Levante 1 : 2 Malaga - Geromel leaves it late

Posted Saturday, February 09, 2013 by PA

An injury-time equaliser by Pedro Geromel gave Mallorca a vital point in a 1-1 draw against Osasuna at the Iberostar stadium.

Lolo had given the visitors the lead with 15 minutes remaining in the game and looked to have handed Gregorio Manzano the worst possible start to his third spell in charge of the club.

Manzano was named as the club's new coach last week following the sacking of Joaquin Caparros and was given a lukewarm reception by the home crowd.

But it was the hosts who took charge of the opening moments of the game and created the first signs of danger.

Nonetheless, Osasuna thought they had taken the lead with a quarter of an hour gone when Ruben headed in a corner but the goal was disallowed for a foul on Mallorca goalkeeper Dudu Auoate.

Forward Victor Casadesus squandered Mallorca's first clear chance of the game when he narrowly failed to get on the end of a cross by left-back Antonio Luna, but Giovani dos Santos missed an even better chance just before the break when he found himself alone with just Osasuna goalkeeper Andres Fernandez to beat, but inexplicably hit his shot closer to the corner flag than the back of the net.

The hosts maintained their superiority in the second half, with first Nunes and then Tomer Hemed shooting over the crossbar on separate occasions, and later Michael Perreira saw his deflected shot go inches past of Fernandez's far post.

Given the balance of play, Mallorca were understandably distraught to concede the opening goal, which arrived on 75 minutes when Osasuna midfielder Lolo headed in a corner by Alvaro Cejudo from six yards out.

However, Manzano's side kept up the pressure on the visitors' goal. Tomas Pina headed a free-kick straight at Fernandez, Nsue hit a shot over the bar and the hosts finally got the goal their efforts deserved in the 92nd minute, when Osasuna failed to clear a long kick by Aouate and Geromel headed past Fernandez.

And there was still time for a final moment of drama when Dos Santos put the ball into the back of the net but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside.

The draw meant that Mallorca and Osasuna remain in the same league position, 19th and 17th respectively, before the match begun but the performance will give Manzano some hope that he can lead his new side to safety.