After a weekend when Labour voted to abolish private schools – kwite right, there’s nufink wrong with state ejuikashun! – Real Mallorca went down 4-2 in Madrid on Sunday against Getafe despite a late revival from the Palma side. An unlikely comeback looked on the cards in the second half when Croatian striker Ante Budimir netted two goals in seven minutes to bring the score back to a respectable 3-2, before Angel made sure all three points stayed in the capital.
There can’t be more “dirty” teams in La Liga than Getafe. The majority of their players spent the game rolling around “in agony” after the merest coming together and then proceeded to kick lumps out of the islanders, so much so that playmaker Salva Sevilla and on-loan-from-Chelsea fullback Baba Rahman both went off in the first 20 minutes with injuries. The home side took the lead in the seventh minute after a Getafe corner, the ball hitting Mallorca midfielder Baba on the belly button before going in, 1-0. The game was a scrappy affair, not helped by another poor referee. In the 53rd minute our right back Sastre tugged Molina’s shirt and he went down pole-axed. After a quick VAR persusal, the referee awarded a penalty which Moreno converted, 2-0, in my opinion a harsh decision. In the second half, Mallorca looked to have a bit more impetus with Kubo in midfield taking centre stage. Getafe went further ahead through Nyomalter, from another defensive error.
Then it was comeback time with Budimir becoming poacher extraordinaire to make it 3-2, with goals in the 70th and 77th minute. Could Mallorca nab an equaliser? With more Getafe players falling down all over the pitch, Mallorca became ragged and it was no surprise when Angel made it four.
THE VERDICT:
This was Mallorca’s worst display since they won promotion but it wasn’t helped by early injuries and some dubious refereeing, especially when Sastre was cynically hacked down by Mata in front of both benches, that should have been a straight red card for the Getafe player. Except for the last 20 minutes when Mallorca came to life, the outcome of this game was virtually sealed before the first 20 minutes were out. We nearly produced the mother of all comebacks but it was to no avail as Angel put the game out of sight near the end. The emergence of Budimir after a spell of missed chances was good to see. He took both his goals brilliantly and let’s hope his Sunday brace is the start of many more to come. Mallorca have now conceded four penalties in five games. After the game, coach Vicente Moreno said his team had not played a well but circumstances before the game hadn’t helped. Two of our centre halves, Raillo and Sedlar, collided in training and missed selection. A plus for Mallorca was that we scored two goals as they’ve dried up of late.
WEDNESDAY’S GAME:
There are major injury concerns for tomorrow night’s visit of At. Madrid, kick off 7 pm. Just how many of Mallorca’s walking wounded will be available remains to be seen. But, without the likes of Raillo at the heart of the defence, and Salva Sevilla in the engine room, Mallorca will find it tough against the likes of Diego Costa, Morata and Joao Felix.
There’s been plenty of negativity amongst some fans after Sunday’s defeat. It’s going to be a very, very long season, with many slip ups on the way. Mallorca have got the smallest budget in La Liga which makes everything that bit more difficult. Let’s not expect too much too soon.
A Fan’s View Extra with up-to-the-minute(-ish!!) news regarding the Atletico Madrid game will be in Wednesday’s Daily Bulletin on line.
AND FINALLY, two lovers passionately embraced on the bed, their bodies fused together in the throes of passion (steady, Monro, watch your blood pressure – Ed). Suddenly the woman shrieked out “Oh my God, my old man’s home early and he’s coming up the stairs. Quick, hide in the bathroom.”
The lover ran into the bathroom as she hid his clothes under the bed and as she turned back, her husband entered the bedroom.
“What are you doing lying on the bed naked?” he asked. “Darling, I heard you drive up into the garage and decided to get ready to receive you,” she replied with a knowing smile.
“Great,” he said, “I’ll just nip into the bathroom and I’ll be back in a second.”
Before she could stop him, he was in the bathroom, where he found the man slapping his hands together in mid air. “Who the devil are you ?” the husband demanded. “I’m from Rentokill. Your wife called me to get rid of all these pesky moths,” the lover replied.
“But,” continued the husband “you’re stark naked ?!”
The lover looked down and jumped backwards in surprise, exclaiming “The little bas***ds!!”