LANZAROTE TRAVEL TO TENERIFE ON SUNDAY
The Rojillos travel to the south of Tenerife on Sunday 5th February and face in form side CD Marino at 12.30pm.
Lanzarote have slipped to 7th spot and are still within touching distance of the playoff positions but they must begin to put points on the board following three consecutive defeats.
CD Marino began the season terribly and had just accumulated five points in their opening ten matches and looked certain as relegation candidates, however 3 wins and a draw moved them out of the danger zone and further steady results have seen them climb to a comfortable 11th spot and six points clear of danger.
Last season Lanzarote won this fixture 1-2 but over the years it has not been a happy hunting ground for the Rojillos. On the 19 occasions that these two teams have met Lanzarote have only won 3, lost 12 and drawn the other 4 matches.
It has been no secret that Lanzarote have struggled losing two of their top defenders. Manu Cedenilla arrived at the club days before the season began and played superbly in every match. He was offered a contract with a team at a higher level and as the Spanish Federation laws states that any player can move freely if going to a higher category the club reluctantly had to let him go.
A more complicated loss was of last season’s player of the year central defender Matheus. He did not return to training after the Christmas break and it seemed as though his wife wanted to move to mainland Spain to be closer to her family. There are always differences of opinions on any split and rarely it is done cleanly but I am sure on behalf of most Rojillo fans we wish Matheus and his family along with Manu Cedenilla the very best for the future.
It has not been easy for the club to find a replacement for either player but 22 year old left back Isaac Hernández (main photo) arrived from UD Las Palmas B early in January and is settling in to his new team but the real problem was at such short notice finding a replacement for Matheus. Finally the club are delighted to announce that 21 year old centre back Mahmoud Ben Bangoura from Guinea in Africa has joined the squad and will be available for manager Mateo García this week.
