Ian reports from Arrecife as Lanzarote just fall short after a great end to the season. Good effort guys, see you next season. Thank you to Ian for providing the match reports this season, great job as always.
LANZAROTE 4 ESTRELLA CF 0
The Rojillos finished the season in style sweeping aside sixth placed side Estrella but this was not enough to claim the final playoff spot.
The match began in soaring temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius and was somehow played at a fast pace with the Rojillos intent on doing the business and hoping C.D. Vera would slip up against Las Palmas B. The Rojillos had to win and as long as C.D. Vera didn’t win then Lanzarote would grab fourth position claiming the final playoff spot.
After only four minutes Toñito raced superbly to the by-line and pulled the ball back invitingly for striker Alex Yunes who struck the missile on the full from eight yards only to see his effort rattle off the crossbar and away to safety.
The Rojillos dominated possession and were rewarded seconds before half time. Echedey beat his right back and centred in a great cross; Toñito timed his run with perfection and glanced his header into the bottom right hand corner sending his side 1-0 up. As the Rojillos went for a cold shower during the half time break with a 1-0 lead they would have also heard that C.D. Vera also were winning by the same score.
The Gran Canarian side who held top position for much of the season had slipped off the pace in recent weeks and who had little to play for did not relish coming out for the second half knowing that they were in for a pounding.
Six minutes into the second period and Jotha made it 2-0 catching out the Gran Canarian keeper with a 30 yard free kick almost from the touchline. Whether it was a cross or a shot is up for debate but one thing is certain is that the ball whistled past the keeper and into the top right hand corner.
News had come through from Tenerife that Las Palmas B had drawn level so the fans were in a boisterous mood. In the 77th minute Ayoze broke with the ball in his penalty area and fed Toñito. The classy winger broke down the left wing and cut inside and fed Ayoze. The midfielder who had covered an amazing amount of ground kept his composure and rifled into the top right hand corner to make the score 3-0.
Whilst the Lanzarote fans were celebrating C.D Vera had regained the lead and found themselves 2-1 in front and were back in the driving seat.
In the 82nd minute a corner curled in by sub Gustavo was met with the meat of the head by centre back Adrián to complete the 4-0 score line.
Many of the Lanzarote fans were listening to the other match on the radio and there was an almighty roar as our provincial relatives had once again scored or thought they had scored to tie the score at 2-2. The Ref had awarded a goal but then conferred with his assistant for a while before cancelling out the strike for offside so it was the Tenerife side still with the initiative.
As the whistle blew for full time and Lanzarote secured their ninth home win on the bounce news had filtered through that C.D.Vera had held onto the lead and therefore will be competing in the playoffs to reach Spain’s Bronze league.
The home form of Lanzarote is of Champions but it was all so apparent where the problem was and that is the away form. Apart from the last two away matches which the Rojillos won they could only muster up just four wins on the road all season. If this problem is addressed Lanzarote can look forward to next season with huge expectation.
GOALS
1-0min 45 Toñito
2-0min 51 Jotha
3-0min 77 Ayoze
4-0 min 82 Adrián
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