Not even a dodgy referee could crush the Carnaval spirit as CD Tenerife set the terraces dancing with a 1-0 win over Getafe B in Santa Cruz. Newly elected Carnaval Queen Carmen Gil was guest of honour, hopefully she won’t always expect six sendings off, two disallowed goals and a late penalty winner.
The game was a slow burner, maybe just as well as hangovers and lack of sleep had to be overcome by the party crowd of 9,424. Chechu should have opened the home scoring in the first minute but hit a post, setting the tone for a half of missed chances. Confidence was high after new coach Garcia Tebar had seen his charges win their first three games under his command. The referee was lost from the start, Getafe players were allowed to roll around at the slightest touch, even the widows at the sardine funeral would struggle to be so dramatic. As gentlemen clicked their high heels in frustration at the spoiling tactics of the visitors, Tenerife forward Kiko wasted free headers in front of goal.
Life in Segunda B has not been as easy as some thought Spain’s third tier would be but after two successive relegations expectations of recovery were high and coach Calderon paid the price just into the new year. The club brought in some new faces in the January window and new coach Tebar has encouraged free flowing play but the goals weren’t coming by half time.
Pop stars, superheroes, and cross-dressers were all a little frustrated at the break. Security staff tried to look menacing but it’s not easy when three hairy men in dresses are using glove puppets to fire sweets into the crowd from a very intimate launch zone.
Back at the game Getafe were starting to threaten. Tenerife brought on Aridane, one of the new forwards, and he put the ball in the net only to see it ruled offside. Then a hammer blow as midfielder Kitoko had to go off injured and with the subs used Tenerife were down to 10 men. Tarantino followed up a booking with a ill judged tackle and was also off ““ nine men.
Local hero Pablo Sicilia urged the crowd to raise the noise and they responded giving their all. Meanwhile anger at the ref from the benches brought red cards for both coaches and Tenerife’s back up goalie. The roar from the crowd swept Tenerife forward and a penalty with just two minutes left was crashed home by Loro amid wild scenes from the home fans.
There was more drama even as the sound of Chicharrero de Corazon echoed through the stadium. The ref added six injury minutes on. Getafe thought they had scored and when it was ruled out their complaints reduced them to nine men. The tension was unbearable as the last minute ticked away before the final whistle unleashed a cauldron of noise, even the men in high heels were dancing. The party has another week to run in Santa Cruz and this sweet victory will fuel plenty of celebrations. The CD Tenerife players were promised two free days to enjoy Carnaval if they won ““ the city is all yours boys.
