Sunday lunchtime's opponents Villarreal B were a team filled with exciting young talent and at times they took control of the game, especially early doors. We were on the back foot straight from the kick-off and as early as 25 seconds into proceedings Reina was called into action with a double save. Mallorca were hanging on, so coach Moreno decided to make a change in the 32nd minute. Bonilla at left back looked to be struggling and was substituted by Cano with Giner falling back into defence.
The standard of football was more Second Division than Segunda B and I overheard a couple of football tourists during the interval praising the quality on show. At half time all the talk was about the four top saves that Malaga-born Reina had made to keep Mallorca in the game and the performance of a shocking referee from Catalonia called Sauleda Torrent. He was the worst referee seen in the Son Moix for years (and there have been plenty); his lack of consistency and knowledge of the basic rules beggared belief.
After the break, Villarreal continued with their fancy footwork but it was Mallorca who took the lead with a wonder goal. In the 51st minute Lago Junior got control of the ball down the left flank, cut inside and curled an unstoppable shot past keeper Diego's outstretched hand. When this effort went in the roof nearly came off the stand – the goal of the season by a mile. Villarreal continued to knock on the door but another terrific performance from our defence meant the ninth clean sheet of the season.
Real Mallorca's TV deal with local channel IB3 hangs in the balance. Sunday's live broadcast started half an hour late and both picture and sound quality weren't the best. The main problem in receiving live pictures was that the online service for supporters from other parts of the world caused many complaints. Mallorca pulled the plug on second half transmission. Problems arose when the TV company decided to show our match and At. Balears at the same time and as it turned out, the Balaricos got second half preference, which has ruffled a few feathers in the Son Moix. Talks will take place hopefully in time to save Saturday´s live broadcast from Formentera. A spokesman for Real Mallorca said IB3 didn't offer a quality service on Sunday.
Mallorca found Villareal B a tough nut to crack on Sunday in what was a stern and feisty test for the islanders, as the Palma side are on the verge of tearing up the record books with their remarkable start to the season. Coach Vicente Moreno has firmly turned his side into one that can't be beaten easily. The first half was pretty even despite the visitors putting together a number of attacks, four of which brought out top saves from Reina - he had a ripsnorter of a game.
The coach hailed Mallorca's spirit and togetherness as they extended their unbeaten run to nine wins out of ten, meaning there's now a sizeable gap of seven points between us and Villarreal B and nine away from third placed Lleida.
The referee was an utter joke. His inconsistency was unbelievable and a lot of incidents that warranted a yellow card weren't given. His performance verged on the abhorrent and borderline criminal. I commented before the season started that referees in Segunda B were notoriously bad. We all like to give referees the benefit of the doubt as they undoubtedly have a very tough job and, without video replays we all enjoy while watching games on TV, it's little wonder they make mistakes. On Sunday the referee spoilt the game with his perpetual whistleblowing for every little niggle.
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