Athletic Club 1-Mallorca 1: Too many obstacles and one more point

Athletic Club have drawn at one goal against Mallorca, with goals by Yeste and Arango in the 3 and 23 minute, respectively. A new point to continue striving toward the objective of tranquillity, which, to date, is still rather far; despite the fact that Athletic Club have only lost one of its last eight matches and have scored points in the last six. Seeing the numbers and how tight all the matches are, a hard fight against relegation is expected.

The rojiblancos began the match well, playing vertically, arriving at the top easily and with the almost forgotten additive of an early goal in favour. In the third minute of play, Yeste masterly controlled a distant shot from Gurpegi and, after dribbling past Prats, drove it smoothly into the net. The minutes that followed were the best, with absolute domination of the match and several arrivals, like one by Llorente who was unable to clip the last pass.

In the 17th minute, Arango, with a header, created what was to be the first bermellona opportunity and two minutes later the problems began for our team. Prieto began feeling faint and his vision blurring as a result of the blow he received to the head. He left his place to Murillo on the team, but not his position on the field, since Clemente moved Gurpegi to the defence and placed Murillo in the midfield.

Mallorca stretched itself out taking advantage of the confusion and, in the minute 23, Expósito trusted that an apparently inoffensive ball would go out the sideline; but Tuni recovered and his cross was slipped into the net by Arango. Athletic acknowledged the blow, even though Etxeberria came near the goal in a phenomenal volley to centre by Casas in the minute 25, which Prats deflected; a circumstance that repeated itself until the end of the match.

The situation got worse when Gurpegi collided head-on into Lafuente’s knee in a play the referee disallowed. The player from Andosilla was taken from the field on a stretcher to a nearby clinic where he remains in observation. Tiko replaced him just after the half hour of play. Nevertheless, Athletic Club continued with determination and Llorente brushed the goal in the 38th minute, but the ball lacked the angle.

Like in the best passages of Murphy’s Law -what could go wrong, will- and that’s exactly what happened with injuries: Joseba Etxeberria asked to be substituted in the minute 43 of play, suffering from discomfort in the femoral biceps of his right leg.

His substitute, Dañobeitia, created danger as soon as the match got back underway, but Prats stuck to his guns. Orbaiz shot at goal in the minute 51 and the ball ended in a corner, but as the minutes ticked the drive decreased and Mallorca was able to create one of its few goal occasions. Pisculichi made Lafuente stretch in the 52, and Basinas shot wide in the 67. Manzano had time to tactically manoeuvre, which Athletic Club evidently lacked; with a tired Yeste and Llorente three quarters of the same after many matches without playing. Okubo substituted Pisculichi in the minute 68, since the Argentinean had shortly before been forgiven a second yellow card and Farinós replaced Tuni in the minute 75.

The prevailing stability was an omen for the 1-1 final and only one detail could tip the scale. Tiko tried it from outside the area in the minute 77, but Prats was once again brilliant. A shot by Orbaiz in the minute 85 was the last dangerous approach, while Farinós, with a header, took the danger to the rojiblanco goal in the 83rd.

One more point, the individual goal average in favour, the same distance from relegation and the identical number of rivals in the way, with six match-days left. The fans perfectly understood the effort put forth and the difficulties lived and they know that this will be essential in the three matches left to be played in San Mamés.