Heed Hopper: My Matchday - 259 Estadio Antonio Dominguez

CD Marino 8v1 CD Igara
Torneo Sebastian Martin Melo XII
Thursday 19th August 2010

Our destination for this years summer holiday was Playa de las Américas on the beautiful Spanish island of Tenerife, the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Africa.
The resort is south of the island, in the northern part of the Municipality of Arona and was built in the 1960’s beside the town of Los Cristianos.
The beaches are man-made from imported sand from Africa due to the darkness of the native volcanic sand. Playa de las Americas is known for its busy nightlife with the Veronicas strip, Starco Commercial Centre and the Patch.

I’ve never have much luck ground bagging while on me jollies, we usually plan our vacation in July before the pre-season build up gets underway on the continent, however this year we decided to nick off a few weeks later.
When I booked our hols back in January I honestly didn’t know that our hotel would be on the same road and only a five minute walk from a football stadium, used by local side Club Deportivo Marino.

After regularly checking on the net on possible fixtures I was delighted to get confirmation a few days before departure that CD Marino were playing at home on my last night in the resort, the first match in a four team tournament stretching over three days.
The club were founded in 1936 and currently play in the Tercera Division - Group 12, which is the fourth level of the Spanish football league system, which features 361 teams divided into 18 regional groups.

The Estadio Antonio Dominguez has a capacity of 7,500 and is primarily an athletic stadium which is used by the local community on a daily basis with a gymnasium, boxing club and leisure centre under the main stand.
The grounds main entrance and reception is on the main road which runs through the resort and down towards the beach, but spectator access is gained at the top end behind the goal. Admission is gained by purchasing your ticket at the office then stepping sideways where a gentleman at the gate takes your ticket before callously ripping it in two, giving you half back and dropping the other part in a bucket. I got the left part back and James the right so I’ve just about got a full ticket.(see web album)
Once inside there is a bar with tables and chairs on the concourse which is perched high giving a good view across the stadium and the surrounding mountains. Only half the ground is used by spectators, the concourse with a dozen large concrete blocks in front continues around to the main part of the stand.
The main section of the stand is covered with smart looking wooden beams and supports. Centrally there is a section of blue flip seats with the club name and crest above which is set aside for club officials.
The rest of the ground is made up with banks of lawns and hedgerows with the far side having two large walls with ‘Paronates De Portes Arona’ (Arona Sports Board) on one and the club name and anchor logo set upon painted white stones, with an electric scoreboard in between.

The sparse crowd had a few tourists but was largely made up of locals, amongst those were some very ardent women, who were so passionate that two of them almost came to blows. A heated argument began after an incident on the pitch between two opposing players, in the end one of the ladies had to go and watch the game elsewhere in case she ended up giving to other wifey a dry slap.

The game was the first semi final of the 12th Torneo Sebastian Martin Melo, a competition played amongst four Tenerife based clubs.
CD Marino were due to play the as advertised UD Realejo, but were replaced by CD Igara who most likely wished they hadn’t bothered to fill in after receiving an 8-1 good hiding by the hosts.
The match was a lot closer than the score line suggests, well it was in the first half anyway. The visitors actually look a 9th minute lead, be it against the run of play and it wasn’t until first half stoppage time that Marino overturned the score line.
The second half was a different story as the home side played some fantastic stuff, adding a further six goals and it could have easily been double figures. The score line might suggest that the football was of a poor standard, but both clubs were technically very good, playing the now recognisable short intricate Spanish passing style, but Marino were much superior and were tremendous in the second half.

The following night Raqui San Isidro beat Tenerife B on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the other semi final before the hosts won Saturdays final, winning 4-0 to take the Sebastian Melo.

Me and James enjoyed an entertaining evening in the Estadio Antonio Dominguez, which was a nice wee break from our usual night in the resorts many pubs. However afterwards we hotfooted back to the town centre to return to the female half of the Smudger clan to finish off our last night of what was a fantastic holiday in Tenerife, which was nicely capped off by bagging a new ground.