Getafe took a major step towards European qualification at the Coliseum over a struggling Mallorca side that found no purchase in the game after their early mistakes. Jose Bordalas is now closing in on a second European qualification with Getafe in his second spell.
The visitors showed ambition early on, going direct and pushing high. It led to the first chance for Zito Luvumbo , but he couldn't get hold of his shot after good work from Jan Virgili. Both Bordalas and Martin Demichelis had started youngsters in the game, with Damian Caceres in midfield for the home side, and Luis Orejuela at left-back for the visitors, and the first goal came from a mistake by the latter.
A missed clearance by Orejeula allowed Allan Nyom to build up speed, and his ball across the box was unopposed until Martin Satriano met it at the back post. Crowd favourite, villain and at times clown, chants of 'Nyom' rang around the Coliseum on a rare start for the 38-year-old Cameroonian.
Mallorca are not the first time to struggle with finding their rhythm against Getafe, and the islanders were misplacing passes from time to time. A corner after half an hour nearly saw them level though, with Vedat Muriqi cracking the underside of the bar with a header that gave the away side some encouragement. Another swirling set piece caused problems for the Getafe defence, before a clever Muriqi touch sent Luvumbo racing in behind again, but Zaid Romero did just enough to ease him out of the chance.
Just as Mallorca looked to be getting a grip on the game though, Getafe struck again. Indecisive play between Orejuela and Martin Valjent allowed a long ball to bounce. When Valjent decided to eventually nod it back to goalkeeper Leo Roman, he was disorientated, and nodded it over him. Satriano , chasing and perfectly aware of where he was, prodded into an empty net.
The second half seemed to be stuck in a holding pattern in the middle third of the pitch for the opening period, just as Bordalas would have wanted. Just past the hour, a set piece was bundled in by Zaid Romero to make it 3-0 to the hosts. The Mallorca heads appeared to drop, but two minutes later, Omar Mascarell scored in similar fashion, converting a set piece of their own.
Yet they couldn't seem to stop the game drifting onwards without incident thereafter. The following 20 minutes passed without a single save from either goalkeeper, and Getafe looked comfortable defending a two-goal lead that put them in a prime position for European qualification. The victory moves Los Azulones four points clear of closest challengers for 7th and a Conference League spot, Real Sociedad .
At the other end, Demichelis' side slip to 17th, only out of the drop zone on goal difference, while Girona would need only a point to leave them there on Thursday. Their opponents? Real Sociedad, a further sign of the tight nature of this LaLiga season. Mallorca will leave the Coliseum less with a feeling of frustration, and more impotency. Two of the goals came from egregious errors, and having given Getafe a headstart, Mallorca were left running through mud in an attempt to catch up. They face Levante this weekend in Valencia , while Getafe travel to Elche , also relegation-threatened.
