At school I did cooking and metalwork and no one could tell the difference, thankfully CD Tenerife have an expert football chef in coach Alvaro Cervera and he is currently blending his new ingredients together. The 0-2 home loss to Las Palmas in the Copa Mahou was hard to swallow but at La Orotava the mix was much smoother and Espanyol had to work hard for their 1-0 win.

Let’s start with the Las Palmas defeat, I saw the Pios win 7-1 at CD Marino the previous night and although it sticks in my throat, I have to say they looked to have strength and depth. Tenerife offered little up front, Aridane was back to his plodding mode and the only decent home shot all night hit the post. New boys Ifran and Maxi came on late and showed flashes of form and local youth player Jorge Saenz looked comfortable in the heart of defence.

It’s always a balancing act for CDT to make their resources go around, Juanjo and Ayoze Diaz didn’t figure in the Pio game and are on the way out, Abel popped back, picked up a contract extension to 2016 and went off on loan to La Roda, and Nano was lined up for a loan to Hospitalet. The Espanyol game for the Teide Trophy, was a much better performance but again showed we need more firepower, Tenerife looked the better side in the first half and came close with a neat offside tap in from Aridane. I liked the look of our defence, new boy Unai was cool at left back but the big revelation for me was Jorge Saenz who held his place, he was strong, read the game well, and was forging a good understanding with Carlos Ruiz. Fast tracked through from the youth, the brother of ex forward German is highly rated and has just signed a three year contract – I don’t want to curse him, but maybe the new Bruno?

Espanyol were better in the second half and their danger man Caicedo found thee net after 72 minutes from a breakaway. Lots of late subs again, Alberto even got to wear the captain’s armband for a while after Suso and then Aridane had departed. Even better news came after the game with the last two signings announced, both are 26 year olds. Cristian “Ruso” Garcia is from Argentina where he played for Godoy Cruz last season but was previously with Real Murcia. Left sided Honduras international Juan Carlos Garcia arrives on loan from Wigan and will be remembered for a cracking goal v USA in the World Cup. Before the Segunda kicks off on 24 August away to Ponferradina we have Las Palmas away on Wednesday 13 August in the second leg of the Copa Mahou, and Elche at home next Sunday at a time to be confirmed. Unlike any cake I might have a hand in, the season’s hopes are beginning to rise.