Real Mallorca fell back into La Segunda's bottom four after going down 2-1 to Oviedo on a well-dodgy, rain-soaked pitch in Asturias in a game played on Sunday lunchtime. Mallorca went behind as early as the 8th minute when Varela crossed to Toche who put the home side ahead with a spectacular overhead bicycle kick. Although it was one of the best goals scored last weekend, Toche was given way too much space but, with the pressure Oviedo were putting our defence under early doors, the goal came as no surprise.
To Mallorca's credit they fought their way back into the game, but once again going forward when the penalty area came into view the team didn't have a Scooby. In the 40th minute we won a free kick 30 yards out, Moutinho took the kick, Brandon brilliantly back-headed the ball which broke to Raillo on the penalty spot and somehow he managed to score through a sea of legs.
The second half became much more physical with stoppages every two minutes for fouls. Mallorca racked up four yellow cards as both teams went looking for the winner, but it was Los Oviedistas who always looked likely to come out on top despite Mallorca's domination. When they did score, it was a really soft goal to lose. They won a corner on the left and Susaeta's pinpoint cross was headed in by their centre half (and our player last season), David Costa, who found himself unmarked as he nodded in what proved to be the match winner.
Summing up: Before the game was shown in the packed, multi-screened Mallorcafé, they showed our 2003 Copa del Rey victory in Elche. Back then we had two top strikers in Walter Pandiani and a certain Samuel E'too, both of whom tended to miss nothing in front of goal. How we could have done with their net-busting prowess on Sunday as we were clueless when getting anywhere near the 18-yard box. Just how the hierarchy at Real Mallorca can say we don't need a goalscorer just beggars belief. If indeed we did have a regular goalscorer we wouldn't once again be in the bottom four of what is a poor standard league. New coach Olaizola has a mountain to climb on the training ground as his stats now show six points from a possible 21.
Our two front men on Sunday did lots of running but precious little else. As usual Brandon and Lago Junior were guilty of being caught in possession as they over-egged the pudding by trying to beat one man too many. We were a better team than Oviedo with our intensity levels getting better game by game, we just can't score enough goals at one end and let in silly goals at the other. It's so disappointing to lose two soft goals against another team who looked nothing special after the first 20 minutes.
Comments made after the game were mostly about Olaizola's substitutions and how he'd left it too late (80 minutes) before he made his first switch. He was in a stick or twist situation on the hour mark and should have brought the returning Culio on earlier.
Raillo was our man of the match and alongside Yuste they played out of their skins at the back but sloppy defending, especially from set pieces, once again cost us dearly. Sunday's defeat gave more ammunition for the Real Mallorca-hating trolls on social media. Tweets telling our general manager, Maheta Molango, to “vete ya” (go now) were predominant. It's going to be a feisty old week in the local press - to a certain extent they have a point - without a proper hit-man in the box we're going to struggle to stay in La Segunda.