villareal came out after the break fired up, Pires latched onto a great long pass to make it 2-0, then a double whammy knocked the stuffing out of the visitors. Former Man Utd forward Rossi finished off a great move to add a third and barely a minute later, Llorente showed his class, beating Martinez, chipping the ball over Aragonoses, and running on to head it in the net.

Tenerife kept going, Nino showed a flash of last seasons form, beating 2 players and curling in a shot that just missed the goal. Villareal had the last word, a break down the left ended with Cani making it 5-0 with his second touch. Next Saturday at home it’s bottom placed Malaga and another must win game.

Chomping at the bit, pulling out all the stops to nail a regular first team slot – that’s what I was hoping for from a much changed starting line up in the Copa del Rey 4th round, first leg at Celta Vigo last night. Sadly it didn’t turn out that way, a 2-1 defeat should be easily overturned in the home leg, but this was not an impressive display.

Tenerife started without Nino and Alfaro, preferring Ayoze (pic), Omar, Angel and Dinei as the forward options, but CDT struggled to get over the half way line in the first half hour. Luis Garcia in goal was tested and plucked out a few high balls, often his weak spot, Saulo shot wide after just 3 minutes as Celta looked to conradict their lowly second division placing. Richi had a decent chance from a break but shot wide in a brief respite from Celta’s attacks. Saulo got his goal after 20 minutes, catching the Tenerife defence off guard, another wave followed, this time Michu headed home to make it 2-0.

Celta were rampant and our thoughts went back 24 hours to Real Madrids 4-0 huniliation at Alcorcon. Tenerife managed to rally and put some pressure on their hosts. Ayoze put a good cross in and Richi rose to head the ball in the net on the stroke of half time-phew. The blanquiazul were a little better in the second half, Angel couldn’t carry on after earlier treatment for a nasty gash on his leg, Saizar replaced him for a new forward combination. Arthuro missed an open goal for the home side just before the ineffective Dinei gave way to Nino after 76 minutes. Celta tired but Tenerife couldn’t level the game, Juanlu went close with a header and Saizar hit the post in injury time. The away goal could be vital, but a more convincing performance would be appreciated in the second leg. Like a naughty teenager, Tenerife were just pleased to get the first leg over.

Last seasons 2-0 home win over Xerez was the best game of the season, but times have changed for both promoted sides. Xerez arrived with a tight 5 man defence and no appetite to play football, while Tenerife huffed and puffed but again lacked firepower, the eventual 1-0 win was not pretty but the points were very welcome.

The players ran out to a sea of white, blue and yellow, part of the 45th anniversary of the Canarian Independence flag, and for the first half Tenerife were the only side in it. Changes in defence saw Manolo and Sicillia resume their central partnership with Bellvis and Nunez filling the full back slots. The defence had little to test them as Xerez sat back and tried to block the midfield. Roman went close after 5 minutes and Nino spurned a clearer opportunity near the half hour mark.

Everyone was willing Nino to hit the net and revive his form, his team mates were clearly aware of his desperate need for a goal and tried to set him up but too often the final touch was a bit slow in coming. CDT showed some good build up play with Kome and Roman sparking in midfield but Xerez were a tough nut to crack. The second half was pretty dire, Tenerife lost their way and their passing became sloppy, coach Oltra tried to pep them up and the introduction of Omar after 61 minutes, and Angel just after, gave them some new life.

The goal came from a move down the left, Bellvis started it off feeding Omar out wide, he flashed in a cross and Alfaro was there to meet it with his head, the crowd cheers were as much of relief as joy. Tenerife held on against their poor visitors to seal victory in front of a slightly dissapointing 17,754 crowd.

It’s a busy week ahead, Monday is awards night in Madrid, Oltra, Bertran, Ricardo, Alfaro and Nino are all in the frame at the LFP (players union) presentations for last season. Nino has to be extra versatile as at a seperate venue across Madrid he will receive his Pichichi award for Segunda top goal scorer. Then on Wednesday night, it’s the away leg of the Copa del Rey against Celta Vigo.