Mallorca went into tonight's La Liga clash with Real Betis knowing that anything but a win would effectively confirm relegation from Spain's top tier.
Betis were also chasing a victory to keep their push for Europe alive, but fell behind early on thanks to an assured strike from Tomer Hemed.
Gregorio Manzano's men held firm in the second half to earn three points that keeps their fight for survival alive with two games left to play.
Look back at a crucial win for Mallorca with Sports Mole's minute-by-minute commentary below.
Evening La Liga fans. Thanks for joining Sports Mole for live coverage of the final game in a packed weekend of European football as Mallorca and Betis both go in search of a crucial victory at the Iberostar.
Realistically Mallorca must win tonight if they are to maintain any realistic ambitions of escaping the bottom three. Last week's defeat to Athletic Bilbao has left Gregorio Manzano's side six points from safety with just three games left to play.
Betis are also desperate for three points to reignite their charge for European qualification. A win over Celta Vigo last weekend ended a run of five matches without victory and means Betis are still well placed to claim sixth place and a Europa League spot.
Mallorca must cope with a series of suspensions to key players this evening after finishing last weekend's Bilbao defeat with just nine men. Ximo Navarro and Andreu Fontás were both dismissed and subsequently miss out on a night where the men from Palma will be relegated if they fail to earn a positive result.
BREAKING TEAM NEWS! The starting XI's are in from Spain and feature a huge boost for Betis, who are able to name top scorer Ruben Castro in attack alongside Joel Campbell. A full look at both teams will follow shortly.
MALLORCA: Aouate, Hutton, Geromel, Bigas, Luna, Pina, Marti, Javi Marquez, Hemed, Victor, Giovanni
BETIS: Adrian, Chica, Mario, Amaya, Nacho, Perez, Benat, Salva, Carlos, Campbell, Castro
The fitness and form of Castro will be crucial for Betis this evening, particularly with Nosa out this evening through injury. Arsenal loanee Campbell returns to partner the 20-goal man in attack, while Canas is also out after suffering a knock.
Mallorca will look to Mexican forward Dos Santos for inspiration this evening. The former Tottenham Hotspur playmaker has been wildly inconsistent in recent seasons but is more than capable of finding the target when it matters.
The home side have been forced to shuffle their pack in defence tonight with Navarro and Fontas suspended. In come Pedro Bigas and former Sevilla defender Antonio Luna to a defence that has struggled for clean sheets all season long.
With Mallorca desperate for three points the Islanders can point to a strong recent record against tonight's opponents. Manzano's side are unbeaten in their last nine matches against Betis, but have failed to win any of their last four league games.
PREDICTION! With both sides still attempting to keep their seasons alive we should be in for a fiercely competitive encounter this evening. Betis have been poor away from this season but have attacking impetus in spades and will expect to take maximum points tonight. A draw is no good for either side so I'll go for Mallorca to suffer a 2-1 defeat and confirm relegation with two games still to play.
Both sides are out at the Iberostar and we are moments from getting underway. Can Mallorca keep their season alive with a vital victory or will Betis move closer to a return to Europe for the first time in seven seasons? We are about to find out!
Betis get the match underway shooting from left to right. The home side immediately win back possession and attempt to launch a counter, but Matri's long diagonal pass just fails to find a run out wide from Dos Santos.
Ruben Castro threatens early on as he puts Luna under pressure, but the forward's appeals for a foul just outside the penalty area are waved away. At the other end Matri is involved again as he blasts a hopeful strike well over the crossbar from distance.
A small but raucous home crows is being led by a man with a voice to match his megaphone, who is belting out a succession of songs to try and inspire Mallorca tonight. On the pitch good pressure from Benat forces Hutton to hammer clear as both sides struggle to establish possession early on.
Salva Sevilla engineers an attack for the visitors after reacting quickest to keep alive a Benat free kick, but his forward pass is met with a poor first touch from Antonio Amaya and with that the move breaks down.
Hutton breaks down the right and has time to pick out a cross. The Scottish international sees Dos Santos in space but his delivery is poor and glides through to a grateful Adrian in the Betis goal.
OFF THE BAR! Mallorca have just gone within inches of breaking the deadlock. Matri's clever cross to the back post found Marquez, who had his effort parried by Adrian. On the follow up Hemed reacted quickest and aimed towards goal but saw his strike come back off the bar from close range. What a chance for the hosts to take an early lead!
Dos Santos continues to look dangerous in the early stages as he continues to find space in a withdrawn central position. The forward is brought down by Nacho just inside the final third to win a free kick. There is also a significant amount of surface water in that area of the pitch, which is due to poor weather in Palma over the last 72 hours.
YELLOW CARD! Mallorca captain Marti has rather harshly received an early caution after lunging into a tackle on Ruben Castro in central midfield. The playmaker is clearly upset with the decision but must now be careful for the remainder of tonight's match.
Betis come close to threatening on the break as Benat searches for Castro with a long diagonal pass. Luckily for the hosts Geromel was well placed to intercept and clear to safety. At the other Victor forces a strong save from Adrian after his deflected drive swerved towards the bottom corner.
GOAL! Mallorca 1-0 Betis (Hemed)
Early pressure has finally told and Mallorca are ahead. Some sloppy Betis defending initially presented Victor with the chance to shoot after Mario failed to head Hutton's cross clear of the penalty area. His low effort was palmed out by Adrian but only as far as Hemed. The Israeli forward made no mistake from close range to net his 11th of the season and give La Liga's bottom side an early lifeline.
Just a minute later Mallorca have spurned a glorious opportunity to extend their advantage. Hutton again raced clear unmarked down the right wing and crossed into the penalty area. His low pass was caught in a puddle of surface water but still trickled through to Victor, who smashed over from just eight yards. Betis are struggling and just cannot clear their lines in the last five minutes.
Rather surprisingly this match has been one-way traffic so far as Dos Santos leads another forward charge for Mallorca. Betis are defending deep and getting a furious tongue-lashing from Pepe Mel, who can scarcely believe just how poor his side have been so far tonight.
Betis finally shows signs of life as Castro wins their first corner kick of the match. Mallorca bring everyone back to defend the following set piece and eventually clear through goalkeeper Aouate at the second time of asking.
Marquez shows desire and determination to win the ball just outside the penalty are and create another chance for the hosts. His pass found Hemed, who in turn picked out Victor with a cross into the six-yard box. His effort from close range looked destined for the far corner but was just deflected wide by Perez for a corner kick.
SUBSTITUTION: We have a break in play as Mallorca midfielder Pina receives treatment for what looks like a muscle injury. The academy product is unable to continue and is quickly replaced by Argentine Tissone.
SUBSTITUTION: Victor continues his duel with Adrian as his powerful low shot flies wide of the neat post. Soon after Betis make an early change that looks to be tactical rather than brought on by any injury problem. Joel Campbell is the player taken off, to be replaced by Diego Pabon.
More confusion in the Betis defence has Mallorca searching for a second goal. Hutton bombs on down the right and sends a low cross towards the near post. Victor is again the player quickest to react but once again fails to apply the finish. Will Mallorca regret not securing a larger lead before the break?
YELLOW CARD! Hutton flies into a challenge on Bigas and completely misses the ball with a late lunge. The referee takes his time to make a decision on the colour of his card but luckily for the full-back eventually decides yellow is enough punishment.
Pabon tries his luck from distance and produces the visitors' first meaningful strike at goal. Aouate is unable to hold his effort but Tissone is on hand to smash clear under pressure from Salva Sevilla in the penalty area. Just signs before the break that Mel's side are starting to recover after a truly dreadful start.
HALF-TIME Mallorca 1-0 Betis
Well who saw that first 45 minutes coming? A motivated, efficient Mallorca side deservedly lead seventh-placed Betis thanks to an early strike from Tomer Hemed. In truth Manzano's side should be further ahead, but a series of wasteful efforts from Victor means that they must settle for a one-goal lead at the break.
Betis have looked sloppy all over the pitch, failing to keep possession with any authority and regularly lacking concentration in defence. Ruben Castro has been starved of possession in attack and Real boss Mel will no doubt have a few harsh words for his side at the interval.
Purely on tonight's evidence it is hard to believe Mallorca sit bottom of La Liga and remain odds-on to slip out of the top flight. Dos Santos has been the catalyst for some fine attacking play, while skipper Marti has also looked comfortable and assured in central midfield.
A reminder that as things stand in La Liga at the break Mallorca would move above Celta Vigo to 19th in the table, within three points of survival with two games left to play. The challenge for Mallorca after the interval is to keep a rare clean sheet to secure three precious points.
Both sides are back out at the Iberostar, with Betis searching for an equaliser to keep their Europa League charge alive!
Betis start the second period with a spell of possession deep in their own half. Eventually Nacho darts up the far side and finds Pabon, who has to settle for a throw in an advanced position. A miscue by Bigas then gives Benat the chance to pick out Sevilla, but he is closed down quickly by Luna.
Geromel is forced to clear under pressure as Nacho and Castro combine with a clever interchange just inside the penalty area. Mallorca are starting to come under sustained pressure for the first time but still look relatively comfortable as they stay compact inside their own half.
Benat attempts to pick out Castro with a chipped pass inside but once again Geromel shows strong positional sense to make a crucial late block count. At the other end an isolated Dos Santos does well to use his pace and win a corner kick on the far side to relieve the pressure on Manzano's men.
Another promising forward burst from Dos Santos leaves the Betis defence for dead, but his flicked cutback towards Victor is poor and despite having numbers in an advanced position a chance to shoot goes begging for Mallorca.
Benat wins a free kick after being brought down by Hutton, who must be careful after picking up an early yellow card. The midfielder gets up to take the set piece around 30 yards from goal and sends a hopeful cross towards the far posts. Eventually at the second time of asking Mallorca clear their lines through Bigas and break clear.
Hemed goes down inside the penalty area under a challenge from Mario but has his protests turned away as Mallorca settle for a corner kick. Pabon is then late into a challenge on Tissone, but luckily for the visitors Hemed in in an offside position and no further action is taken.
SUBSTITUTION: As Betis continue to struggle in the final third Mel decides to make another change. On comes 18-year-old forward Alvaro Vadillo to replace Juan Carlos, who has been largely anonymous this evening.
YELLOW CARD! Ruben Perez becomes the first Betis player to be cautioned after a cynical late challenge on Marti near the halfway line. Mallorca take the free kick quickly and break through Dos Santos, who sees a cross towards Hemer cleared by a late interception from Sevilla.
Mallorca continue to break at will down the right wing as Marti and Dos Santos launch a counter with purpose. Eventually a looping cross finds Victor at the far post, but the forward can only lash wide at the near post. Yet another chance goes begging for the hosts, who have continued to control midfield with poise early in the second half.
CHANCE! With the goal at his mercy Hemed has somehow manages to miscue from six yards. As the match gets increasingly stretched Betis launch a rare attack at the other end, with Geromel forced to block as Mallorca scramble clear Pabon's shot for a corner kick.
Betis threaten on the left as Vadillo and Castro exchange passes before switching play to Chica. Pabon then drive inside and searches for Castro with a chipped pass, but Geromel continues his impressive display by smashing clear the danger with authority.
Salva Sevilla chooses to pass rather than shoot from eight yards and in truth the choice is a very poor one. With a free shot at goal the midfielder instead decides to aim for Castro inside, allowing Bigas to recover and scramble clear.
YELLOW CARD! Mario is at full stretch to close down Dos Santos and retrieve possession for Betis with an important sliding challenge. Soon after Nacho attempts to control a loose pass and instead clatters into Geromel, receiving the game's fourth yellow card for his troubles.
Hutton does just enough to intercept a pass aimed towards Castro just outside the penalty area as Mallorca begin to hang on a touch in the closing stages. Betis launch another attack through Benat, who darts forward to find Vadillo out side as pressure builds on the hosts.
Marquez does down under a strong challenge from Vadillo just beyond the halfway line. The youngster definitely attempts to pull out of a sliding challenge and escapes without a caution as the Mallorca midfielder trudges towards the touchline before springing to life almost instantly in order to return quickly to midfield.
Mallorca are defending deeper all the time in the closing stages but still look relatively comfortable, with Betis struggling to create meaningful chances in the final third. The visitors come forward once more through Chica, who fails to beat Tissone with an attempted nutmeg inside.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Manzano makes a change as Arizmendi comes on for Marquez to provide extra protection in central midfield. Betis also take the opportunity to throw on another creative player in Molins as time runs out to find an equaliser.
YELLOW CARD! Less than a minute after coming on Arizmendi is cautioned after leading with his elbow in aerial tussle with Molins. Mallorca are quick to regain possession despite conceding the free kick as Aouate hammers clear towards the corner flag.
Chica spots a clever run out wide from Molins and makes his pass count to find the substitute inside the penalty area. A neat flick inside looks set to find Castro but Geromel spots the danger and times his clearance to perfection. Soon after Mallorca captain Marti is brought down by Pabon and is in no rush to return to his feet, forcing a break in play.
SUBSTITUTION: With stoppage time remaining Hemed falls over next to the corner flag under a very slight challenge from Chica. Meanwhile Mallorca use the delay to make their final change as Dos Santos comes off to replaced by Nsue.
The home side continue to waste vital seconds as Geromel wins a free kick after an aerial challenge with Castro, before Hemed returns the favour by clattering into Nacho. Betis use the free kick to launch a desperate final cross into the penalty area, with Aouate quick to claim under pressure. Geromel then caps a superb display by beating three players to roam clear and ease the pressure by running towards the final third.
FULL-TIME Mallorca 1-0 Betis
In the end Hemed's early strike was enough to earn Mallorca three precious points that keeps their fight for survival alive for another week. Betis was well below par this evening and now sit two points off the pace in their quest for European qualification.
A vital Mallorca win means that with two games to play Manzano's men sit 19th in La Liga, three points from safety and one clear of Celta Vigo. That just about does it for Sports Mole's live coverage from La Liga this weekend, but be sure to stick with us for complete coverage from across the continent. Goodnight!
Written by
Liam Power
Liam Power
