Sorting out my sock bag the other day I noticed that most were old, worn out and with holes in them, time for a clear out, I feel rather similar about this seasons CD Tenerife squad. At last we got a win with this 1-0 home victory over Recreativo but we barely deserved it, the last minute penalty looked quite generous and much of the game was bogged down in midfield and uninspiring, relegation has just been postponed for another day soon.
Half an hour before the game around 300 fans gathered behind the Tribuna stand to protest at the way the club has been run this season, weak management, and players that have shown no real passion for the club, as one of the banners pointed out, the fans are the only innocent party in all this mess. Some fans also boycotted the first 10 minutes of the game, I didn’t as I like to see all the action, it gives me something to moan about. The wide open spaces in the stadium were glaringly obvious and even when the protesters came in it still looked a poor crowd, the official 6,872 was quite a bit above what I estimated.
Never mind surely the players would respond to the protests by raising their game, alas not, it was another poor display that showed why we are hurtling towards Segunda B. Coach Amaral changed the shape and line up of the team again, Nino was alone up front again with Hidalgo playing just behind him and Omar and Durbarbier were supposed to be covering the flanks but kept getting sucked into the midfield swamp. Alonso started the game and showed some of the control we have been missing but mentally the Tenerife team are already relegated and it showed.
Sergio Aragoneses was the busiest player on the pitch, he came to Tenerife’s rescue with a string of classy saves, notably from Dani and Asen. Hidalgo got into some threatening positions but couldn’t score when he got the goal in his sight. Nino picked up his 5th yellow card of the season after 34 minutes, that will keep him out of the Betis away game and with Igor injured the forward options are pretty limited. Ricardo could have put Tenerife ahead just after half time but hit his effort high, Juanlu came on for Omar. The team was crying out for leadership, Marc Bertran has been a feeble captain all season and once again strolled around as if it was a training session, I did manage to get a photo of him marking a player, a real collectors item.
Durbarbier had also been booked and was replaced after 65 minutes to give German a run out. The B team striker looked fairly comfortable and is one of our hopes for next season. Sergio continued to impress and Hidalgo beavered away with nothing to show for his efforts. Kitoko was the last home substitution, I would have liked to have seen Josmar get another go, but the game was tailing off into a tame draw when German closed in on the Recreativo goal and was knocked over as the keeper charged out and cleared the ball. The referee was in a generous mood and awarded the penalty to Tenerife, Nino stepped up and placed his shot just beyond the goalies reach to give us an unexpected victory. The celebrations were flat and the mood downbeat, time is running out and most of these players are already history.