Archive for April, 2011
Pigging Out On A Busy Santa Cruz Calendar

Snorting, grunting and oinking he stuck his head deep in the bucket and devoured every last morsel. Maybe I’m talking about my breakfast routine, maybe about the rare Canarian Black Pig at Agrocanarias in Santa Cruz, or maybe both! For me it was a day to get far away from British TV and bunting, so with a notebook crammed with events I caught the early 111 Titsa bus up to the capital from Los Cristianos.

First stop was Plaza de España to delve below and taste some history around the old remains of Castillo de San Cristobal. The surviving fragments of the old castle wall were re-discovered when the plaza was rebuilt in 2006 and now make a nice free dip into the beseiged past of the city with pride of place going to the Tigre (tiger) canon that shot Nelson and stopped his invasion in its tracks. The developers have done a nice job of bringing the maritime past to life and with commentary and information in English as well as Spanish it’s an overlooked but fascinating insight into a British naval hero.

I have been meaning to see the Frans Lanting photo exhibition Vida, Un Viaje A Traves Del Tiempo since the 28 March opening so when I surfaced to a sprinkling of rain the Caja Canarias exhibition hall in Plaza del Patriotismo seemed an appropriate next call. The Dutch photographer is a master of wildlife shots and has filled the pages of National Geographic with some stunning photos. This exhibition is a journey through time starting from the creation of the Earth and through the evolution of life from volcanoes in Hawaii to Quiver trees in South Africa and sand dunes in Australia. Each dramatic photo comes with explanations in Spanish and English including the equipment and technique used to get the snap. It’s open until 30 June, Mon to Weds 11 am to 1 pm and 5 pm to 9 pm, Thurs & Fri 11 to 1 and 5 to 8, Sat 11 to 2 and 5 to 8, it’s 5 euros to get in, 2 euros for residents, and free for Caja Canarias account holders.

A short walk up to Parque Garcia Sanabria and the Feria of flowers, plants, and local customs was just getting underway, finishing on Tues 3 May. It’s a beautiful park at any time but now its long leafy walks that centre on the fountain and performance area were lined with stalls offering loads of goodies. Friday was not a holiday in Spain and that with the dodgy weather meant it wasn’t very busy but with live music and childrens entertainment to come over the long weekend it would certainly pick up. Off the main paths there are ponds, sculptures, waterfalls, kids play areas and lovely picnic zones. Trade was slow at the stalls but I did my bit by buying a home made chocolate cake and a tasty lemon cake, a few people were buying floral displays and the crafts like basket weaving and cigar making attracted a few curious visitors. My old complaint rung true again, there were posters around the park and stacks of programmes on all the stalls but it wasn’t advertised outside of the event, when will they learn. It’s only a few minutes walk from Plaza de España or Plaza Weyler and the key times are 11 am to 2 pm and 5 pm to 9 pm each day, free entry.

Heading to the other end of Santa Cruz the Recinto Ferial exhibition hall was my target for Agrocanarias, not a gathering of football hooligans but a massive showcase for all the best in agriculture from across the 7 Canary Islands. Just 3 euros for this one and I barely had time to pass through the doors before being offered free biscuits and sweets, preperation for the goodie bags and samples being handed out at some of the 83 stalls on the 16,000 square metre site. The emphasis is on trade interest but there is something for everyone, the Canarian cooking championships were due to conclude later that day in the multi kitchen area, Masterchef with local ingredients. A parade of tractors and digging machines gleamed to the side of me and the little ditty I can’t read and I can’t write but it don’t really matter because I come from Oxfordshire and I can drive a tractor sprung into my head but I kept it to myself.

Moving down through the hall I picked at cheese samples and sipped the odd taster of wine, a horse was being limbered up in the show jumping ring and just beyond that was the livestock section and those lovely black pigs, straight tails not a curl in sight. OK lets get the giggle fest out of the way up front, there were bullocks, rams, and rampant cocks on display, the docile donkeys were a big attraction for parents to lift their kids close to stroke them. I felt sorry for the cows, sheep and bulls they all looked very sad, maybe they knew what the future held for them, several flared their nostrils and stamped hooves when I got near, well I had recently enjoyed meat balls. The show finishes on Sunday but there are some great events held at the Recinto Ferial and with a balcony cafe bar and a restaurant it’s a good place to visit.For me that was my list exhausted and time to return south, a great day out and not a royal in sight.

CD Tenerife Lose At Home – So What’s New!

I couldn’t have felt sicker if I’d scoffed a bucket full of creme eggs, this was awful, thankfully just 7 more games before we start kicking players out of the club. Yes we are sad and misguided enough to have still been hoping for an escape route before the game but a 1-0 home defeat to Villareal B underlined how far we have fallen.

It was a very weird day, both of our regular bars had been made over, the Oasis half way up the motorway are trying to go posh, new paint, new toilets, and even a stage. Then pre game in Santa Cruz I nearly walked into the wall at Mundo del Pans as the bar has flipped round to a new lay out. We had an Oxford United fan on the coach ( I’m Oxford City) he was booked to go on holiday to Syria and even had a game to go and see but the fighting out there forced a late switch. Even more bizarre we had a family of Leamington FC fans on the coach and their mob were playing at Oxford City so they gave me regular phone updates on the way to their 3-2 win – it’s a small world, but you wouldn’t want to paint it!

Anyway back to CD Tenerife, must I, the crowd was even lower than anticipated, 8,600 and big gaps in our section, there was none of the usual singing and chanting, it really spooked me. Of course the players would come out and put on a great uplifting display to rouse us all – would they hell. Coach Amaral again raided the fringes of the squad and brought in Aitor Nunez at right back and he did ok but there was no spark in the team again. We laid out the welcome mat for Villareal and they were able to bide their time as we gave a master class in badly organised schoolboy football.

Luna is never shy to get a booking and his 6th minute card led to him being replaced by Melli after 22 minutes, coach Amaral has so little faith in our defenders avoiding sendings off. As for action, it was pretty poor with few meaningful moves, Iriome tried to get things going up front but his control kept letting him down. Falque did for us after 32 minutes, a good break saw Perez on the right release the ball to him to calmly slot it into the net, it seemed so easy and once the scoreboard read 1-0 even the most fervent flag wavers were at half mast. Patience among the fans has been eroded beyond redemption for this season, the few pockets of encouragement joined in the overall feeling of despair and despite a half chance for Nino just before half time noone was expecting any improvement.

Omar made way for Natalio as the teams came back out, the overall pattern was the same though, Villareal were looking to end their recent run of defeats by killing the game. Iriome tried his luck with the ref after falling in the penalty area but the official wasn’t feeling any sympathy. Nino gave Dutra some close up verbal after some heavy blocking but even he looked demoralised. The only real interest now is spotting who might be worth keeping for next season, Josmar is the big hope and once again he looked lively and full of tricks when brought on after 66 minutes.

The last 20 minutes dragged, early leavers missed the rain, the rest of us saw a late Natalio effort and the sight of the players trudging off without a backward glance, let’s hope it was guilt and embarrasment. Just one point in 27 tells its own story, Segunda B is not what any of us want but at least we might see some committed performances again, the club must be wondering how crowds like this and smaller are going to keep us going.

Passion Perfection Draws The Crowds To Adeje

Pagaentry and palms have replaced my old Good Friday morning routine of shale and speedway. Years ago back home it would have been the big opening meeting for Oxford Cheetahs but in Tenerife it’s time for The Passion in Adeje, a stirring piece of street theatre telling the story of Easter, the betrayal and cruxificion of Jesus.

Attention to detail is vital and while 10,000 people jostled for prime positions in Calle Grande, the Roman soldiers and chariots waited as one of the back stage crew used a dust pan to tidy up the enthusiasm of the horses. The whole community takes part in the preceeding months making costumes and scenery and learning their steps for the march through the pages of the bible. This year the new look plaza offered more vantage points and scaffolding in front of the church gave a grandstand view to the early arrivals. At Noon the procession got underway to strident marching music over the many speakers hanging from the tree lined avenue.

There’s quite an expectant hush as it all gets underway and a real feel of reverance and emotion, I had put the hand brake on my over active sense of humour, especially after noticing that the empress carried in her mobile lounge looked quite like Amy Winehouse. The pavements were packed and arms held aloft a sea of cameras to record the first tableau where The Last Supper was played out. All the main characters have head mikes so the crowds can hear the dialogue in Spanish. The music was a mix of old hynms and more modern tunes like I Don’t know How To Love Him from Jesus Christ Superstar, all performed with clarity and emotion.

The action moved down the road with stops for the Garden of Gethsemane and the Roman court as Judas betrays his leader and sentence is passed. Though all this cameramen in robes to blend in film at close quarters for the giant screen further down the street and the TV coverage. Jesus is the only professional actor of the ensemble and he really wrings out every drop as he appeals to the court and is then whipped and forced to take up the cross to carry down to the place of his death. It was heaving down at the smaller plaza where the cruxificion would take place but I managed to dodge through the side streets to get a good spot. It’s all a bit of a scrum down, a tourist in front of me kept complaining that she was missing bits, I told her I would lend her the book.

The finale is stunning, there were many tears being wiped away in the crowd as Jesus was held down and nailed to the cross which was then stood upright. Holding on to small foot and hand holds is difficult enough for Jesus but delivering the speech of forgiveness for his persecuters at the same time takes amazing concentration. After the life ebbed away and Jesus was cut down the body was paraded up the street on an open coffin before the 2 hour masterpiece melted away. Religious or not it’s impossible not to feel the hairs on your neck tingling to this tour de force, many visiting tourists looked genuinely moved and will have discovered something special about the bond between church and people in Tenerife.

CD Tenerife, The Corpse Is Still Twitching

The torrential rain didn’t matter, walking down the hill into Los Cristianos I was in my own little bubble of sunshine thanks to the good news coming through my earphones, CD Tenerife were 2-1 up at Alcorcon. Sadly it didn’t last, the home side clawed their way back to win 3-2 and despite a fighting performance the drop still looks odds on.

Not being able to see away games on TV is something we may have to get used to if CD Tenerife drop into Segunda B, it’s not the same swearing at a radio, I’m sure people thought I had tourets. Anyway Tenerife gave a good account of themselves against one of the form sides, Omar had a chance early on but over cooked his cross. You can never rule out Nino and after 42 minutes he grabbed a lead from a corner, just 2 minutes later Alcorcon were level through a penalty for handball by Kitoko. Hopefully I will get to see footage of it at some stage, the radio commentator seemed to think it was a bit harsh, Quini despatched the ball into the net.

Into the second half and Julio Alvarez (above) came on for Omar and had plenty of fire in his belly. The eager sub laid on the ball for Iriome to restore the CDT lead after 55 minutes, time for me to attract more worried stares as I leapt and punched the soggy air. Mikel Alonso came on for Hidalgo after 67 mins, it’s been reported that the club don’t want to play him as it will trigger a contract renewal clause, maybe part of a game doesn’t count?

When your down you rarely get the breaks, Jeremy levelled the score at 2-2 after 75 minutes and for the first time I could hear the home fans sing. Juanlu on for Iriome was the last gamble by coach Amaral but with the minutes ticking away Quini plundered the winner. Another defeat but with rivals results being kind to us the damage was limited a little, home next week and us serial straw clutchers are ready to hope again.

Gabba Gabba Hey, Pornosurf Pay Tribute To The Ramones

Maybe too much sun has toughened my skin, I just couldn’t get the safety pins through my nipples, and my attempts to rip open the knees of my jeans didn’t work so I went in plain clothes to see local band Pornosurf play their tribute to New York punk legends The Ramones at the Underground rock pub in El Medano.

The General drove us down there, don’t think I have been to El Medano at night before, I was impressed by the twinkling lights inset in the road at the pedestrian crossing it was something I hadn’t seen before in Tenerife. It was pretty busy around the main plaza, most bars had a decent crowd outside and the strong winds that make this a kite surfers heaven were having a night off. The Underground pub was easy to find, just off the plaza to the left as you face the sea, it was just after 10.30 and not very busy, a good indication that the 11 pm start for the gig was a very loose guide. Bottled Doradas were 2 euros and with Nirvana and Motorhead belting out from the speakers we were happy to wait. The bar is a long tube shape, hence the name, and as more people poured in I spotted a good range of rockers and rock chicks in their 20’s and 30’s.

A polite 40 minutes late Pornosurf took to the performance area at one end of the bar and launched into a high octane journey through the best of the Ramones, it was good to hear Rock and Roll High School early on. Projected on the back wall was a pic of Joey Ramone the lead singer who died 10 years ago from lymphoma, a type of cancer, all three main ramones Johny, Joey and Dee Dee are now dead. A few years ago Marky Ramone played a gig in Santa Cruz but he was pretty much a fringe member of the band. Talking of fringes, there were several Ramone floppy fringes on show in the audience and even a small mohican.

The tight confines of the bar made it quite hot, Pornosurf were matching the fans in Dorada demolition and they certainly earned it with their full on style and the briefest of gaps between songs. The toilets are just to the side of the bands area so the tide of music lovers lapped quite close to the speakers and guitars, I took the opportunity to grab some photos from the side as I returned from syphoning off some excess beer, my ear was close to one of the speakers and took the full decibels of Cretin Hop. Pornosurf are a good band and clearly have a loyal following and The Ramones were always a favourite of mine so it was a winning combination. Highlight of the night for me was a rip roaring trip down memory lane with Rockaway Beach, a track that used to get played liberally at my old sixth form discos oh so many years ago.

It’s always good to see live music and there is quite a healthy local band scene in Tenerife, Pornosurf were a top band in a top venue, I feel I may be paying a return visit to the Underground.

Musical Treats And Wet Dreams In Santa Cruz

Although I don’t like to boast about it I owned a rather stylish boat when I was younger, it gave me hours of pleasure, sadly it got damaged beyond repair when I dropped the soap on it, bathtime has never been the same since. My mind raced back to those happy splashy days (I was 23 at the time) on Saturday as I walked around the Expo Nautica at the Fred Olsen ferry terminal in Santa Cruz. A large gleaming red Stingray speed boat was one of the stars of the show and what a snip at just 57,000 euros.

It was a good day up in the capital of Tenerife, I’d gone up early to check out all that was going on before heading to football – least said about that the better. Anyway I started with a look at Los Caminos Del Mar, a new exhibition at Sala de Arte La Recova, just behind Teatro Guimera. The free exhibition of mainly paintings looked back at a golden age of Canarian art inspired by the linking of the 7 islands by a series of steam ships. Entry into the hall is through a covered wooden walkway with the sound of lapping water feeding up through speakers to give a feel of walking along a ships gangplank. The paintings were pretty impressive and marked a good start to my day.

Now in a nautical frame of mind I headed for the boat show, the display area is the roof of the Fred Olsen terminal which connects at street level to the Plaza de España and its surrounds. There were around 30 boats and a few jet skis on show and little marquees selling support services like dingys and life rafts, I did notice a few attractive young sales ladies and hoped they might be draping themselves over the shiny body work of the powerful boats but they seemed content not to roam.

The setting made a great scene as the port behind was busy with the Armas and Fred Olsen ferries coming and going and 2 large cruise liners moored up for the day. I’m not a speed junkie but can see the attraction of these fine sporty boats, I have tried jet skis and loved the feeling of power and the spray of the water in my face. There were a couple of top of the range jet skis on show looking sleek and compact. A pair of professional racing speed boats looked like rockets with gleaming chrome engines glinting in the hot sun, I bet they would soon leave me in their wake on my little pedal boat. I don’t know if any of the companies were selling much, most people seemed to be looking and longing until the price tags dispelled their day dreams.

Taking off for a stroll around Santa Cruz I was eager to see the street entertainment put on for the days La Vive Calle programme, several plazas were putting on music and dance to attract more shoppers and get them in a happy money spending mood. Plaza del Principe had a good sized crowd spilling onto the pavement with lots of children sitting cross legged lapping up the musical theatre offering. It was a small team quick changing in a hastily assembled back stage dressing room and the sound system made sure that their light opera stories kept attracting more enthusiasts.

The most impressive street show was at the Plaza Isla de la Madera in front of Teatro Guimera, a duo called Mooba Mu were quite spellbinding with a mix of music and dance. They were performing on a small square area of matting and when I arrived the young lady was on all fours writhing and singing a mournful soul song to the guitar backing. What a great performer, she used eavery inch of the “stage” and wrung every drop of emotion out of the songs. Rising slowly to her feet I could see the microphone headpiece partly hidden beneath her long wild hair and she continued to use her emotive performance as her co performer moved from guitar to an amazing electric upright string instrument.

Santa Cruz council are definately on a winner with this street entertainment, hopefully it will become a regular thing, it all helps to enliven the capital and add to the diversity. What a pity the football wasn’t as entertaining.

A Dogs Dinner Of A Game As CD Tenerife Roll Over And Play Dead

The Grand National had just finished at Aintree but in Santa Cruz 22 cart horses took to the pitch and served up one of the worst games we have witnessed, and we have seen a few stinkers. In their defence Huesca came for a draw and probably couldn’t believe their luck to go away with a 1-0 win, CD Tenerife have no such excuse. Would another change of coach make the blanquiazul players suddenly care? We believed it could, we needed to believe but ultimately it has always been down to the players and they just don’t have the heart or the balls for the battle.

David Amaral was the last desperate throw of the dice, a hero in his playing days at the club, his 2 spells as coach had not been a great success but the man from Arico is bursting with passion for Tenerife and his Mission Impossible was to translate that into the players. The new boss did try, he brought back Bellvis in the problem left back slot and juggled the starting line up, Josmar was on the bench and hope was in our hearts. Once the whistle had sounded the sorry tale unfolded, Huesca were the most negative side we have seen, time wasting, diving, and play acting, and the referee just let it go. Those are just minor quibbles in the overall scheme of things, it was down to Tenerife to go out and grab the game but no one had any ideas or drive, long balls were easily snaffled up by the big visiting defenders, Nino hardly got a sniff.

Ricardo was back at his uninspiring worst, Captain Careless Bertran was making unforced errors and showing as much leadership as a stick of celery. Bellvis did ok at full back and Omar at least tried to make some openings up front but Nino looked drained by his lone role and Iriome just looked poor. Neither goalie had much to do in the first half, it really was dreadful to watch. Back out for the second half and there was no real difference, Nino managed to make the Huesca goalie produce a save and Amaral brought on Igor for Iriome. Tenerife couldn’t even break out of their half for 10 minutes and a goal looked inevitable, Camacho laid on a tempting pass and Jokin headed home but no one was laughing.

Josmar came on for the final 12 minutes and showed again that he deserves much more playing time, his nifty footwork and direct approach is always going to cause problems and when Echaide hacked him down in the dying minutes he got a second yellow and was sent off. Many of the 13,573 crowd had given up before the end and left, the rest of us were angy and frustrated but not surprised, with just one point in the last seven games the grave was already dug. Bookings for Prieto and Bertran will sideline them for the next game but it would be nice to see the old guard dropped and some of the B team given a run out. If the first team were racehorses they would be on a one way trip to the glue factory.

Spring In The Oxford Air And The Sap Is Rising

At the end of a brightly coloured rainbow you will find…Birmingham, well the bankers had the pot of gold and shared it around their friends years ago. It was a nice welcome as I moved through Birmingham airport en route back to Oxford from Tenerife, it had been raining as the plane landed but just as I passed the sliding glass doors from arrivals the sun peaked out and the rainbow arched over the top of the nearby hotel. A train soon had me in Oxford and I was able to sample a few pints of real ale before heading to my Aunts.

Doing my whirwind tour of my home town it was nice to see that the previous weeks sun had lured the spring flowers out, a host of golden daffodils caught my eye and put me in a chipper mood. At the train station I had found a chunky programme for the Oxford Literary Festival, they had an amzing line up of visiting writers over the week and I was tempted to try to get tickets for some talks, Brian Aldis, Adam Boulton, Melvyn Bragg and even Stephanie Powers all looked tempting. Sadly my lack of time made it impossible and the several hundred events all started at 10 pounds and rose quickly and steeply, I’d definately begrudge paying good money to the filthy rich University.

Oxford is a city of contrasts and my patch Cowley looks distinctly rough these days, the local pub The Nelson where I first put lips to a pint glass is a bit of a war zone, it was always basic but now I’d want a tetnus injection and an armed guard before going in there. On the plus side, in recent visits I have found a cracking proper chippie in Headington, Posh Fish had me drooling over a stack of chunky chips and a whale sized cod in a crispy overcoat, all drenched in salt and vinegar. I restricted my beer intake to evenings but it was good to taste some rich dark ales in the city centre pubs, sadly a few more have either closed or been turned into up market foodie haunts.

The lower end of Cowley is student bed sit land and the pretentious young things call it Cowley Village, it’s a real melting pot of nationalities and you can eat your way around the world at the cafes and restaurants. There used to be a great West Indian eating house that did amazing food and played ska music as the owner sat at the bar smoking a huge aromatic rock and roll Woodbine. I spotted an Ethical Property letting building that included the HQ of the Sumatran Orangatan Society, I hope the wages are good cos if you pay peanuts…….. Further up the road the O2 Academy is a magnet for up and coming new bands and lots of old ones getting some late mileage out of their careers. The listing promised Ali Campbell, The Alarm, Magnum, and The Stranglers, but i was most upset to realise I would miss Big Country, back out gigging again but with Mike Peters (formerly of The Alarm) in place of deceased Stuart Adamson.

I wont bore you with the legal crap I’m still chasing following my Dad’s death last year, needless to say the solicitor performed open wallet surgery on me again. Wednesday was a revelation, it was sunny and hot, apparently the hottest 6 April since the dawn of time. I took the chance to be Tommy the Tourist and went up the tower of St Mary The Virgin church in the High Street . There was a collection of International Baroque Players tuning up in the belly of the church (built 1280) ready for some evening concerts, they were pretty nifty and I could still hear them as I climbed the 127 tight spiral stone steps up to the gallery outside the tower. The views were nice but I’m not great with heights and the crumbling masonry did little to reassure me. I hoped that the attractive American tourist didn’t notice how I clung to the back wall as I manouvered past her.

Back on firm land I headed into the Botanic Gardens in the shadow of Magdelan Bridge, they were restful and fragrant and best of all lots of scatily clad posh young totty were sprawled out on the grass areas exposing as much as they dared to the sun. A few punts were being propelled along the river and under the bridge, this May Day morning the bridge is being opened up for the first time in years for dawn revellers, many of the Hooray Henrys and Henryettas will try to plunge off the bridge into the murky, shallow and supermarket trolley infested waters, not the brightest of ideas.

Anyway my short jaunt soon expired and I found myself back in Brum and heading through the labyrinth security zone, one of the most intense I have seen, I was scanned, prodded, grilled, and sniffed before I got through. There was one treat though, this was the first day of their new hologram helper, Virtual Lucy was projected onto a stand and with the cheeseiest of smiles took me through the basic security measures as we all shuffled along through the cattle grids. At one point she clicks her fingers and her tunic jacket is removed in a blink of an eye, how long till some geek hacks the programme and gets her to do a virtual striptease. At the other end of my journey there was something quite pleasing about the low tech digital readout board at the Titsa bus stop outside Tenerife South airport. The time and temperature were way off scale and it didn’t even list the bus that pulled in to take me to a cold Dorada. It’s good to be back.

Plucky Away Draw Is A Band Aid On CD Tenerife’s Gaping Wound

In normal times this 1-1 draw at relegation rivals Nastic would be a decent point but these are not normal times, CD Tenerife are plumeting towards relegation and wins are what’s needed. It was a better showing and ended the 5 game losing streak but the damage has been done progressively through the season.

We moan about decisions going against us and our luck but once again a red card was recinded in the week, this time Ricardo was cleared to play, Sicilia covered for Beranger at left back, his red stood, and Dubarbier returned in midfield. It could have been a disasterous start as goalie Sergio Aragoneses sliced a clearance but Bertran nipped in to mop up the loose ball. Tenerife looked fired up and eager to go for goal, Nino was sharp as always and even Natalio was getting in good positions. Kitoko emphasised the new spirit by stealing the ball off Nastic and setting Natalio (below)Â free but he blasted his shot wide.

Tenerife scored on the half hour with a clinical move, Ricardo won the ball in the air and nodded it on to Nino, the busy forward shrugged off 2 markers and tucked the ball wide of the keeper into the corner of the net. Things were looking encouraging, Dubarbier hooked a shot just over the bar and Nino forced a great save out of the home goalie. Just before half time Tenerife let in a sucker goal, Felipe placed his shot past Sergio after Ricardo and Prieto had both missed tackles on the supplier Alex it was a cruel blow after a tigerish first half display.

This Tenerife side doesn’t react well to setbacks and although they showed willing in the second half the spring in their step was missing and the old errors started to creep in. Campos had a free header just after the break but his soft shot went to Sergio. Coach Tapia wisely replaced Dubarbier after 54 minutes, he had a yellow card and was pushing his luck with some of his challenges. Campos put another shot over the Tenerife bar and Rey had quite a personal duel with Sergio, the Tenerife stopper kept the upper hand. It wouldn’t be a Tenerife match without a red card, Luna seems to attract bookings like a magnet but he can feel unlucky to be sent off as both his yellows came from innocent tackles where the opponent made a meal, or rather a banquet of them.

Tenerife still had some fight and Natalio could have done better when blasting high over the home bar. Igor came on to up some punch up front but maybe 18 minutes from the end was a bit late. Sergio was kept busy, Eloy brought the best out of him and there was a let off when Kitoko got himself into a right old mess and lost the ball, Rey couldn’t take advantage and saw his shot blaze wide. The Tenerife players frustration was clear to see as they trudged off. The spectre of relegation still looms large but at least the draw and performance might take some of the sting out of the fans anger when Tenerife play Huesca at home next Saturday.