Mallorca, two points clear of Espanyol at the top of LaLiga SmartBank, were looking to ensure they had a merry Christmas break by taking three points against Fuenlabrada, thirteenth in the league and with 23 points, eighteen fewer than Mallorca.
If Mallorca thought that this might be a comfortable evening's work, they got a rude awakening in the tenth minute when central defender Rubén Pulido put Fuenlabrada one-up following a free-kick and a fumble by Manolo Reina in the Mallorca goal.
In what were a hectic few minutes, Abdón Prats had a goal ruled out by VAR (eventually) for handball by Antonio Raíllo, but almost immediately Braian Cufré equalised after a defensive rebound. This was in the twentieth minute. Cufré swiftly went from hero to villain, picking up two yellows for dangerous play and being sent off in the 31st minute. The second yellow was questionable, as Cufré had played the ball.
Iván Salvador added Fuenlabrada's second almost immediately with a direct free-kick that went through legs and past Reina. Winger Franchu, on loan from Real Madrid, hit the woodwork, with Mallorca's normally tight defence having an off-evening. And just before half-time things went from bad to worse for Mallorca. Centre-back Antonio Raíllo received his marching orders for two separate yellows - one for a brush with an opponent (it wasn't that clear), the second for protesting.
Despite being down to nine men, Abdón Prats equalised six minutes after the break, heading in from Ruiz de Galarreta's free-kick, but Damián Cáceres restored Fuenlabrada's lead on 61 minutes with a shot from just outside the box.
Following this setback for Mallorca, the two-man disadvantage hardly seemed to matter, as the home side put in a brave display in seeking a third, but it wasn't to be.
No comments
To be able to write a comment, you have to be registered and logged in
Currently there are no comments.