19/03/2002 00:00
TW
0

Reial Mallorca ground out a dire goal-less draw at Tenerife in a typical relegation battle on Sunday, moving them up one place to 13th. However, there is no time for Sergio Kresic's side to relax with a visit from fellow strugglers Real Sociedad next weekend and only two points separating the bottom eight teams. Coach Kresic was satisfied with Sunday's draw despite saying before the match his side would only play for victory. “We have won a point away from home and that is extremely important in our position,” said the Croat. Kresic's pre-match statements turned out to be his attempt at mind games with Tenerife manager Javier Clemente as Mallorca have rarely looked more defensive all season. Not that it would have mattered against a Tenerife side devoid of any attacking fervour in a match high on fouls, low on creativity and even lower on entertainment value. Only Argentine midfielder Ariel Ibagaza played with any kind of urgency for Mallorca, while even the ubiquitous Samuel Eto'o had an unusually quiet day up front. Yesterday it was revealed that Eto'o had left Tenerife straight for his homeland of Cameroon due to family problems. The 21 year-old is due to return to Mallorca in time for tomorrow's training session. Estaban Fuertes should have done better for the home side on 22 minutes while at the other end Roberto Losada, standing in for the injured Albert Luque, missed a sitter from close range eight minutes later. Losada's second-half replacement, Carlos Dominguez, could have given Mallorca the full points close to the end when he forced a save from Julio Iglesias, but the match had 0-0 draw written all over it in large capitals. Miguel Angel Nadal will miss Sunday's clash with Real Sociedad after picking up a yellow card and accumulating a suspension. If Kresic is to persist with his ultra-conservative five man defence then he will most likely push right-back Javier Olaizola alongside Fernando Niño and Gustavo Siviero in the centre and play Alejandro Campano on the right.