Even with three strong penalty claims not even referred to VAR, CD Tenerife were again their worst enemy in a 1-1 home draw with Real Sporting Gijon.

Just 15 minutes into the rain lashed action, Cristo Gonzalez was gifted the opening goal for Sporting. A long ball should have been cut out by Jose Leon but he committed the cardinal sin of turning his back on the attacker. The former Tenerife nurtured player was left with a simple, clear shot. These days an asset of Italian club Udinese, Cristo is on his fourth loan out and can´t have come across such generosity on his travels.

The home attack was off song with play continually drifting down the left side. Ivan Romero looked lightweight in front of goal as big built Gallego hung back deep. Young Teto chased and harried to pick up scraps on the right. Tenerife were better in the second half with more expansive football but Sporting had a tight clamp on them. Confidence was sapped as the ref ignored those appeals, the worst being a double hand ball as Teto burst through into the enemy goal mouth. A double change after 68 minutes saw home coach Ramis bring on Arvin Appiah for Romero and Javi Alonso for Larrea in midfield.

The return of local boy Alonso after long term injury breathed new creativity into the heart of the home team, something they will need as Alex Corredera undergoes treatment and possible surgery on his foot. Appiah tormented Sporting with his speedy right flank runs and inside charges. The former Nottingham Forest youth player launched a trio of strikes into the box, one was cleared into space where Nacho returned it quickly with a rasping shot past the goalie to level the game with just over 10 minutes left.

With eight games gone, Tenerife are still making too many errors and sit in 15th position. The fans are showing patience and belief, even on a soaking night, the gate was slightly up with a 11,057 attendance.