It wasn't to be Valencia 1 - CD Tenerife 0

Well I haven't cried for a couple of hours so I thought I might try to write here how I feel. We were so hopeful. Arriving in Valencia on Friday night we had the chance on Saturday to look around the city, including the new stadium that will be finished when Valencia finds some more money. It's not just us with money worries although theirs are bigger then ours.
The city is lovely and the people we talked to all hoped we would do well in the game on Sunday.

The players on Sunday morning when they took their walk seemed calm.

 There were smiles and they stopped to chat and sign an awesome display that two fans had drawn.

There was a fan meeting in one of the plazas in the centre of town and hundreds of people were there. Singing and supporting CD Tenerife.

The match started at 7pm and although the players tried their best, they couldn't save themselves. There was unilt the 9+ minute a hope that real Mwould score a second goal and then we would have been saved but in extra time Alexis scored and that was relegation for CD Tenerife.

Game notes
VALENCIA CF 1 (0)
CD TENERIFE 0 (0)

VALENCIA CF
Moyá; Miguel, Maduro, Alexis, Jordi Alba (Mathieu, 71’); Fernandes (Marchena, 75’), Baraja (Ever Banega, 88’), Domínguez, Pablo Hernández; Vicente & Zigic.

CD TENERIFE
Sergio Aragoneses; Ezequiel Luna, Héctor, Pablo Sicilia, Culebras; Ricardo (Dinei, 74’), Mikel Alonso, Román Martínez, Juanlu Hens (Omar Ramos, 60’); Alfaro (Ángel, 85’) & Nino.

REFEREE
Velasco Carballo, from Madrid. Yellow card for local player Zigic; and for visitor Juanlu Hens.

GOAL
1-0: (91’) Alexis.

INCIDENTS
Played in the Mestalla stadium. Ground was in good condition. Warm afternoon. Before the start of play there was a display for player  Rubén Baraja, who played for the last time for Valencia CF after 10 years with the team..

On tenterhooks

I am sure the first thing you do in the morning is not supposed to be check the AENA flight website. This was my first action today and I expect it will be tomorrow. I need to get to Valencia. If I do my part and am there to support the side. I am sure the team will do theirs and play the best they can.
Other subjects of conversation can be heard on the Island this week but eventually the subject comes back to whether the listener thinks CD Tenerife can save themselves. It will not be easy but after watching them against Barcelona 11 days ago I am sure they can.
The players train again tomorrow morning and then trainer Jose Luis Oltra will announce the players who will be playing. The team then departs for Valencia on a direct flight from the south at 16.10

The Frente Blanquiazul the animation sector of the fans have called for the island to be covered in blue and white for the game. That all buildings, balconies, plazas etc. should be covered in flags, shirts, with cloth and ribbons. This way the islanders can support the team


The two players interviewed today were Pablo sicilia and Ricardo Leon .
Ricardo started commenting on the 1000 plus fans who were going to Valencia on Sunday to support them in Mestalla, "You have to thanks the fans. There is a whole island behind the team. An island who feels the colours and  who we should make happy at the end of this final day." He continued, "We are preparing for a game that is to us very important. It will be a final against a great rival," added the midfielder. "We need to think how to work hard in our intent to beat Valencia. Our intensity will need to be the maximum possible. Most importantly we need to forget everything that is not this game. We need to go out to win, knowing that we play for everything."
He finished, "We need this victory to stay in the first division. We will do our part and not watch the other teams. We need to be calm and up to the game day train as hard as we can."

For his part, Pablo Sicilia started explaining that "the game on Sunday is a final and we need to win what ever happens elsewhere. We know that the fans want to see the team spend another year in Primera. Valencia will try for the three points. No player will go out onto the field thinking about their holidays or something like that. If we manage to save ourselves, I am convinced it will be because we played well enough to deserve it.”
He added, "We will go out and give our all, with a great attitude. Everyone benefits from being in the BBVA League and we need to achieve this for the club, the fans and the team."

Training started for the game against Valencia.

The team trained for 80 minutes this morning in the Mundialito training grounds. The trainer José Luis Oltra, talked to the players for a few minutes before they started. This week there is training for the game in Mestalla against Valencia on Sunday.
They warmed up running a few rounds of the field and then did exercises with possession and circulation of the ball. At this point the players were divided into 2 groups. For those who played last Saturday there was recuperation and game in half a football pitch for those reserves who hadn't played. Kome was not involved and worked on his own with Adrián Gutiérrez.
Tomorrow the players have a day off and then training starts again on Wednesday in the Mundialito grounds.

The club gave thanks again to the fans who have attended games both on Saturday and this season generally. There has been an average attendance of over 19,000 fans.
The club is trying to organise trips to Valencia so fans can go to the last game.

Photos from the Valencia game

Due to circumstances I was sat in the Popular stand for yesterdays game against Valencia so I took some photos and here they are.

Corner

After their corner

going back to the centre

What now mummy?In the stand

Mostly Armada Sur fans

Flags everywhere

Valencia warming up

Our President and others

The smallest man is Santiago Llorente

Due to circumstances I was sat in the Popular stand for yesterdays game against Valencia so I took some photos and here they are.

CD Tenerife - Valencia CF

In the best game I have seen Tenerife play this season they managed to hold Valencia to a 0-0 draw. Not for chances did their score stay at Zero. Tenerife had 16 shots at goal. Sometime we need to get lucky and something go in. That said Ceasr, Valencia's 38 year old keeper was awesome. Everything that came his way he stopped.
Our defense was good and Manolo was exceptional. The team resembled the team from last year where they fought to the end in every game. I hope they will play next week against Zaragoza with the same intensity.

GAME NOTES

CD TENERIFE 0 (0)
VALENCIA CF 0 (0)

CD TENERIFE
Sergio Aragoneses; Marc Beltrán, Manolo Martínez, Ezequiel Luna, Pablo Sicilia; Mikel Alonso, Román Martínez (Richi, 86’); Juanlu Hens (Ángel, 80’), Alfaro, Kome (Ayoze, 70’) & Nino.

VALENCIA CF
César; Miguel (Dealbert, 76’), David Navarro, Alexis, Bruno; Albelda, Banega (Marchena, 74’); Pablo Hernández, David Silva, Mata (Vicente, 85’) & Villa.

REFEREE
David Fernández Borbalán, from Andalucia. Yellow card for local player Luna (60’), and visitors Albelda (29’) & Ever Banega (52’).

GOALS
None.

INCIDENTS
Ninteenth round of the competition Liga BBVA in the first Division. Disputed in the Heliodoro Rodríguez López Stadium in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, present were 21.366 spectators on a warm afternoon with gusts of wind.

Preparation for Valencia

Training yesterday was for 80 minutes and today the team will train in the Heliodoro Rodríguez López form 10 am in preparation for tomorrow Sunday's game against Valencia CF at 4pm Canarian time. After training today trainer Jose Luis Oltra will announce the squad for tomorrows game.

In an interview on Friday tenerife trainer José Luis OltraDiscussed that although he came from Valencia his team was " CD Tenerife, Here they treat me like I was at home. I owe the club a lot and the island and no one should doubt that my greatest wish is that we win tomorrow."
When asked about Valencia he replied "Valencia is competing at the highest level. They are the best away6 team not only in Spain but in the whole of Europe."

He then discussed that the players where not frightened of Valencia that "we need to be effective and think about ourselves. They will certainly be a rival with personality. But also we ned to bear in mind what our rival will let us get away with."
In reference to the absence of Ricardo Leon, the Valencian confessed that " no player missing is alarming, the mid field is well covered here in Tenerife. Each player has their virtues. Although we can't count on Ricardo other players can cover his position."