Half hearted tackles were nowhere to be seen in this full bloodied local derby with two stings in the tail. CD Marino shared the points with Ibarra after a goal each in injury time but they will be regretting not turning their first half dominance into a strong lead.
The early morning rain subsided for the game but left a legacy of a fast greasy pitch as thunder rumbled around in the hills. The visitors from El Fraile made the early running with Angel on the left always ready to break but Marino soon imposed themselves and a deep cut back from Aaron at the byline found Balduino but his shot was saved by visiting goalie Fran. That was the start of a siege of the Ibarra goal, corners followed at regular intervals only the finishing touch was missing.
Alberto Noah looked keen to impress on his return to Marino and he linked well with Angel to give Ibarra a rare chance to test Matias in the home net. Lamiae, a former Ibarra player was in the Marino starting line up and he impressed me with his hard graft and strength in midfield, he never gave up on a ball and was there to support the attack when needed. There were some pretty hefty challenges going in but that’s what fans want to see in these near neighbour match ups.
The referee took a different view and in the second half he went card crazy booking anyone who even breathed heavily. Ibarra having weathered the storm came back into the game and Matias was called into action with a strong booted clearance and a good claim of a threatening ball. Josito had one of the games best chances when a cross found him at the far post but he couldn’t get his footwork sorted in time and the ball escaped him. Noah went for a cheeky chip at the Marino goal, his shot wasn’t far off target as it went over the bar. Marino felt aggrieved when the ref turned down their penalty appeal and after coach Sosa Espinel let the ref know his feelings he was banished to the stand for the rest of the game.
Both sides wanted the win, Balduino hooked a shot over the goal and at the other end Noah fired in a low drive with Matias partially unsighted but the keeper reacted well to collect the ball. Marci had been having a quiet game by his high standards but he showed his class in the final minute as he pounced on a defensive miss and steered the ball around the goalie and fallen defenders to score. That should have sealed it but the ref found five minutes of injury time to add on and when the ball broke down the left side Adan took his chance well with a precise shot to make it 1-1. Marino are still in fourth place and it was good to see a slightly bigger crowd with a good sprinkling of tourists.
Looking like a drowned rat I arrived at The Devon Arms to see the Alaves v CD Tenerife game with my pink clad heroes 2-0 down thanks to some poor defending. The cascade of rain in the south of Tenerife played havoc with the television picture but through the breaks I was pleased to see Tenerife fight back with another Ayoze goal and a last minute penalty from Loro after he was tripped in the box. Once again top marks to coach Alvaro Cervera, at 2-1 down he brought on Loro for Ricardo after 69 minutes and then sacrificed left back Camara for attacking midfielder Chechu with just 11 minutes to go.