Menacing clouds and an orange alert storm warning hung over Los Cristianos but some blue sky football from CD Marino saw off second placed UD Lanzarote with a rearranged Wednesday afternoon home 1-0 victory.
From Sesma’s clever head down and run through after seven minutes Marino’s attacking intentions were clear. Missed chances in the 0-0 draw with CD Tenerife B cost Pibe his starting role up front, his replacement Nestor nearly struck 10 minutes in as he eluded the floundering goalie but put his shot over the bar. Marchena made a determined dash down the left but also missed the target. Lanzarote started to make an impression, Mauri burst through on the right but his big boot forward was swallowed by the home defence.
Sergio Aragoneses suffered a leg muscle tweak in the warm and Alberto took his place between the sticks and performed an impressive tip over after the half hour. Mauri switched wings and his determination found some reward when he hassled three markers to force a corner. At the other end Balduino spotted an opening but the visiting defence was alert and cut out his chance. Rosmen was a big target man for Lanzarote but he was marked well and Alberto was always ready to snaffle up any loose balls.
The promised rain greeted the players for the second half but it was nothing like the downpour that wiped out the original fixture a month ago. The pitch was firm and so were Marino, they pushed forward and Eslava was quick witted to crouch into a header from a Sesma corner pass and it whizzed by the visiting keeper to take the lead. Lanzarote attempted a quick reply but their attacks floundered on the goalkeeping rock called Alberto. Balduino should have done better with a shot that flashed across the Lanzarote goalmouth but they looked comfortable with their advantage. Pibe and Kevin came off the home bench and saw plenty of action, especially Kevin who had a hopeful half shout for a penalty after going down in the box.
The game got a bit ragged as the pitch started to cut up and tackles got wilder. Lanzarote allowed themselves to be side tracked by some personal duels, their sub Crisci had their best chance but Alberto cleared with a strong header. For the last five minutes of the game the red visitors got their act together and applied some pressure. The ball pinged around the home goal, clipping the post before Alberto could get his hands on it, Raul thought that his shot had sneaked over the line but the ref thought otherwise.
That signaled the end of the game, a couple of the Lanzarote players didn’t go quietly to the changing room, it was a big defeat for them from two storm interrupted island crossings. For CD Marino the coast is clear at the top of their Tercera group, the only down side of the win was a leg injury to Javi late on that saw him carried off.