LANZAROTE   1   ARUCAS CF   2

In a frantic five minutes of injury time Lanzarote deservedly levelled the match in the 92^nd minute, only to see the visitors steal all three points with a hotly disputed goal three minutes later and send the Rojillos staring at relegation trouble.

If you have seen most of Lanzarote´s games this season you would have noticed that the only thing shining on Lanzarote this season is the sun. The club has been littered with injuries, poor refereeing decisions and the only luck the team has had has been all bad. Everyone involved in the club does understand this will change with positivity and this is what the players have in abundance.

It has not been decided how many teams will be relegated this season as this depends on how the league is to be structured; there is a strong possibility that the league could be reduced by one team making it 16 teams. On top of that there are five relegations to be had in the league above and they are all Canarian sides currently in the bottom five.

This all means that it is possible that seven teams could be relegated and Lanzarote are now sitting in that 7^th and final spot but this will not be known for certain until the end of the season. 10^th spot will ensure safety but there are sides below the Rojillos that have games in hand so this is a situation which is taken seriously.

The good news is that there is no doubting the players fight and commitment. Despite this loss the performance of the team was exceptional. There are six games remaining and that begins this Wednesday 30^th March at 5pm with probably the most difficult, CD Tenerife B. They are in third spot but are just goal difference away from automatic promotion. The final five matches for Lanzarote are all against teams in a similar situation to the Rojillos, battling relegation.

The match began with Arucas CF on the front foot but as the minutes continued Lanzarote gained possession and looked the better side. The best opportunity came in the 34^th minute when a deep free kick from the right by Pacheco was powerfully headed by the impressive Lanzarote number 9 Di Renzo but unfortunately the ball cleared the crossbar by a couple of inches.

The second half began similar to the first with the visitors leading the charge. In the 48^th minute a long ball found striker Héctor Figueroa free of his marker. His header from six yards went inches past the far right hand post.

Only three minutes later and the side chasing automatic promotion were awarded a controversial penalty. Captain Ayoze Pérez went to play the ball but midfielder Pedro theatrically flung himself over which was good enough for the official to point to the spot. Héctor Figueroa sent Alejandro the wrong way and it was 0-1 to the Gran Canarian side.

The Rojillos heads did not drop and four minutes later a beautifully measured long pass by the impressive Adrían Machín split the Arucas defence, striker Di Renzo read the situation perfectly and was first to the ball and was then brought down by the keeper and the Ref immediately pointed to the spot.

Di Renzo stepped up and unfortunately had a David Beckham moment as he slipped whilst kicking and the ball which went horribly over the crossbar leaving Lanzarote chasing the game.

Lanzarote continued to press and there was a big shout for a penalty when Machín was upended in the box after a super run down the right wing but again the Ref was having none of it as he waived away protests.

Finally in the 92^nd minute after continued pressure the totally committed Leo Marquez bicycle kicked the ball back into the danger zone and Di Renzo nodded the ball home to seemingly earn Lanzarote a point at 1-1 or possibly more.

The Rojillos pushed forward looking for the winner then in the 95^th minute Arucas broke forward and the ball was played across the Lanzarote defence 30 yards out. Rojillos Leo Marquez looked as though he would be easily first to the ball but then the Lanzarote defender crumbled to the floor as his foot had been stood on by winger Jorge Flores. The referee and his assistant let play continue as the ball was squared for striker David Figueroa to fire home from six yards to claim the 1-2 win amid huge protests from the Lanzarote players and fans.

There is certainly no faltering in the attitude of the Lanzarote players. Hopefully there will be some returning from that long injury list for this Wednesday’s match 30^th March at home at 5pm versus third placed side CD Tenerife B.

      GOALS

• 0-1 min 51 Héctor Figueroa (penalty)
• 1-1 min 92 Di Renzo
• 1-2 min 95 David Figueroa