Almeria-Mallorca…and Dont Forget the Copa

By: Jeremy | November 14th, 2008

With the focus typically being on the league for most teams, games in the Copa Del Rey seem like an inconvenience until they reach the final rounds and then decide it might be a nice trophy to have. While it can be a good chance to give some bench players some time and to rest your starters, with a team like Mallorca, whose lineups are inconsistent, players who think they should be starting get a chance and their good performance can drive the coach nuts.

Such was the case midweek where we beat a good Malaga club at home 2-0 to advance to the next round. Its always great to win, but Manzano has stated he is more concerned about the upcoming league match then he was with Malaga in the Copa. We played well on the road to get a 1-1 draw and then calmly finished off a 2-0 home win to move on. No last minute goals given up. No bad start. A solid performance against a fellow mid table club. Keita and Castellon looked good and clearly want to play more. I dont have the answer, but we face a similar match against Almeria this weekend, the only difference is we are on the road and it is in the league.

I dont know much about Almerias team. I do know that Almeria is on the southeast mediterranean coast toward the straight of Gibralter and it is hot as all anything there year round. For those of you who live or have traveled to Spain, this place is hot and dry. The coastal region in this area is a great place to be if you live right near the beach, but otherwise it looks like a dry arid place. Their team, although not a regular fixture in La Liga, has played well this year and have the exact same record as Mallorca. Both teams sit on 12 points and its games like these that keep the winner in mid table and send the loser back toward the relegation zone. We are going to see more of these games played that will either show the parity of La Liga is still there or that the teams facing relegation issues will show themselves and the field can be narrowed. Despite this game being on the road, it is one we need to win.

Mallorca is all about inconsistency so its really a question of which team will show up. Could it be the team from the midweek game against Malaga? The team that looked great against Athletic but couldnt sustain it for 90 minutes? I have no idea. I do know there are players that want in the lineup who we might need to take a closer look at. Somewhere we need to find a defensive lineup that can keep it together for 90 minutes. The offense does not seem to be the biggest issue although it is still inconsistent. For some reason the players that are put out there are not working as well as they need to to be consistently successful. Manzano continues to figure out what to do, but this may be a transition year that with all the new players, if we survive, next year might be better. Lame I know, but I cant think of anything else.

I think it is getting to the point where we as fans just sit back and watch and hope for the best. What is great one week is bad the next. I have no idea what is going to happen. I just want a win. For some reason I think we get a win on the road.

Prediction

Almeria 1-2 Mallorca