Real Mallorca and their long-suffering supporters will be sweating it out big-time right to the final whistle on Sunday, hoping they will be one of the lucky sides to survive this end-of-season relegation dog-fight. In a game being labelled “one of the most important encounters in the club's 100 year history” an almost full house is expected.
This is the final home match of what has been a bloody awful centenary season. We play Cordoba who are in sixth place with an outside chance of making the play-offs. They're coached by ex-Mallorca boss Jose Luis Otra and will be fired up after their 3-0 win away at Mirandes on Wednesday; they have danger written all over them. The Andalusian club started the season well, then had an up-and-down spell but are now back in the La Liga “honeypot” hunt.
It's tighter than Kim Kardashian's bra strap down in the basement area of La Segunda (and in the play-off positions). Already gone are Bilbao Athletic, Albacete and probably Llagostera. All this means that there are going to be some tense tussles as fans are glued to their mobile devices (nothing new there then) checking on other matches that affect us as the relegation trap door beckons. It used to be transistor radios back in the day. The club has again bent over backwards to fill the ground and bring back some much-needed atmosphere. More free tickets have been given away and an even bigger gate than Tuesday's 11,000 is expected. The club website said on Thursday that all free tickets were “agotado” (all gone). If you're coming, I suggest you get to the Son Moix as early as possible because parking on Tuesday was an absolute nightmare. Some people were taking their seats 20 minutes after kick-off. Before the game tomorrow, there will be be free hotdogs, burgers and drinks outside the Mallorcacafé but only for season ticket holders and only for those wearing a coloured wristband, 1000 of which were given out on Friday.
There will be changes in our personnel. Jesus Cabrero starts in goal for the suspended Timon Wellenreuther and Yuste is expected to return at centre back, meaning Truyols drops to the bench. Joan Oriel is a serious doubt, he's missed training all week with a muscle strain. Our stress levels weren't helped on Wednesday night when Ponferradina scored a last-kick winner in a 2-1 win over doomed Albacete. Tomorrow Ponferradina play away at Tenerife then face play-off hopefuls Girona on Saturday. The Canary Islanders, now coached by ex-Mallorca captain Pep Luis Marti, could do us a huge favour by taking points off their visitors. Almeria are two points behind us in the bottom four. They play Mirandes at home then travel to Cordoba next Saturday. Mallorca must win tonight and get at least a draw next Saturday at Valladolid. That would allow the American owners to start putting in place their plans for next season.
We can expect big changes on and off the pitch and it looks likely that Vazquez will stay on as coach – if all goes according to plan. There's also news that the Son Moix playing surface is to be relaid in the summer at a cost of 150,000 euros, the first time that's been done since the inauguration of the ground in 1999 for the World Student Games. New owner Robert Sarver said in March that the lawn at his palatial home in Phoenix, Arizona was in better condition. Mallorca need to work hard again and be good enough to earn that bit of luck that will see us through. Let's hope it's all done and dusted come 9:45pm – my nerves can't take much more.