LANZAROTE   1   CD MARINO   0

The Rojillos fought like warriors in a bloody battle against an excellent Tenerife side who were as equally committed to the cause. Unfortunately Lanzarote have paid a heavy price with two nasty injuries to Rodrigo and Thioub.

It was a match where Lanzarote fought heart and soul against a team in form who are also in the hunt for a chance of promotion. A win for the visitors would leapfrog them above Lanzarote into 9^th and with three games in hand they are definitely in the mix for a playoff position.

The Rojillos simply had to win to have any chance of challenging for a top five finish. The game began at a fast pace with the Rojillos led by captain Ayoze Pérez and Miguel Gopar bossing the midfield.

New striker Di Renzo was involved in most of Lanzarote´s chances and in the 8^th minute his cross was inches away from Ayoze Pérez who would have had a tap in.

In the 23^rd minute a good ball through the centre found the Rojillos new number 9 Di Renzo on the edge of the area. The keeper closed down quickly and managed to deflect his chip, the ball ran to the far left of the area and Di Renzo got their first and was hacked down y defender Vidal for a clear penalty. I am sure his manager, Ex Rojillo boss Kiko de Diego will be very disappointed with that challenge.

Di Renzo stepped up and sent the Tenerife keeper the wrong way to give his side a 1-0 lead.

Ten minutes later the first injury to Lanzarote occurred when Rodrigo went down in a challenge and dislocated his shoulder. He was replaced by Thioub who unfortunately in the second half would be the second player forced off through injury.

The visitors stepped up a gear and in the 42^nd minute winger Nami made excellent progress down the right wing beating two players but the imposing figure of the Lanzarote keeper Alejandro had read the danger and smothered the ball as he was about to strike.

A minute before the break Miguel Gopar who was having an inspired match chased what looked a lost cause and managed to chip the ball from the left over to the far post. Rojillo centre back Matheus launched himself towards the ball knowing that he had to connect before the bounce but even at full stretch the bounce beat him and the ball flew off his leg and over the crossbar.

Last season’s relegated club began to press the Rojillos early in the second half and as the minutes passed the intensity of the match increased. In the 59^th minute Thioub was forced off the pitch which looks like it could be a very worrying knee injury and was replaced by debutant Bili.

Minute’s later youngster Kevin Lemes was also forced off with a head injury and was replaced by another player from the reserve side Rubén Martín. Rojillos manager had no choice on making any tactical changes as all his substitutes had been used to cover injuries.

The match kept on increasing in tension and on occasions this ended up in a couple of brawls on the pitch. The referee could have acted upon this and produced red cards but it was refreshing to see the official understanding the passion, he only showed a few yellow cards whilst always being in control of the situation.

It is very rare to talk good of the referee but I do think he helped to make this such an entertaining match however Lanzarote were not so keen on the nine minutes of added on time that he allowed.

Lanzarote were hanging on by their fingertips. Another local youngster Aythami Yebri who has been with the first team a couple of seasons but has now gained confidence was chasing down every ball and defending from the front. The talent that this local boy possesses is beginning to bear fruit.

The local fans were urging their side to hang on, the drum was beating and even the injured Ismael Traoré was banging the billboards to support his team mates. Captain Ayoze Pérez used all his experience to motivate this bunch of young local lads to claim all three points and move Lanzarote up to 7^th and three points from the playoffs.

Next week Lanzarote travel to 4^th placed side and possibly the best team in this league CD Atlético Paso. The La Palma side are 7 points from top spot and only 3 points from automatic promotion with three games in hand on the teams above them.

The league is congested with teams fighting for a playoff finish. Realistically there are seven teams below the playoff positions that are in with a shout of a top five finish. Only five weeks ago fellow island side Yaiza were third from bottom, one month later and winning all of their five games they are now in fifth, level on points with Atlético Paso and having played the same amount of games. It really is a fascinating season.

Prior to kick off a minutes silence was held for three people, an ex UD Lanzarote player Eduardo Gorriz, Lorenzo who was a club delegate and director and also the grandfather of Lanzarote player Loren, Carmelo Duarte.

GOALS

1-0 min 25 Di Renzo (penalty)