Sporting Gijón wins Ciudad de Santa Cruz Trophy

Sporting Gijón has won the Ciudad de Santa Cruz Trophy after defeating Tenerife in a penalty shootout in a match that Abelardo's team managed to equalize in the last minute of added time.

Omar Perdomo from Gran Canaria opened the scoring and put Tenerife ahead, while Joni, when it seemed that everything was decided, equalized the match and forced the trophy to be decided from the penalty spot.

Asturians and Canarians faced each other on Sunday in the first serious test of the preseason calendar, in a dull match that heated up at times with late tackles and potential brawls.

Raúl Agné fielded the only two signings made by Tenerife, Pedro Martín and Germán Sánchez, while Abelardo Fernández used 22 footballers throughout the match.

Abelardo's squad tried to demonstrate which of the teams will play in the First Division and took control of the ball, while the Canarians showed a more direct style of play.

The first half of the match passed without the few spectators who attended the Heliodoro Rodríguez López, which celebrated its ninetieth anniversary this weekend since its inauguration, seeing any goal-scoring opportunities.

The only clear chance of the first half was for Tenerife, when Omar Perdomo from Gran Canaria failed to take advantage of a loose ball in the penalty area to beat Cuéllar.

Sporting's Hugo Fraile and Guerrero attempted shots from distance that did not create any danger, while Cristo González, Pedro Martín, and Omar Perdomo from Tenerife showed the most persistence but lacked accuracy in the final pass.

The script of the match remained the same in the second half, and just as the penalty shootout was looming, Tenerife managed to take the lead: a great long pass from Carlos Ruiz left Omar Perdomo alone, who beat Alberto García low (65').

Sporting did not take long to react and came close to equalizing again, but Mendi's shot, after a good individual play by Lora, went just wide of the Canarian goal.

In the final moments of the match, Joni got hold of the ball inside the box and with a left-footed shot beat Carlos Abad-Hernández at the near post, sending the match to a penalty shootout (88').

Sporting had more success in the penalty shootouts and took advantage of the three penalties missed, two saved by Alberto, by Tenerife to secure the victory (2-3).