Once again Real Mallorca looked vulnerable as they held on to beat fourth-tier Numancia (who pushed them all the way) 2-3 on Tuesday night in the Copa del Rey second round.
With a line-up of infrequent starters and a goalkeeper “Pichu” Cuellar becoming the oldest Mallorca player (at 41 years and 6 months) to play in an official game, complacency was again almost Mallorca's undoing. They put in a reasonable first half, despite finding it difficult to string two passes together. Binissalem’s Javi Llabres scored for Mallorca in the seventh minute and Abdon Prats made it two with a tap in off the post in the 24th minute.
As usual, the Palma side eased off in the second half and became sloppy as Numancia attacked with all guns blazing. A defensive error from Mallorca allowed the home side to pull one back and it was game on. Asano was fouled in the area and Abdon converted the spot kick, 1-3.
Numancia continued to put Mallorca’s shaky defence under pressure and after a scramble in our penalty area, they pulled another one back, 2-3. With 15 minutes left, it was all hands to the pump for Numancia but somehow the islanders managed to hold on to go into the third round draw.
SUMMING UP: This was another horror show from Mallorca against part time opposition. Their performance doesn’t auger well for their remaining three games of 2025, starting with a trip to bottom club Oviedo at 9pm on Friday night. This game must be described as a definite “banana skin” for the struggling Palma side as, at the moment, our existence in La Liga looks in jeopardy.