A Point at the Riazor

Coach Manzano continues to tinker with his lineup as he looks to establish an identity to his team. With all the new players and the time needed to adjust, it does not help that they had to make an early season trip to La Coruna to take on Deportivo in a very hostile environment. To get a draw in this game has to be considered a positive result.

For the the third game in a row, there was a different lineup for Mallorca. This was necessitated by the suspension of Josemi as well as Manzanos continuing efforts to find the best combination of players. He is starting to get things right in my opinion. The most important thing he did was start a stirke partnership of Aduriz and Trejo. Even though no goals were scored this weekend, this needs to be the main pair. With Arango in support for the full 90, this gives the team the best chance to score goals. With Marti in for suspended Josemi, the best lineup possible was probably in place.

As expected, it was a loud hostile environment with Deportivo putting on the pressure to help them forget their midweek performance in the UEFA Cup. Only the brilliant work of Moya in the first half kept the game scoreless. Mallorca has some chances and actually controlled the run of play, but with Bravo getting kicked off for his challenge on Moya in minute 60, you would have hoped we could have scored against a 10 man Depor. The man advantage did not last long as Navarro got a second yellow card in minute 77 in what was clearly a makeup call for the Red Card on Bravo so the teams each finished the game with ten men. In a different result then the game against Osasuna, we managed to hold on to our position in the last part of the game rather then give up a late goal as Depor clearly pushed for a goal to please its fans. Why we couldnt close down the game against Osasuna like we did here is frustrating. For where we are in the season, this is a positive result, even if it still leaves us near the bottom of the standings.

Road points in La Liga are precious, especially against clubs like Depor. Manzano is slowly getting his lineup in place and while he seems to be picking the right combinations, there are still no guarantees as to what he will bring out for the next game. Part of me wants to see Callejon get some time and Keita as well. I do wish Jurado was better but he will likely getting inconsistent play throughout the year.

While this draw can be considered a great result, we turn around quick for a game against Numancia at home mid week. This is a must win game to say the least as we are at home against a team that should be in the mix for relegation. A win might solidify the team and its confidence while a loss while will hurt quite a bit. After withstanding the pressure in a tough road game, any confidence will be lost if we dont hold serve at home this week.

Im still cautiously optimisitic that Manzano and the players will do more then we expected this year. We are still getting used to a new team and while we see flashes of talent, there is still a long way to go before we can get an idea of how competitive we will actually be this year. The result in La Coruna has to get us excited for the next match where I expect a lot of goals.

Category: Mallorca Team News

Tags: Mallorca Team News

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