Another lacklustre draw for Mallorca

After a brilliant 30-yard strike from Japanese winger Takuma Asano in the 8th minute (his first goal for Mallorca since being signed from German Bundesliga club Bochum last summer), Mallorca fell apart and in the end were fortunate to get a point against a struggling Alaves side who remain on one league win since the reverse fixture last November. It was a great start for Mallorca which brought the 17,702 crowd to their feet as we got ready for what we thought would be a comfortable three points, a step nearer permanence in La Liga and a possible bonus of a European Conference League spot next season.

But it was the visitors who took command of the game and forced a succession of corner kicks. They out-passed us, out-ran us and for long periods outclassed Mallorca in the first half. Culprit of the night was Mallorca striker Vedat Muriqi who had a nightmare, missing four chances. The first saw Sergi Darder put through a glorious defence-splitting pass, giving Muriqi a 20-metre run unchallenged towards the Alaves goal, in a one-on-one with their goalkeeper. Muriqi saw his deft chip trickle narrowly wide of the post and I’ve never seen so many people hold their heads in their hands in disbelief. Alaves continued to put Mallorca under pressure and the visitors looked dangerous on the break. Half time came with Mallorca fortunate to be ahead.

In the second half we were finding it difficult to string two passes together, then on the hour mark Muriqi saw his header cleared off the line and from the resulting corner, the big Kosovan produced a fine save from Sivera in the Alaves goal. By now Son Moix fans were getting more and more frustrated and Mallorca couldn’t control the ball and gave it away far too often. In the 67th minute came the not totally unexpected Alaves equaliser. From a corner “Los Babazorros” veteran striker Kike Garcia netted from close range.

By now Mallorca coach Arrasate was pushing the panic button and made some baffling substitutions. Once again our best player was Robert Navarro, but he had to leave the pitch with what looked like a hamstring injury with a possible 3-4 weeks on the sidelines. Sergi Darder then hit a worldy from distance which was brilliantly tipped over by Sivera. That was the highlight of a poor second half for Mallorca. Despite us finishing with three strikers, Abdon, Muriqi and Larin, Mallorca failed to make an impression against a packed Alaves defence.

The result though disappointing wasn’t too bad for Real Mallorca in view of Rayo Vallecano’s draw and Real Sociedad’s defeat. We are now level with Rayo Vallecano on 36 points but we missed a great chance to practically seal La Liga participation for next season. With 12 games to go (5 at home) Espanyol are our next visitors on Saturday, March 15 at 16:15.

I have to mention the fantastic show put on for the Balearic Day weekend celebrations before the game with Mallorcan dancers, orchestra and choir, the highlight being the hymn of the Balearics, La Balanguera, after which there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, then three helicopters from the Guardia Civil, National Police and Local Police flew low over the Son Moix. Unfortunately the game didn’t live up to the excitement of the build-up.