Mallorca 2 : 0 Getafe - Mallorca make massive leap towards safety

Posted Sunday, April 24, 2011 by PA

Real Mallorca took a giant step towards ensuring they will be playing Primera Division football again next season with a 2-0 victory over Getafe, who in contrast slipped further into the relegation mire.

Headed goals in either half from Jose Carlos Nunes and Akihiro Ienaga earned Mallorca the spoils and lifted Michael Laudrup's side onto 42 points - which has been enough to guarantee top-flight safety in seven of the last nine seasons.

However, things are not looking so good for Getafe, who saw fellow relegation battlers Sporting Gijon, Hercules and Malaga all pick up victories to increase the pressure on Michel's side.

Those results mean that if third-bottom Real Zaragoza beat last-placed Almeria on Monday, Getafe would find themselves just two points above the drop zone.

Getafe came into the match on the back of an interesting week both on and off the pitch.

Last weekend they recorded only their second win in 16 league matches in 2011 after beating Sevilla 1-0, then on Thursday Dubai-based Royal Emirates Group claimed they had purchased the club.

However, Getafe president Angel Torres insisted on his return to Spain from the United Arab Emirates on Friday that the outfit had not yet been sold, and that he had been in Dubai looking for sponsors as well as signing a series of agreements.

Torres is set to clarify the situation, but Getafe's current focus will be on their plight to avoid the drop.

They found themselves on the back foot almost immediately on the Balearic island. Mallorca had already had decent efforts through Pierre Webo, Emilio Nsue and Gonzalo Castro before Nunes put the hosts ahead in the 25th minute following some dismal marking.

Sergio Tejera sent over a corner from the left and centre-back Nunes, having been left completely alone on the edge of the six-yard box, had the relatively easy job of heading past Oscar Ustari for the only goal of the first half.

Michel made two substations at the break and his side went close to an equaliser when Dani Parejo's low shot brought a diving save out of Dudu Aouate.

However, the visitors found themselves 2-0 down in the 67th minute after again conceding from a corner, Jose Luis Marti's cross being headed in by Ienaga, who had only been on the pitch six minutes after replacing Tejera.

There was no way back for Getafe after that, although it might have been a different story if they had made the most of two great chances.

The first saw substitute Javier Arizmendi guilty of an unbelievable miss, firing over the bar from three yards out with a virtual open goal to aim at.

Miku also failed to hit the target when clean through soon after as Getafe left the rain-drenched Iberostar Stadium empty-handed.