Noel Coward once sang, “Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.” Well, yesterday’s kick-off wasn’t at midday but at 17:00, with temperatures still north of 30 degrees. Who in their right mind thought that starting at that time was a good idea? Probably a TV decision, I’m sure, but surely they could have picked a slightly cooler part of the country?

Good to see the club listened to the fans last week and charged €3 for two bottles of water instead of €3 for one, as it was against Barcelona. I’m still not paying €7 for a pint of Estrella Damm. I’m sure the club could charge less and still make a good profit. All they’re doing is driving fans to drink away from the ground—just up the road from the stadium it’s 50% cheaper.

Onto the game. With both teams losing their opening match at home last week, it always had a draw written all over it. Máscarell and Joseph came in for Morlanes and Muriqi respectively, as the latter were suspended after being sent off against Barcelona.

The main action in the first half came in Mallorca’s half, with Leo Román pulling off a stunning diving save from Moria. But it was the same Román who was at fault for Celta’s goal. A through ball from Sotelo saw him caught in two minds, stranded in no man’s land, when Rueda chipped him.

The second half didn’t improve much until the introduction of Dani Rodríguez, Abdón Prats, and Marc Domènech. Good to see the coach, Arrasate, giving a youngster a chance—Domènech came from local club CD San Francisco, where my son Jude plays. All three injected some urgency into the game, which had Celta’s defence flapping. So much so that it led to the equaliser from local-born defender Mateu Morey in the 87th minute.

The game was once again spoiled by another referee—he wasn’t as bad as last week’s, but still made some very strange decisions. I said it had a draw written all over it, and so it proved. Both teams will need reinforcements in the transfer window to improve their attacking options. Just the small matter of Real Madrid away next Saturday—at a slightly cooler time of 21:30.

One last thing that’s bugged me over the last two games: why is the club shop shut after matches? Surely they’re missing a trick there.

Visca Mallorca!

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