After consecutive and impressive home victories, Real Mallorca looked to be on an upward trajectory, but one point from the next two games has plunged them back into the inferno of relegation.
Missed Chances at Home
The first of those games was at home to Valencia on Tuesday the 21 st of April and the visitors were within touching distance. The club declared the game to be Pirate Day to honour Vedat Muriqi who is known as the pirate. A bumper crowd of 20,000 plus turned up and many were dressed in Jolly Roger outfits and looking forward to a home win. Head coach Demichelis replaced the injured Luvumbo surprisingly with the Japanese winger Asano who has missed a multitude of games, leaving Jan Virgili on the bench.
The early signs were good as Mallorca set off on the front foot and the visitors were extremely lucky to reach half time without conceding. Immediately after the break Samu Costa scored with a fine near post header and everything looked rosy with shots raining in but the Islanders failed to ram home the advantage and predictably Valencia equalised with a well taken goal by Umar Sadiq on 67 minutes. Mallorca kept pushing and when Virgili was finally introduced he brought a fine save from the visiting keeper Dimitrievski. It would have been a travesty if Valencia had taken all three points and with time virtually running out, Danjuma missed connecting with a defence-splitting pass.
Post match the general feeling was one of frustration but also a haul of 7 points out of nine was a great haul and Demichelis was subsequently named coach of the month in La Liga. Immediately after the match he was very critical saying the players were looking to score the third goal before making sure the second went in. They had 19 shots on goal with 59 % possession.
Away-Day Struggles Continue
Next up was a trip to Alaves in the Basque country on the 25 th of April. Mallorca´s away form this season has been abysmal but the head coach went for an attacking formation with Virgili starting the game to partner Muriqi. Again they came out of the traps very well and dominated from the first whistle. On 18 minutes Virgili cut inside from the left wing and curled an unstoppable shot into the far corner. The home fans were deflated and Mallorca looked very impressive, without scoring the vital second goal.
The second half was completely different with the Islanders appearing to retreat into the form they displayed under the previous coach. On 56 minutes Toni Martinez planted a header into the net from a corner. Mallorquin born centre half David Lopez was badly at fault failing to challenge Martinez. Worse followed on 69 minutes when Martinez had a shot that looked to be a comfortable save for Leo Roman but the ball deflected off the hapless Lopez into the net leaving Roman helpless. Despite many substitutions Mallorca failed to trouble the home side who were comfortable winners. It was an amazing example of a game of two halves.
Since the arrival of Demichelis the reds have taken the lead in all three of the away games they have played under his leadership but only gleaned one point. The coach was palpably angry saying “it wasn’t us in the second half, we have to learn to show our fangs and be aggressive when defending. You don’t defend in only the final third, you defend in all parts of the field”
Results elsewhere meant Mallorca slipped to just outside the relegation zone on goal difference only with Sevilla just behind them.
There are five games left this season with three of them being away from home. This doesn’t augur well as the team have only won once away all season and three draws.
A vital game is on the horizon away at Girona on Saturday the 2 nd of May at 21.00 . Can Mallorca reverse the trend of poor performances on the road?
Charles Nutter
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