WITH torrential rain and unseasonably cold temperatures the two hundred or so British holidaymakers at Son Moix on Sunday may well be forgiven for thinking they were in England. Mallorca's wayward passing in their 3-1 defeat to Sevilla may also have reminded the tourists of their homeland, as will have the poor standard of refereeing. On Sunday the Islanders once again followed up an impressive away victory with a home defeat. Recent wins at Real Madrid and Barcelona have both now been followed by poor home defeats. Not only did Mallorca lose the match they also lost ground on sixth position and the UEFA Cup place that goes with it. Athletic Bilbao, currently in sixth, now lie four points above the Islanders who are eleventh, the bottom of a four-team group on 47 points.
Mallorca started the day on a bad note with news that Ariel Ibagaza had sustained a last-minute injury meaning Gregorio Manzano's side would be without their creative dynamo. There was little more to brighten the spirits on a desperately dismal day until the 14th minute when the evergreen Miquel Soler made one of his characteristic breaks down the left. The veteran defender did well to cut the ball back into the area where some trickery by Walter Pandiani -intentional or not, it didn't matter -- let the ball free for Samuel Eto'o to net his 13th goal of the season by tapping past keeper Notario. The goal gave Mallorca confidence and it looked as though they were on their way to a comfortable victory. That is until the last two minutes of the first half when they suffered a double blow. Firstly Sevilla equalised through a tap-in from Antonito and then Mallorca midfielder Harold Lozano was given his marching orders following a second yellow card. Mallorca were forced to go on the defensive and it wasn't long before Sevilla had the upper-hand when Jose Antonio Reyes knocked in a simple free-kick past a misplaced wall and a static Leo Franco in the Mallorca goal. Mallorca pushed forward looking to salvage a point and threw on Carlitos in a hope he could produce one of his trademark late goals, but it was not to be and Sevilla wrapped up the match when Antonito scored his second and Sevilla's third after catching Mallorca on the break. Ibagaza, who was sorely missed, will go through tests today to see if he will be fit enough to face Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. As usual in a time of need, Mallorca officials have slashed the ticket prices for the match to between 16 and 35 euros.
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