We hoped and prayed that CD Tenerife would win this vital game, but noone quite expected such a clear and convincing victory. Espanyol didn’t know what hit them and Tenerife could have scored twice as many goals. It was obvious from the start the CDT were fired up and Ayoze nearly opened the scoring barely ten minutes into the game, his rasping shot stung the hands of visiting keeper Kameni.
Chances came and went for the home side and it seemed the old problem of poor finishing might crop up again. Alfaro had a great chance but couldn’t beat the keeper, it was down to Richi to make the breakthrough after 20 minutes. The midfielder unmeashed his shot and it deflected off defender Hartado and deceived the goalie as it went in the net. Kameni was kept busy as Tenerife swept forward, Richi nearly doubled the score on the half hour but Espanyol could only manage one decent shot during the half.
We are always nervous with a slender lead so it was reassuring to make it 2-0 a few minutes after the break. Verdu made a loose pass and Nino nipped in and robbed the ball before beating the keeper. That was enough to crank the noise levels up even higher as the 18,680 crowd celebrated. Espanyol threatened briefly as Verdu pulled a goal back after 70 minutes, but thius was Tenerife’s day and they rammed home their advantage. Roman flicked the ball on to Alfaro and he slipped it in the net to restore the two goal lead. Nino was looking much sharper and pounced on another chance, beating the keeper in a one on one challenge he placed the ball and it trickled over the line to make it 4-1.
The Heliodoro was rocking, the Mexican wave swept around the terraces and the fans belted out Chicharrero with full force. The new red and white charity ball was cerainly to Tenerife’s liking. The T90 Ascente is part of the Nike and La Liga campaign Lace Up -Save Lives to raise money to fight malaria around the globe. It was a great day for the fans after the peñas had a midweek clear the air meeting with the club. The Armada Sur increased it’s international following with two seperate groups of Swedish fans, including this delightful trio of fitness instructors – Ding Dong. We even had three Oxford United fans, I of course am an Oxford City fan.
Next week it’s bottom placed Xerez away, a chance to break the away duck and get this season rolling towards safety. Vamos Tenerife.