Tenerife suffer Hercules hiccup - 22.05.2009

Hercules 3 CD Tenerife 1

THERE are days when it all just falls into to place like a perfectly-executed A-Team plan.
It would have come as no surprise to me if Tenerife coach Josa Oltra had snuck on a pair of leather gloves, put on a tan jacket and sparked up a massive Lardy after the win over Real Murcia.
After last Saturday’s setback at Hercules, he may as well have been covered in oil and pondering what happened as he sat in jail with B.A and Face.
Don’t let the scoreline fool you. Hercules were the better side and won. That’s true. But Tenerife had no luck all match and might have returned to Santa Cruz with something on a different day.
They should have been ahead before the hosts even got into their stride. Juanlu’s deflected shot was fingered over the bar by Calatayud, while Nino and Alaro both squandered decent chances.
Hercules had a decent penalty shout just before they took the lead in front of their biggest crowd of the season. Delibasic pounced after a hopeful through-ball was misjudged by Luna.
He rounded Luis Garcia and knocked it into the empty net, despite the best efforts from Manolo Martinez to get back. It was a soft goal to concede and Tenerife failed to learn their lesson.
Abel Aguilar hit the bar from a free-kick minutes later, and worse was to come just before the break. Calatayud’s big up-and-under caused panic in the away defence and Delibasic lifted the ball over the hapless Garcia for his and Hercules’ second goal.
And in injury-time it was three. Farinos’ vicious free-kick was well-saved low down by Garcia, but Aguilar tapped in the scraps.
I’m sure the irony was not lost of Oltra, who tried so hard during the summer to sign the lively Colombian.
Three down at half time in a must-not-lose match, with your big rivals after creating more chances than the hosts. Ouch!
Tenerife deserved credit for trying to get something out of the game. Betran’s long throw was flicked on by Richi and Nino scrambled the ball into the next just before the hour to give Tenerife hope.
Angel and Alfaro would carve out later opportunities, but nothing would really run their way. 
The defeat was a setback, and the weekend would have been a dark one for the players. But they must now concentrate on the positives.
They are still second, and with a two-point advantage over Hercules, who are fourth. All CDT fans would have taken that at the start of the season.
 Leaders Xerez are a ghost. They are gone and need to be forgotten about for now. They have a dream run-in. Nastic, Eibar, Huesca and Celta Vigo should be dispatched. They travel to Santa Cruz in a fortnight but should be up by then.
So it’s all about the other sides for Tenerife, and the fixture computer has been kind this weekend. Third-placed Real Zaragoza have what now looks like a tricky match at Alicante.
Regular readers might remember what I wrote when Tenerife blew a two-goal lead to draw there a few months ago: “Tenerife’s draw was not that bad … it could be the difference in going up or staying in the Second Division.”
Alicante are still in deep relegation trouble, but they have fought like cornered tigers over the last few weeks.
Last weekend they won in Las Palmas (and boy did that feel good!), and burst the Real Vallecano bubble a fortnight before that.
They played well in a narrow defeat against Real Sociedad last weekend, so let’s hope former Tenerife players Blanco and Luis Gil can help us on Saturday.
They also play Hercules in a fortnight, but Tenerife’s conquerors travel to Huesca this Sunday.
They are an ugly, lumpy side full of seasoned journeymen – a little like a Second Division Stoke, if you like. They have done wonderfully well in their first stab at this standard and they are rather tasty at home.
Real Zaragoza fans would openly admit they got a jammy win there a few weeks ago, so they should make it tough for Hercules. In fact they should cancel each other out.
Neither side play with any flair, and both will start with a loan striker. Roberto is the best bet for a home goal, and let’s hope he gets one.
While this is going on, Tenerife should be sticking a few goals in the Alaves onion bag. The visitors are a million miles away from the team who played in the best-ever UEFA Cup final with Liverpool at the start of the Millennium.
They are on the verge of bankruptcy, and four points from survival. To be fair, they have done okay recently, but they have this habit of conceding late goals.
Recently, they have led against Nastic, Eibar, Xerez and Girona and managed to cling on to victory in only the last of those matches.
They are decent at the back for a side in the drop zone. Former Tenerife keeper Bernardo will get a big cheer from the home side.
He had a stand-out season in 2006-07 when on loan, and would have moved permanently if the sides had agreed a fee. His son was born in Santa Cruz as well.
But this is a shoo-in for Tenerife. They have scored goals for fun at the Heliodoro and should brush the visitors aside.