Tenerife's 2007-8 league position

	games played	at home / en casa					away / fuera					total					points total	league position
		W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A
CD Tenerife	42 of 42	11	6	4	33	24	1	11	9	18	33	12	17	13	51	57	53	11 of 22

Goalscorers 2007-2008 ( penalties shown in red brackets )

Player	league goals	cup goals	total
Nino	19 ( 1 )	0( 0 )	19 ( 1 )
Ayoze	7  ( 2 )	1( 0 )	8 ( 2 )
Arruabarrena	6 ( 1 )	0( 0 )	6 ( 1 )
Iriome	4 ( 0 )	0( 0 )	4 ( 0 )
Oscar Pérez	4 ( 0 )	0( 0 )	4 ( 0 )
Culebras	2 ( 0 )	0( 0 )	2 ( 0 )
Pablo Sicillia	2 ( 0 )	0( 0 )	2 ( 0 )
Santos	2 ( 0 )	0( 0 )	( 0 )
Longás	1 ( 0 )	0( 0 )	1 ( 0 )
Manuel Martínez	1 ( 1 )	0( 0 )	1 ( 0 )
Marc Bertran	1 ( 1 )	0( 0 )	1 ( 0 )
N'Diaye	1 ( 0 )	0( 0 )	1 ( 0 )
Ricardo	1 ( 0 )	0( 0 )	1 ( 0 )
own goals / propia puerta	0	1	1
CD TENERIFE total	49  ( 5 )	2( 0 )	51  ( 5 )

Pablo Sicilia's late goal is cancelled out in the 96th minute of play: UD Las Palmas v Tenerife 05/04/2008: 1-1

I watched this game, my fourth "derbi, live having travelled on the ferry with hundreds of the nearly 2,000 other Tenrife fans to swell the crowd to its record for a derbi of 29,132.  I am putting more information and lots of pictures on a special page on this site which can be accessed by clicking here or on the scoreboard picture above.

I updated this on 14th April and there are now 37 pictures there and a collage of "dorsales" (back names and numbers) - see if you recognise yours.

Canary Islands derbi games are fiercely contested and the fans get as worked up about them as any fans anywhere in the World.  Tenerife had the chance to win for the first time in the Seite Palmas stadium which Union Deportivo Las Palmas moved to a few years ago. 

The first half was fairly evenly contested, however, with Martínez booked early on and then lucky not to be booked again and sent off.  In fact it was Las Palmas who were down to 10 men from the 40th minute  when Samuel was sent off for his second yellow card.

Tenerife then dominated for most of the second half with a few Las Palmas breakaways to give a taste of what was to be the the cruel end to the game.  Despite this we didn't score until Pablo Sicilia (85m) headed in an Ayoze corner near the end and seemed certain to have given us all three points.  His team mates mobbed him and celebrated wildly but he honoured his pledge made earlier in the week not to celebrate in respect for the fact that he is from Gran Canaria. 

Despite the comfortable feeling that we were now going to win, the referee, having disallowed what appeared to be penalties for fouls committed on Nina and then Arruabarrena (the last looking as certain a foul as can be but for which our number 9 was incredibly booked for diving), then added on 5 minutes off extra time and played about 7. Nino had a good shot saved in the first of these and then, inevitably, Las Palmas broke away to score through Marcos Márquez (90+m) with what seemed to be about 6 minutes of extra time played.

The Las Palmas fans celebrated as if they had won the Champions League final not just achieved a late, late draw against us.  The bottles which had been flying towards us during minutes since we scored intensified and full ones burst around us spraying coke and water everywhere with the riot police just standing watching despite some of the more responsible home fans pointing out the culprits to them.  The scoreboard showed the final score as we were kept in the stadium to let the home fans disappear so we could safely go in our convoy of coaches to the ferry port 30 kilometros from the stadium and make the trip back to Tenerife.  Having started from Los Cristianos at 10.15 am I arrived back at my hotel at 12.15 am the next morning, tired and thoroughly disappointed at the way the victory had been snatched from us but having had good time with friends old and new.  It's as exciting as watching Stoke City but you can't usually sit outside in a t-shirt drinking wine at 1 am when you come back from seeing the mighty Potters!!  Tonight might be an exception as I shall be watching them on Sky in Los Cristianos.

After the game Tenerife trainerJosé Luis Oltra said  "The result is totally unjust.  We clearly dominated the game, we always controlled it and we went ahead on the scoreboard.  The referee harmed Tenerife and has been the determining factor.  We had two penalties which were blown for and at the end I don't know why there were five minutes of addes time.  Then he added another minute more and that was when they drew level.  What is certain, however, is that we deserved the victory from any point of view.

We had more possession of the ball, pushed forward more and got closer to our opponents' goal.  They took advantage of an opportunity right at the end and unjustly equalised.  The outcome of the game has been very cruel."

Mikel Arruabarrena is hoping his yellow card for supposedly diving in the penalty area, which brings him to a total of 5 meaning he is due to miss the next game against Elche, will be wiped out. He says that "it was a clear penalty and anyone who says that they doubt it is pulling your leg".


I watch as late goals comeback at Córdoba earns a point: Córdoba v Tenerife 08/03/2008: 2-2

I'm in Córdoba to see us watch our latest attempt to obtain precious away points having got just one win (and seven draws) from our thirteen away games played so far this season. Overnight in Madrid with Carlos and Marga followed by a trip on the AVE (high speed train). a walk around the lovely streets in the old town and the match at 6.30 pm local time.

Tenerife trainer Oltra was without Pablo Sicilia who is suspended and Andrés Santos who is injured, Julio Hormiga got another game after his good showing last week.

The match started with a minute's silence for the socialist ex-councillor and motorway toll booth operator, Isías Carrasco, who was killed on Friday by ETA. He left his home and was shot at five times whilst driving off in his car, three bullets hit him and he got out and staggered back towards his house, his daughter running out to find if it was him being shot found him lying in the middle of the street. He died soon afterwards and this has caused outrage in Spain which was coming up to elections on Sunday 9th.  It puts the downs of being a football supporter into perspective.

With just Nino up front it never looked like we would score and the other 20 Tenerife fans who were supposed to be in the 8,500 crowd were as quiet as me. Predictably, Córdoba took the lead through Pierini (20m) and doubled it in the second half through Juanlu (59m). At this stage our trainer Oltra substituted Iriome for Jesuli and Arruabarrena for Culebras and the two newcomers made a difference both in the urgency of the play and in the fact that first Iriome (82m) and then Arruabarrena (90m) in the third minute of injury time, scored to give us a point we didn't look like getting or deserving until about 20 minutes from the end of the match. Now you could see there were some Tenerife fans in the stadium !!!

However, after all the euphoria we are now 9 points away from the third promotion place.  If only we could replicate our home form in away games we would be real challengers for promotion.

Below are some pictures from the game and from the beautiful city of Córdoba.

Pictures from the game

Minute's silence for Isías Carrasco assassinated by ETA

Tenerife defending in the first half



Óscar Pérez on the attack but unfortunately we didn't score



Tenerife attack the open end of the ground in the first half



The Brigadas Blanquiverdes celebrated their "win" too soon





The Nuevo Arcángel stadium - both ends still under construction

Pictures of Córdoba

Córdoba is a beautiful city and I have included here some pictures which show various aspects of it.  Away matches at Bradford were never like this !!!

The Mezquita from across the river Guadalquivir



At the side of the Mezquita



Near the Mezquita and the Puerta del Puente



Gardens at the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos (Royal Castle)



Mezquita - the columns of the original mosque



More detail of the columns



Oranges growing in the street



A cormorant in the River Guadilquivir

 Stadium to get an ambitious facelift

Tenerife's stadium the Heliodoro Rodríguez López is to get a massive investment to bring it more up to date thanks to the "Cabildo" our island council who own the stadium currently.

The most expensive part of the improvements will be a new video scoreboard to replace the defunct one at the Herradura end of the ground which has not worked for years.  The new screen will cost about 600,000 euros and will be of the most modern type.  Other innovations include lifts in the Tribuna main stand, partly to allow equipment for the media to be transported more easily, better access to the stadium, some new executive boxes, improvement to the pitch, moving of the club's offices to the stadium (at the back of Grada Gol) and, at the suggestion of my friend Chris Todd (General of Armada Sur) at a supporters' meeting I attended with him two years ago, a sign on the outside of the stadium identifying it as our ground.

Our club president Miguel Concepción hopes that the improvements will be completed and in place by sometime in 2010.
  
 

  I watch our first defeat of 2008 despite a good performance from the team:  Hércules v Tenerife  16/02/2008: 2-1

This was a frustrating game to watch as we played well only to go behind twice to a team just below us in the league.  In fact, having equalised, we appeared to have scored a good headed goal which was mysteriously disallowed. 

I went to the game with my friends Carlos, Dave and Tommy and with my mother who will be 87 next week !!!  We watched, at times optimistic at other times pessimistic, from the stands in the bitter cold of the Alicante evening.

We were playing good football when Sendoa (28m) scored the first Hércules goal and at half-time thought we still had a good chance to win the game despite Ayoze missing a good chance in a one-on-one with the home team's goalie just a minute after they had scored.  Nino also nearly connected with a high ball later in the first half.

In the second half we started brightly with a goal from Ayoze (47m) making up for his earlier miss and then Culebras headed in to the net only to  have it disallowed, presumably for a foul by one of our other players.

Still playing well, particularly in defence but at times in midfield and up front, we nevertheless went behind again when Ion Vélez (75m) scored to take all three points for the home team and inflict our first defeat of 2008.  My friends will see if we can do better in Salamanca next week but for the moment we sadly lose our momentum in the leauge table and drop a place to tenth, six points behind third placed Real Sociedad.

 Tommy, Carlos, Mum and myself before the game

Kick-off with Tenerife in red

Action during the match showing the sparse crowd

Pictures from the Albacete v CD Tenerife game played on 25/11/07

These photos were taken in the Carlos Belmonte Stadium prior to the 0-0 draw I reported on below.

With my banner before the match - it normally goes through
security at airports with no problem but on the way back
was taken away for the Guardia Civil to inspect it !!!



With Dave Dye prior to the match



Dave (middle left) with members of Peña Puntera
who had made a special trip to watch this game

Poor performance against a team at the bottom end of the table: Albacete v Tenerife 25/11/07: 0-0

I watched this game with Dave Dye of Armada Sur and about 20 members of Peña Puntera on a freezing cold early evening in what is billed by the "Rough Guide" as the "most boring town in Spain". Neither team did much to change this reputation unlike the much more lively 2-2 draw between Elche and Alavés that I saw the night before. Ayoze headed off the line before being replaced and Nino had a great unexpected shot well saved before right at the end Arruabarrena, on as a substitute, headed on a corner very powerfully and nearly scored only to again be thwarted by the opposition goalie.

Incredibly we have lost less games than leaders Málaga but are in eleventh position in the table (with other teams below us having the same points) because we have drawn so many games this season. Just a few more goals and we would have been challenging for promotion.


Seventh game without defeat but a disappointing result: Tenerife v UD Las Palmas 03/11/07: 2-2

The long anticipated "derbi" game against bottom of the table Las Palmas saw us ahead twice through Nino (7m) and Culebras (52m) but still succumb to two equalisers from Darino (18m) and Adrián (71m). In fact Las Palmas played the better football for much of the game and with a good save from a long range shot three minutes from the end and a last minute miss after space was opened up for a great scoring opporunity they could have won the game. Their new manager must take much more pleasure from both their performance and the result than our trainer Oltra does.

Pictures from the deby showing the pre-match atmosphere, crowd scenes, members of Armada Sur and some match action (including the Culebras goal can now be found by clicking here .