Sizzling in the stands and grilling on the grass. Easter Sunday weather turned the Heliodoro stadium into a cauldron as the home heroes romped to a tasty 3-1 win over relegation strugglers Fuenlabrada. The visitors were very poor but all the home players kept sharp and clinical, this was no time for banana skins.
The return of influential left back Alex Muñoz from injury added a calmness to defence and a smooth supply line to Bermejo who has become a key regular on the left flank. Pablo Larrea got the midfileld nod over Alexandre Corredera. Although he hasn´t got the same creative skills, he had the same work rate and linked defence to attack with a hard edged determination.
After 27 minutes Mellot crossed from out wide for Enric Gallego who shook off his marker and blasted his shot past the back peddling keeper to take the lead. The second goal was even better just five minutes from the break. A defender lost the ball, Gallego took a short step away and looped the ball high and over the advancing goalie. That took Gallego to 10 goals so far this season.
Into the second half and Larrea with a booking that tots up a one game ban, made way for Alexandre. There was no let up for Fuenlabrada, Mario Gonzalez was also tormenting them and got his reward with some smart reactions. A corner ball found Mario with plenty of space to side foot the despondent stopper. A few minutes after, Mario gave way to Elady, who leads the way with 11 strikes so far. There are plenty of goals in this Tenerife squad, that will prove vital in the promotion play offs.
There was a rare lapse from the home side after 63 minutes, when Pedrro Leon was knocked to the ground in the box and stepped up to convert the penalty. Tenerife were still dominant, Mollejo had free range up front and was causing havoc. Diame was a late sub for Fuenlabrada, the former Wigan, West Ham, Hull, and Newcastle player was a recent free agent after a spell in the Qatar league. Vastly overweight and clumsy, the defender tried holding Elady back before grounding him with a belly flop that shook Santa Cruz. The ref ignored a possible penalty but it was still a convincing victory in front of 11,763 fans and leaves just 6 regular season games.