Being hung was the least of your worries when Oxford Castle and prison were in their heyday. Anne Green survived it in 1752 despite helpfull spectators pulling on her body, pumelling her ribs, and putting her in a coffin. Mary Blandy asked to be hung low down to stop people looking up her skirts, she saved her blushes but still died and now haunts the castle mound. She must be a bit shocked at the huge buidling project fot the new Westgate shopping centre nearby, on my latest Oxford visit the sky was still dominated by giant cranes but the centre is taking shape and should be open by the end of 2017.

Every time I pop back to my roots, I have at least one Tommy The Tourist trip, the castle visit was shoe horned in on the day of my return flight to Tenerife so I paid my 10.75 for the first tour at 10 am when the frost was stinging cold. Empress Matilda, the grandmother of Richard The Lionheart was our character guide for the five of us as we entered the base of St George´s Tower with its nine foot thick stone walls. The Norman conquest of 1066 led to the building of the castle with the earth from the moat becoming the mound. Our informative guide added her story of escaping down to the frozen river and beyond on skates made from animal bones. The cold base of the saxon St Georges Tower made me shiver, and so did the tales of prisoners 10 hour shifts turning a heavy capston wheel. That time span was to become a recurring theme for all punishments and work details once the prison was established.

The 101 steps of the tower were a good wake up call for my hangover and the sight of the chimney of the defunct Morrels Brewery brought a tear to my eye. Back down in the foundations we were stirred by talk of ghosts. A tight passage led us to the prison section and D Wing, a small remaining part of the prison, it closed in 1996 and a large part is now an expensive shopping area and a posh hotel that will cost you an arm and a leg. Talking of arms and legs, Matilda told us of mutilations and robbed body parts at public hangings as we crowded into a cell. It was all delivered with a gallows sense of humour and plenty of relish at the most gruesome parts. The pillary, tall version of the stocks, sounded fun, locked in and dreaming of being pelted with rotten fruit as excrement (don´t ask whose) and rats were hurled at you. Oh and for good measure your ears could be nailed to the back board to keep your chin up.

What heinous crimes could get you banged up? Anything from stealing a back of sugar to having a saucy tongue when talking about the Queen could win you a free holiday. Later prison governors were quite happy for inmates to be used for medical research, and if your thinking this is ancient history, the last Oxford hanging was in 1962. There was an opportunity to pose for mug shots against the inmates wall, these were quickly converted into grainy and aged looking photos complete with your crime and sentence. Talk of treadmills, cranks, and the origin of the officers nickname screw” made me glad I couldn´t be punished for the childhood nicking of sweets from Woolworths Pick and Mix.

The guided tour took just over an hour, once outside I took advantage of the pass for the castle mound (included in the price) treading carefully along the upward spiralling semi thawed track. At the mounds top it was weird to look across to the old Co Op offices I started work in when just a young pup. Public hangings from the grassy peak were the big sporting event of the times with people turning up drunk and lusting for blood and possibly a few bits of bone or fingers as souvenirs. These days it would be endlessly repeated on Sky. Back at the bottom I popped into the Castle Yard Cafe for a warming coffee, they do food as well – as a nice cheeky touch they serve porridge.

Flitting around trying to find a clear route, I was like a junkie looking for a decent vein. Deep down I knew my last Tenerife walk of 2016 was penance for liquid over indulgence through christmas but it was a balance I was happy to strike. Barranco de Chijas was hazy in my memory from the first time I did it 10 years ago and I was struggling to find the true path just above Valle San Lorenzo in Arona.

This was going to be a special Christmas Day walk but a midnight downpour trapped me in a bar and delayed my treat. Talking about that crazy weather, strong, swirling winds, and an on off calima (dust blowing over from Africa) had been dogging the last few weeks but it was bright and sunny as I took the 25 minute ride on the 418 Titsa bus from Los Cristianos. The coldest part of the walk was the steep climb up the well signed La Tosca turn from opposite the BBVA bank in the main street of Valle San Lorenzo, if I had kept on straight up I would have been fine, basically keep to the right of the Terrero (Canarian wrestling stadium).

Running water is a big feature of the walk, old concrete channels criss cross the route and several of them were roaring down at a cracking pace to irrigate fields. Low down a series of interconnecting clearings gave me a chance to assess my surroundings. The barranco ravine carved its way upwards, weaving around old deserted houses as my rough earth path worked its way over large bolders. It didn´t look much of a rise but looking back the views opened up down to the hazy calima dusted coast. A modern water pumping station gave way to the much more elegant old viaduct andpigeons and doves surprised me as they fled from bushes at the sound of my crunching feet.

Amazingly some landmarks tweaked my memory despite my long absence, a couple of impresive trees caught my attention as previous sandwich stops. The trees kept a stubborn hold on their exposed hillsides despite a keen but fairly warm wind and time passed quickly. The highest point of the walk is Salto del Chopo but with the wind whipping up and the mornings newspaper warnings of further strong gusts, I decided not to push my luck, and sterted my return trip after just over two hours. Tyre marks in the loose dirt had made me think of scrambles motor bikes but that idea was soon corrected as a helmeted and elbow padded trials cyclist came flying down behind me. I just side stepped out of the way in time and was alert by the time another whizzed by ten minutes later with a cheery wave.

It was a lot easier walking downwards and spotting the correct finishing stretch, it’s imprinted on my little pea brain now so I can sprint out of the traps when I return again soon. Valle San Lorenzo is always a good place to visit as it has a good choice of bars and restaurants and the bus service is frequent with two main services pasing through.

Easily confused at the best of times, my head has been spinning like that girl in The Exorcist as christmas has crept up on me. There´s been some good stuff going on, keeping me busy for Canarian Weekly so I reckon I owe you all a catch up before the madness of sprouts, beer, and desperate loitering under the mistletoe takes over.

Wandering is never far from my plans so it was good to do a double whammy, the green Titsa bus whisked me up to San Miguel and Granadilla, mainly to check out the christmas decorations but there’s always a few surprises along the way. Checking down the back streets of San Miguel I could hear a band tuning up and was hopeful of a live show, especially when the guitar burst into the opening bars of Sweet Child Of Mine. It was coming from inside a school, not bad for a christmas concert, all we ever got was All Things Bright And Beautiful. The detour gave me the chance to admire the citizens statue put up to mark the towns 200 year celebrations in 1998. The christmas decorations were pretty good too but not as many as last year. The day was young so I hopped on the next bus up to Granadilla, another favourite of mine.

I thought it was a little chilly but a digital read out pegged it as 21 degrees. The buildings of Granadilla in the narrow streets always impress me with their slightly austere look but the giant murals at regular intervals add a splash of history and culture. The church decorated in a minimalist way but a council crew were loading some imitation wrapped presents up high in the branches of the trees as I dribbled my churros with chocolate.

December means the Walk For Life, I’ve witnessed it evolve and grow into one of the best events of the year. Pink is the colour for the fight against breast cancer and I was swept away by the sheer enthusiasm and upbeat spirit as always. The route was shorter this year, from Compostela Beach shopping centre to the Magma Centre in Playa de Las Americas, better for some of the older walkers on another scorching morning. It’s like a glorious assault on the senses with so much music, drumming, costumes, and wonderful people who have lost loved ones but celebrate their lives in the best way, by helping to raise awareness and funds to spare others the same pain. Here’s a link to my collection of photos from the morning.

With the earlier finish I was able to dash across to see the second half of CD Marino v Union Puerto. I must have been a curse, 0-0 when I started prowling the touchline but within minutes of the restart they had let in a soft goal and ended up losing 0-2 and had a penalty saved.. The festive break always leaves me hungry for the return of football so it inspires new hope in me, CD Tenerife had lost 1-0 at Levante the day before so i´m hoping for better from both teams in 2017. Hopefully I will be a bit more regular with my blog posts but stick with it I have plenty of plans among my resolutions.

A floating library might seem an odd setting for a stage performance of The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe but the Logos Hope is an extraordinary ship not bound by frontiers, languages, or conventions. The converted car ferry was on a 10 day stopover in Santa Cruz, and I got to meet just a few of the 400 crew members drawn from 60 countries.

Even among a bumper crop of luxury cruise ships, the fourth ship of the GBA (good books for all) christian charity organisation made a big impression and had a steady stream of visitors treading up the gangplanks. I made my way through the visitors section with video histories in Spanish and English playing on the screens, and strolled through the ranks of 5,000 books for sale. There were a lot of religiously inspired books, well they are a missionary project, but also lots of modern thrillers, travel tales, and childrens books. Sales of these books go towards funding the ships voyages, volunteer crew members also pay for their passage by raising sponsorship, there are only 10 paid full time crew.

Captain Chris Hughes, originally from Bristol,gave me the full tour, after 40 years experience with tankers he retired and has served on two of the earlier GBA fleet since 2006, he´s also an experienced north sea pilot. There was an unmistakable pride in his vessel and crew and it was noticeable that the crew we met on the tour were very relaxed, no salutes and even the uniform is functional rather than  formal. They all seemed young to me (well who doesn´t) but the skipper pointed out that they even have an 80 year old on the crew.” They all have to apply to join us and need to have a basic fitness level but they undergo on shore training for health and safety before even stepping on the ship.” There are other basic boxes to tick. “We are an evangelical movement so they have to be committed christians, we segregate male and female crew, the two or three bunk sleeping quarters are single sex, there´s no alcohol, smoking, or drugs allowed on board and the ships working language is English. Once on board they get allocated specific duty groups like books, galley, cleaning, engine, and deck.”

Whilst admiring the view up on the bridge, the captain told me more about the 40 year old ship. “It used to be a ferry between the Faroe Islands and Denmark, so when it was bought and converted in Germany in 2009, new stabiliser sections were added and a new upper deck. There are 4 engines, two propellers with variable pitch for better manouvering, and we normally travel at a fuel saving 10 knots although it can go at 15 knots.”

The bridge seemed very uncluttered and minimalistic but it was deceptive, the computerised navigation system zoomed in on their next course to Guyana picking out every fine contour and detail of the sea with a light touch of the captain´s hand. Continuing the tour downward, the 400 seater theatre was being prepared for the show, big screens would translate it into several languages. Passing the galley, the smell of freshly cooked bread tweaked my nose, and we had a peak inside the hospital the dentists office, and at the engine room from a safe distance.

A chart on the wall of another area showed details of one of their main missions, supplying water purification systems, they also supply eye glasses and clothes, and do some teaching, painting, and anything they can do to help at their ports of call. Since 1970 the organisation has visited 160 countries. Captain Chris stressed that they have to be invited, they don´t just impose on destinations, they have even visited some muslim countries. It was time for me to swap the gentle lapping of the ship for dry land as the crew prepared for another long spell at sea. With so much to do I´m sure the time must fly by but if the crew ever get bored they can always read a book, they have another 800,000 in a warehouse to back up the on board library.

Even with a disasterous start and a weak finish CD Marino should have been able of beating a poor Union Sur Yaiza team but they left it to late to show their true form and lost 1-2 at home.

Compensating for injuries is going to be tough with a lack of experience in depth, goalkeeper Cicovic was missed, his commanding prescence and solid distribution inspire confidence. Replacement Petar had a nightmare start when a cheeky long lob from Victor caught him out in the second minute, 0-1 down and he hadn´t even got a feel of the ball. A soft clearance out to Yunes could have doubled his suffering but the Lanzarote striker didn´t make the most of the chance.

Rami was full of running for Yaiza but their hit and rush style was frustrated as Fran Delgado closed him down. Marino found their own momment of inspiration to draw level after 12 minutes, Mendy picked out Fran far up on the right and he worked the ball inside for Kevin Castro to make it 1-1. That should have been the springboard to a victory charge but Marino were not firing on all cylinders, Too many high and hopeful balls left attacking players with just shadows to chase. At one stage Marino skied the ball over the side stand, a nice surprise for anyone walking by.

Alberto and Facu didn´t work well as a pair up front and Kevin Castro out on the left wasn´t able to make his normal big contribution to the game. Facu showed some of his clever tap backs in build up play but Marino were crying out for the dominant Adan or Amed who were on the subs bench. Yaiza were looking to grab their lead back, Piñeiro got round the back of the home defence but couldn´t get the ball to the waiting Dani, and the half ended with Mendy doing well to snuff out Exposito as he bore down on goal.

The second half got worse before it got better. Petar made a good save to deny Yaiza but they kept pushuing. Aridane headed over but the next attack bore fruit as Rami powered through the defence to plunder a goal. Petar prevented the damage increasing as he plucked out more high balls and took Kamara´s shot full in the stomach. Home changes were long overdue, Facu and Alberto were replaced by Adan and Amed in a double swap and it almost brought an instant response with Amed winning the ball deep and surging towards goal before defenders crowded him out. Kevin Castro got a new lease of life by coming in off the wing to get more involved.

There was a lifeline after 73 minutes when the ref sent off Victor for Yaiza. Adan and Amed both tested the away goalie, and Coly headed wide. Adan was getting frustrated by the constant offside calls but not as wound up as the visitors defender Ignacio and his goalie who spent most of the last 10 minutes arguing. Fran Delgado sent in a late cross that third sub Akshi got his head to but couldn´t hit the target. The first home defeat of the season and a drop to 6^th place, there´s a lot of work to do if Marino want to make up ñost ground on the battle for a play off spot.

Some songs are timeless, The Dire Straits Experience proved the point again at the Magma Centre in Playa de Las Americas. It was an experience I was keen to repeat after seeing their pulsating performance last year in Tenerife and they were on top form again.

With original members Chris White on sax and flute, and Chris Witten on drums they have a strong connection to those heady days when the original band strode the world. From the opening songs Telegraph Road, and Walk Of Life they showed their class with their mastery of their instruments, all delivered with a swagger. The white headband of Mark Knopfler is long gone but in Terence Reis they have a worthy replacement, his voice caressed and teased out the lyrics while his fingers evoked the unique sound of Dire Straits from a succession of guitars.

The Magma Centre allowed plenty of room for the more enthusiastic fans to take to their feet and give in to the string of hits, I almost expected the concrete suroundings to start swaying as the tunes seeped into their soul. Your Latest Trick was one of the lesser known tracks that made a big impact and Romeo And Juliet opened up a vault of emotional memories from the 4,000 revellers. Tunnel Of Love has always been a favourite of mine and it was belted out with pomp and precision. The Man´s Too Strong gave Chris White a chance to show his skills on the flute but his command of the saxaphone was equally impressive.

Let´s not forget the other band members who added their own ingredients to the mix, Richard Cottle and Paddy Milner on piano and keyboards underscored the dominance of the guitars and complemented each other at either side of the stage. Tim Walters on guitar chipped in on the vocals, and Michael Feet on bass guitar and vocals ensured the lyrics tweaked the ears and memories of their audience. It was clear to see the band were having a great time, they looked comfortable in each others company and delivered the songs as if they were freshly penned, I tried not to think that some of the tunes dated back almost 40 years.

There were a few changes to the running order from last year, Expresso Love was a welcome addition as were Two Young Lovers, and On Every Street. There was never long to wait for a classic to ignite the atmosphere, Lady Writer was followed by Brothers In Arms with barely a moment for the band to catch their breath, it certainly kept the backstage crew busy, the parade of guitars was like a modern day stonehenge waiting to be worshipped by the audience.

Sultans Of Swing was the big breakthrough hit for the original band and it still held its head up proudly among the more recent releases, it surfaced later in the concert and had plenty of willing bodies responding to its infectious rythmn. It would have made a fitting end on its own but after a prolonged wave of applause the band played on with Money For Nothing being greeted like a long lost friend. It was difficult tio top that so they chose a different tempo and ended with the moody and magnificent Going Home. As they signed off The Dire Straits Experience promised to return soon – that was music to many ears.

So there I was, surrounded by wild goats, miles from home, and with a thorn the size of an Esther Rantzen tooth pick stuck in my big toe. Well maybe things weren´that bad, the goats on the mountains of Ifonche looked friendly and were more put off by me, I had home, or at least my Arona start point, in sight, and as for the annoying prick, he pulled the pathetically small thorn out of his toe and carried on walking with no problem.

It was great to rediscover a walk I had neglected for too long, the 1.25 euro Bono ticket bus fare was a bargain and the weather was sunny and very warm as I headed out from church plaza in Arona old town. Following the signs for a regular trek of mine, Roque del Conde, the first mini barranco (ravine) brought me up to a sign pointing the opposite way from the table top mountain and I began skirting the edge of Barranco Grande. Recent rain had left a little give in the ground but the trail was stilla bit erratic to follow, a couple of old partly fallen houses provided a good aim point ahead.

As the barranco deepened so did the amazing shapes and patterns fashioned by nature over the centuries. Taking a water break sat on a rock I could hear melodic bird song and see squadrons of pigeons riding the air currents below. Another smaller barranco to my other side started converging so although there was a choice of paths I was being funnelled into the correct direction. Up in the distance the pine forest around Vilaflor was another indicator that I was on track. The old concrete water channels were empty and I soon came across the modern iron pipes that now do their work. A white and green house on the ridge ahead told me I was getting near the peak of my walk and soon the orange tinged path passed breeze block huts and a couple of tastefully renovated old houses.
A familiar soft clucking noise drew me to a gravel covered area surrounded by small ferns and I spotted a Barbary Partridge, I´ve seen a few in the Arona area and at Masca. This posh collared bird is one of my favourites and it gladdens me to see it looking so well. A few steps further in a clearing was the El Refugio, a delightful restaurant with a decorative garden and informal terrace. I was glad of a cold drink but stopped short of a meal as I hadn´t even started my sarnies and although the chicken sounded nice I kept thinking of my little plump friend a short distance away. This Ifonche hostelry has parking and rent out rooms for rural tourism, check the website for more details.

It must have been nearly 10 years since I last walked this route and my memory was sketchy but just past the restaurant was a sign down through a terraced bowl formerly fed by a dried up spring. A light bulb went on in my brain as memories flooded back of an Arona council guided walk down and back out the other side up to another old shell of a house, now I knew exactly where I was going. Beyond that other house was an old threshing circle looking out over a sheer drop, it´s used these days as a take off point for paragliders. To the right was Ladera de la Montaña Los Brezos, a high tapered peak with a precarious pathway to the top, I reckon a good hour plus up and down – maybe another time. To the left was Roque Imoque with a path spiralling down with a wooden bannister to begin the first tight corner.

That was my cue to head homeward, admiring the unfolding sea views as I descended. As the path curled down I could see the rear side of Roque del Conde, the lower slopes terraced for crop growing, they waste nothing no mater how tough the challenge. The tell tale jingle of bells alerted me to the goats roaming around ahead of me, once I realised they weren´t going to mistake me for a small crunchy snack I felt a lot easier. The path ahead was becoming much clearer and I could see familiar signs. Just a quick down and up through Barranco Grande and I was heading into the Arona plaza again. The 6.4 kms each way walk took me a casual 4 hours and left me glowing not just from the sun but also from a fabulous infusion of sights and sounds

Big games, six pointers, local derby´s, the sort of games you look to when gauging how good a team is. For CD Marino in 2nd spot, that meant Ibarra at home and they emerged with flying colours, promotion play off credentials presented and marked with a big thumbs up. It wasn´t just the 2-1 win but the style in which they achieved it, coming from behind, surviving the injury loss of top player Mendy, and grabbing a last minute winner.
Ibarra score plenty of goals so it was no surprise to see Matias try his luck in the first minute, Fran Delgado blocked his attempt, the start of a strong game for the right back. Sandro veered too wide with his early effort, a corner being his only reward. Marino settled calmly into their game and were creative in midfield and always willing to spread the ball wide. Fran Alonso produced a couple of good moments but the end product didn´t test the away keeper.

Matias put a header wide and it was fairly even as Saavedra chased down the left to feed Alonso, he got round the defence before the keeper pounced on the ball. Manzi could have given Matias an easy finish if he had squared the ball in front of goal instead of going alone and when Sandro had a pop Cicovic showed a safe pair of hands. Ibarra were shading the play and a smart break found Pablo who found the space beyond Cicovic.
Mendy got a foot to a shot from Manzi and was a little lucky to see it deflect wide of the post. This was one of Ibarra´s best spells, Manzi was face to face with Cicovic but the home keeper stood his ground and won the stand off. The in form keeper followed up by smothering a ball from Sandro. Marino picked their moment and moved forward again, some neat passing between Facu and Kevin Castro opened up the Ibarra defence for Facu to finish off the stylish goal. Mendy got a nasty knock just into the second half and had to go off, this was a crucial moment but as Amed replaced him the defence shuffled around with versatile Kevin Castro adding right back to his CV and Saavedra slotting into the centre of defence.

Fran Delgado, now at left back overlapped on the wing and got behind the defence giving Ibarra plenty to worry about. When the visitors did find a way forward, Cicovic was in supreme form especially when they tried to test him one on one close to the goal. Saul replaced Adan who had few clear chances, and he gave the Ibarra defence some new problems. Facu riffled a fierce shot in that was blocked and Lolo cleared the bar with his chance. Time was running out, Manzi ran himself into a dead end waiting for support and the action switched to the other end. Marino bombarded the away defence and it paid off as Saul struck a hard shot deep into the net. It was a hard earned win but well deserved and another big boost as Marino returned to second place, three points behind Las Palmas B with a game in hand.

Where’s my red spandex suit? I felt a bit like The Flash this week trying to run ahead of everything that was happening, but that’s how I like things. Sleepy little Playa San Juan was having an out of body experience when I called by on Saturday morning as the Tenerife International Water Ski Racing tournament was getting underway. The small harbour adjoining the gently shelving beach had a bizarre mix of huge throbbing speed boats, small training yachts, and paint peeling old fishing boats.

Could the mix get anymore bizarre? It sure could, police whistles shrieked, sirens wailed, and a string of rally cars came bombing along the coast road and up through the tight main road. The Subida de Isora contestants were just limbering up for the afternoons uphill charges, a nice little bonus for me in the quest to fill my allotted pages of the Canarian Weekly. I was impressed that people in the sea front cafes hardly missed a slurp of their coffees as the action unfolded around them.

The lure of CD Tenerife at home to Rayo Vallecano meant I could only sample these splendid contests before catching a magic carpet, well Titsa bus to be precise, back to Los Cristianos and a link up with the Armada Sur. My blog match report has slipped down behind life’s sofa with so much going on but needless to say I was well chuffed with the 3-2 win and awarded myself the appropriate reward measured out in Dorada beer. Sunday brought more football, this time a noon kick off at CD Marino in a local derby with Las Zocas. Prowling the touchline with my box brownie (that’s an ancient camera, not a new bondage doll) I was sent almost dizzy by the 5-1 home win.

My big midweek mission was a long anticipated coach trip to tour the Tenerife Observatory perched just below the peak of Mount Teide. Volcano Teide made it possible for me, the observatory report is in the latest Canarian Weekly but as I hadn’t made the journey to the Teide national park for several years, it was good to remind myself how amazing the 2,000 metre plus world is. Rising through the pine forests above Chio, the first stop was at Llano de Ucanca, an old dried lake bed surrounded by towering rocks sculpted by nature. Speaking as someone who can just about turn on his computer without blowing up the national grid, I marveled at the audio guide downloads on the information boards. On a more rural note, one of the walking trails was chained off due to wild sheep, I think on that rough terrain they wear little hiking booties.

There was another short stop at the Teleferico cable car station which takes visitors to viewing areas nearer the peak of Teide. The queues were long but the views make it worthwhile, it’s definitely something I need to do again as it’s been about ten years since my last ride up. Just a week before Teide was glistening with a dusting  of snow but it had soon melted  away, on this day it was clear, and the air was lightly chilled as the sun kept the temperature at a comfortable level. Come the turn of the year when inevitably some heavier snow settles I intend to make the pilgrimage on one of the specially buses to catch people playing in the snow, making snowmen and sledging through the strange white visitor. For now it was onto the observatory and an enlightening tour of the telescopes and science projects. It was nice to think that the beach would be waiting for me on my return offering warmth

Never accuse CD Marino of being shy, they were straining at the leash for goals this week, a 5-1 home derby win over Las Zocas was richly deserved for showing attacking flair and that killer instinct that was missing in the last two home draws.

It was a sign of the home dominance that Marko Cicovic was a spectator until Ibra gave him a little tester of a shot after 20 minutes. The reds from just up the road were pinned down in the first half by long deep balls down the wings for Fran Alonso and Amed to run onto. It was a change of tactics that worked well, the back up goalie David looked unsure and his jitters spread to the defence. Kevin Castro strode around picking his moments to turn on the pace and run at the Las Zocas defenders.

Amed and Kevin Castro were so close to exposing the goalie after a neat bit of passing, Las Zocas had a few moments, Esau and Ibra worked hard to create any openings but the finishing let them down. Former home player Jonathan Sesma sat injured in the stand and must have been itching to try to unlock his old team mates. The game didn’t lack passion, plenty of hard tackles and fierce tussles for loose balls but ref Marta let the game flow as much as possible.

It seemed like Marino would have to wait until the second half to open the scoring but a sustained attack at the end of the first half saw the ball trapped in a sea of legs in the Las Zocas penalty area, it came loose and Amed pounced on it and powered it into the back of the net. The break didn’t cool Marino’s enthusiasm, they came back out looking to add to their advantage. Kevin Castro used his close control to round a defender on the goal line and popped the ball back to Amed for an easy finish, 2-0 had a much better ring to it. Amed was cursing his finishing when the chance of a hat trick eluded him but it was clear this game would be graced by more goals.

How demoralizing for Las Zocas to see Adan come off the bench for Fau Valiente, if there were goals to be had, the big striker would want his share. With an hour gone Amed jumped for a high cross but it dropped just behind him where Mendy powered an unstoppable header past the goalie. To their credit Las Zocas didn’t give up, they pushed forward looking for a way back, Esau made Coly clear his shot from the line. Amed was subbed by Josemi, the applause as he departed was well deserved for a disciplined performance in a slightly different role from usual.

Las Zocas tried their own change and it had some effect, Bene Aro got into a good position to receive a through ball and put his shot beyond the reach of Cicovic as he dived. That could have been a springboard to a Las Zocas charge, Marino reacted well, they tightened up at the back and went in search of more goals at the other end. It was almost slow motion as Adan eased past the rooted red defenders and picked his spot in the goal. As the game moved towards its finish Adan struck again after beating his lone marker, even in injury time he was so close to a third but the 5-1 score line threw down a big marker in the battle for promotion. There’s a three point gap now between Marino and joint leaders Las Palmas Atletico and Marino mean business.