Mallorca suffer first leg Copa del Rey defeat to Sporting

A weakened Real Mallorca team suffered a 1-0 defeat against La Liga strugglers Sporting Gijón at the Iberostar Estadi last night. An 83rd minute goal from substitute Muñiz was enough to settle the first leg.

The makeshift Caparrós team gave debuts to summer signing Juan Calatayud as well as youngsters Abdón, Xisco and Tià Sastre. But it also revealed some insight to Caparrós’ opinions on his squad. Gianni Zuiverloon returned to the lineup after being forced to the sidelines to make way for Pau Cendrós in La Liga. Meanwhile, João Victor partnered Pep Martí in the two defensive midfield roles. Both Aki Ienaga and Alejandro Alfaro both started too.

A minutes silence was held before the game for the mother of Mallorca president Jaume Cladera who passed away at the end of last week.

Only 6,400 spectators turned up for this Copa del Rey game with the fans showing the tournament as much disrespect as the two coaches. But their decision wasn’t unjustified in a game which saw very little creative flair or chances. Sporting controlled the game without making too many inroads in attack.

Mallorca did have a chance in the first half though. Israeli striker Tomer Hemed latched onto a cross but couldn’t control his volley as his shot went wide.

Xisco Hernández also played a perfectly weighted through ball to Alejandro Alfaro too. But the Spaniard’s lack of match practice was evident and despite being one-on-one with the goalkeeper, his tame shot which looked to be heading wide was claimed by Cuéllar.

Japanese midfielder Aki Ienaga was disappointing and offered nothing to the game for the home side and could’ve been sent off early in the second half when he handled the ball after already picking up a yellow card. The referee judged that there was no violation, however. It wasn’t too long though before Aki was off the field as Caparrós replaced him with youngster Tià Sastre.

But it was Sporting who made the breakthrough with just seven minutes remaining. A textbook free-kick from Juan Muñiz on the edge of the Mallorca penalty area beat the wall and the goalkeeper to give the visitors a slender advantage to take back to Gijón.

It’s not as if Mallorca didn’t have a chance to level the tie, though. In the dying stages of the game, left back Pedro Bigas stormed forward and into the area. His cutback found substitute striker Abdón. His left-footed strike lacked precision though but still forced a fantastic one-handed save from Cuéllar in the Sporting goal.

The return leg will be decided in Gijón on the 21st December.

Teams

Real Mallorca (4-2-3-1): Calatayud; Zuiverloon, Martí Crespí, Nunes, Bigas; João Victor (Abdón 87′), Martí; Xisco (Cendrós 81′), Aki (Tià Sastre 59′), Alfaro; Hemed.
Substitutes: Aouate (gk); Chico, Marí, Cendrós; Tissone, Tià Sastre; Abdón.

Sporting Gijón (4-2-3-1): Cuéllar; Suárez (Hernández 77′), Botía, Gálvez, Ayoze (Muñiz 71′); Eguren , Álvarez; Morán, Carmelo , Menéndez ; Bilic (Barral 84′).
Substitutes: Juan Pablo (gk); Hernández; Rivera, Muñiz; Trejo, Alain, Barral.
Goal: Muñiz 83′.

Referee: Alfonso Álvarez Izquierdo (ESP)
Stadium: Iberostar Estadi, Palma de Mallorca
Attendance: 6,400.

Highlights

You can watch highlights courtesy of IB3.