RCD Mallorca: Back to Reality
Real Mallorca came crashing back to reality after the euphoria of a well deserved opening game of the season draw against Real Madrid in Palma.
Osasuna 1 - 0 RCD Mallorca
A loss away at Osasuna on the 24th of August was followed by a stupefying nil nil draw at home to Sevilla on the 27th of August. New head coach Jagoba Arrasate received a hero’s welcome at Osasuna in Pamplona. He spent six successful years there before being recruited to spearhead a new dawn in the fortunes of Mallorca. The home team were in control from the first minute and keeper Dominik Greif, playing his second consecutive game, kept the visitors in touch. Colombian fullback Johan Mojica did provide chances for Muriqi and Asano but neither were able to convert the opportunities. On the 55th minute Rubén García gave Osasuna the lead. The team from Pamplona never looked back and ran out comfortable winners. Their coach Vicente Moreno, who had a previous great spell in charge of Mallorca celebrated as if his team had won the Champion’s League.
RCD Mallorca 0 - 0 Sevilla
On to the home tie with Sevilla on a sultry Tuesday night with a 7pm kick off. It was way too hot for a La Liga game in August. The timing of kick offs is determined by foreign television stations with no consideration for players or fans alike. It was a cat and mouse affair and the surprise in the starting line up was Leo Roman in goal for the Palma outfit. The Ibiza-born shot stopper was given his debut after a promising stint on loan to second division Oviedo last season. Arrasate has a track record of rotating his keepers and he continued that trend. Roman made a number of good saves and the future looks bright in the goalkeeping department. Sevilla were a shadow of the side that has regularly challenged in European competitions recently. Both sides made multiple substitutions and on the 82nd minute 17 year old striker Marc Domenech was given his debut. Palma-born Domenech has impressed his head coach in pre-season games and in the final minute he was inches away from converting a cross into the winning goal. The reality is that neither side deserved a win. After 3 games Real Mallorca have only amassed 2 points and there is a potential banana skin on the horizon with a game away at Leganes in the Madrid suburbs on Saturday the 31st of August.
The transfer window closes at the end of the month. Arrasate has specifically asked for two wide players – wingers in old fashioned parlance. Rodry from Real Betis is on the radar but nothing definite at the time of writing. Fans throughout Europe have high hopes of incoming players at this time of year. Time will tell.
