Where there is pleasure there is often pain. Well the Sunday morning hangover was definitely in proportion to the previous nights 2-1 win in Salamanca in front of nearly 200 travelling supporters. As my hotel room throbbed and spun it took a while to realise that the first victory since November was more than just a hazy dream.
Cheap flight offers from Ryanair (just 10 euros return) before Christmas convinced us that this was an away game too good to miss and I joined my friends in the Armada Sur peña (fan club) for Saturday morning’s departure fromTenerife South. Touching down in Madrid we picked up our minibus and started the 2 and a half hour journey north to Salamanca. The hills were covered in deep snow and the sun did little to dispel the cold air but we made good progress, even stopping for a vital top up of beer and snacks.
Heading straight for the ground we found a nice busy bar just across from the stadium and the blue and white of Tenerife was in the majority as we mingled with the locals in a nice friendly atmosphere. The sun was going and our section just behind the goal was very cold as we joined the other Tenerife fans, nice to see a good mix of ages, men and women and even some families cheering on the blue and whites.
New Congo born midfielder Kitoko settled in nicely and Tenerife played some nice confident football but after 25 minutes Moraton pounced on some defensive uncertainty to steal a home lead. I felt a surge of pride as our travelling fans upped the noise level and lifted our players for a fight back. Just 4 minutes later defender Pablo Sicilia rose to head home an equaliser, Salamanca visibly wilted and the second half arrived with new hope. Tenerife rode their luck at times but there was no doubting the spirit and Sicilia made good use of his head again after 71 minutes to grab the lead and crank up the blue and white party. It was a nervous finish as Kitoko was sent off for a second booking but the team held firm and at the final whistle they raced to our section to milk the adulation they deserved.
There was just time to dump the minibus and check in at the hotel before hitting the town to celebrate. Salamanca is a beautiful historic town with a large student population and it was teaming with life. We caught some more football on TV in a very ornate and rather posh restaurant bar overlooking Plaza Mayor before taking a tour through the old quarter to marvel at the cathedral. Taking a back street we popped into a music bar and were pleasantly surprised to find it heaving with more Tenerife fans, the perfect spot to take the party into the small hours.
There is much talk of an imminent Russian take over of CD Tenerife, the money would be handy but it’s very much a club of the people, this weekend again showed that strong bond between fans, players and club.
