In a warm and breezy afternoon, Real Betis Balompié took another step to play in the first division next year. The Green-and-White side took advantage in the first half and knew how to manage the timing of the match. Although the team didn’t play brilliantly, it was superior to its rival throughout the whole 90 minutes and took home three deserved points. For yet another week, Betis is at the top of the table and maintains the difference with its rivals, as Girona, Sporting de Gijón and Valladolid won their respective matches yesterday.

The matched started off with a slow pace. Both teams were well settled tactically and it seemed that they were waiting for its rival to do something to adjust their respective gameplay. After ten first dubious minutes, the men managed by Pepe Mel took a step ahead and started controlling the game. They put up some more pressure and RCD Mallorca started to struggle finding open spaces. On the other hand, Betis attacked patiently, waiting for a clear chance. In this way, in the 15th minute, Portillo, Molinero and Rubén Castro combined some good passes. Finally, Rubén Castro controlled inside the box, dribbled two defenders and finished nicely with his left foot. A classy goal from the top scorer of Liga Adelante.

The following minutes went by in the same dynamic. Real Betis could see that doing just a little more than its rival was enough to have control of the ball. Without pressing up too much, the team took the ball back easily by just being well settled on the pitch. Only the young and talented Mallorca player Marco Asesnsio was trying to create some danger, but it wasn’t enough. The home team couldn’t pass the midfield except with long balls without much danger. And Betis was waiting to elaborate its plays. And the reward came. An excellent “one-two” play between Rubén Castro and Molina, and the later finished inside the box. A fantastic play.

With this second blow, it looked that Betis had control and they were going for the third one. But just three minutes after Molina scored, so did RCD Mallorca. A long ball to the back of Betis defense, and after several mistakes, Xisco had just to push the ball in. Although the striker was offside when he scored, the referee didn’t disallow the goal. This goal appeared to give energy to the home team, that tried for the rest of the first half. None of their chances were good enough, though.

The second half started off in the same way as was the whole first one. Betis controlling the ball more and Mallorca waiting for an isolated chance that could help them to level the score. The pace of the game became slower. This favored Betis’ interests, as the team was building up its plays without any rush. Mallorca continued with the same tactic: long balls and attempts of counterattack. Portillo was moving well between lines, and off his feet came a couple of good passes that almost made possible the third goal. Also Rubén Castro was very active and trying to split Mallorca’s defense. He was really close to score when he lobbed the ball over Cabrero, but the ball hit the crossbar. Minutes went by and it looked than the third for Betis was closer than the tie from Mallorca.

Then, the home team made some changes. Arana and Riera came on, and these substitutions gave Mallorca something extra. Real Betis was still in control, but the men managed by Miquel Soler started to go forward gradually. Besides being able to attack more, they couldn’t get clearly to the goal defended by Adán. They had a really good chance, though. Asensio dribbled a rival and shot very hard from distance, but the ball hit the crossbar.

Pepe Mel used the last minutes to make some changes, looking for fresh men and stamina. At the final whistle, a worked victory and two fantastic goals from the, probably, best attacking pair of the division. And, above all, a week closer to La Liga.

RCD Mallorca: Cabrero, Saborit (Riera 63), Bigas, Truyols, Company, Bustos (Fofo 79), Ros (Arana 59), Yuste, Asensio, Xisco, Joselu. Booked: Bigas 41, Yuste 61, Company 68, Martí 70 (Bench player), Xisco 71, Bustos 75, Riera 92. Goals: Xisco 35.

Real Betis Balompié: Adán, Molinero (Piccini 85), Jordi Figueras, Bruno, Casado, Xavi Torres, Dani Ceballos (Cejudo 75), N’Diaye (Lolo Reyes 80), Portillo, Jorge Molina, Rubén Castro. Booked: Figueras 28, Xavi Torres 43, Ceballos 72. Goals: Rubén Castro 16, Jorge Molina 32.

Referee: Sánchez Martínez.