A stunning goal from Vedat Muriqi in the 12th minute against Getafe saw Real Mallorca register only their second home win of the season in front of 17,507 on Sunday night. This hard-fought win lifted the Palma side out of the relegation zone and was the perfect result with a two-week international break on the horizon.
The first half revolved around Muriqi’s fantastic goal, a magnificent through ball from a resurgent Samu Costa having launched the ball to Mojica, who delivered a superb cross into the heart of the penalty area for the big unmarked Kosovan striker to fire a ball into the back of the net with the inside of his right foot to give him his sixth goal of the season.
Rookie 6ft 10in Finnish keeper Lucas Bergström then kept us in the game with a great save on the stroke of half time. He had a much better game than in his Betis 3-0 defeat baptism. But his distribution, especially from his feet, left a lot to be desired, and his mistake near the end was cleared off the line by Valjent, giving Mallorca a precious clean sheet.
As expected, the Getafe dark arts surfaced in the second half and the Mallorca players’ patience was severely tested. There were exaggerated tackles and a constant search for a foul, especially from Liso whose shenanigans didn’t fool the referee De Burgos Bengoechea, who refused to be intimidated by the Getafe players.
The second period wasn’t dissimilar to the first with Getafe having more possession but failing to put away any of their 16 corner kicks (Mallorca had one). Sergio Darder again missed a sitter, his first being against Levante two weeks ago, firing his effort straight at the onrushing Getafe keeper, David Soria. Despite Getafe coming close, Mallorca managed to hold out, and most importantly put a smile back on the faces of the Son Moix faithful as they exited the stadium.