Mallorca move further away from LaLiga's drop zone with win over Cadiz
Mallorca began assertively as they looked to register three consecutive home victories over Cadiz on the bounce, going ahead shortly after the quarter-hour mark when Pablo Maffeo nodded home the rebound after Iddrisu Baba’s own header struck the crossbar.
Despite manager Sergio Gonzalez making wholesale changes to the side that suffered a 5-1 drumming at the hands of second-placed Atletico Madrid last week, Cadiz struggled to pose a significant threat to Predrag Rajkovic in the Mallorca goal, although not for the want of trying as they fired a plethora of shots off target.
Ultimately, the visitors’ best chance of the first half fell to Chris Ramos, one of the several fresh faces, but the forward could not direct his header goalwards from a dangerous position.
A defeat here, coupled with positive results for Real Valladolid, Valencia and Getafe throughout the matchday, would see Cadiz drop into the relegation zone, meaning they needed to produce more in the final third after the interval.
With that thought in mind, they reemerged from the dressing room determined to put their opponents under pressure and fire an early warning shot at Mallorca’s goal, as Isaac Carcelen’s free-kick flew inches wide of the post.
Further chances fell the way of the visitors, but they came up against a resilient Rajkovic, who acrobatically tipped Baba’s mistimed header onto the bar to prevent an embarrassing equaliser.
Despite spending much of the second period on the back foot, Mallorca almost doubled their lead in the seventh minute of injury, but Kang-in Lee was in an offside position when he buried his effort and the goal was therefore chalked off.
Still, Maffeo's strike was enough to clinch the three points, and Los Piratas could mathematically guarantee their safety with a win over Almeria next time out.
Meanwhile, defeat leaves Cadiz with only one victory from their last six matches, meaning Valladolid’s visit to the Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla next Friday is a proverbial six-pointer.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Pablo Maffeo (Mallorca)