In my last column I wrote about how our coach Javier Aguirre seemed to be always bringing on his substitutes when it’s too late in the game.
That all changed on Saturday night when in the 54th minute Aguirre brought on Dani Rodriguez (for Copete), Baba (for Battaglia) and Amath (for Antonio Sanchez).
His five man defence became four as our attacking options took centre stage. With almost his first touch, Valencia’s Georgian goalkeeper (with the unpronounceable name Mamardashvili – try saying that after a couple of Hierbas mezcladas!) palmed away a rasping shot from Dani, who at last showed the kind of form he showed for most of last season and before. Baba (nicknamed “The Octopus” because of his long legs) tightened our grip on midfield and Amath injected pace into our practically non-existent attack.
Suddenly Mallorca had got rid of their fears and complexes and began to take charge of the game.
Amath broke into the penalty area only to be upended by Nico. A clear penalty and justice was done after we had a perfectly good Amath goal VAR disallowed against Real Sociedad on Wednesday night.
Muriqi (who had been in the wars twice after receiving head knocks) stepped up to dispatch the resultant penalty that equalised the one that Valencia’s ageing striker Cavani had scored just after half time, 1-1. Muriqi’s return after a two-match suspension showed just how much we missed him when he’s not playing and he gave the home defence lots of problems.
Galarreta then saw his shot saved as Mallorca pushed forward with their extra artillery (Amath) being heavily involved, doing something we hadn’t done in ages – run at defenders !
Mallorca were transformed after the Muriqi penalty and started creating danger. The introduction of Dani, Baba and Amath saw a miraculous transformation simply achieved by playing four at the back, shifting Amath up front alongside Muriqi.
With Valencia’s defence pushing the panic button, it was down to Kang In Lee to score the winning goal and it was a beauty. Dani Rodriguez supplied the pass that saw Mallorca get a fantastic win in a ground that hasn’t done us many favours over the years.
The young South Korean, who spent 11 years at Valencia coming up through their famed Paterna academy, was given a free transfer two years ago after failing to break through into the first team squad. Mallorca snapped him up for next to nothing and after Take Kubo moved on to pastures new in San Sebastian, Kang In Lee has stepped out of Kubo’s shadow to shine this season.
In the 82nd minute Kang In Lee took Dani’s pass, danced through the Valencia rearguard with his “twinkle toes” controlling the ball before firing through a sea of legs to score. He then put his palms together and apologised to the crowd while his team-mates (and the jubilant occupants of a packed Mallorcafé) went crazy. His goal was pure gold and I just hope our director of football, Pablo Ortells, extends Kang In Lee’s contract because there’s bound to be some Premier League predators sniffing around in January.
The end was agonising as an otherwise excellent referee (that’s a first !) Señor Sanchez Martinez unjustifiably added on eight minutes. However, we managed to hang on to confirm only our second win on the road this season, this time in a stadium as prestigious as the Mestalla.
Match day 12 for Mallorca will be our first six-pointer of the season when a struggling Espanyol come to Palma – kick off is on FRIDAY, October 28 at 21:00 hrs.
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