In the eighth episode of “12 Matchdays, 12 Opportunities”, we take a closer look at the resounding victory at Montilivi against Girona, secured thanks to a solitary goal from Samu Costa.
Our Portuguese star joinedJohan Mojica to recount the story of a match that brings RCD Mallorca closer to their goal.
A tough week but a vital win
The week was marred by an external setback: a virus that affected several first-team players: “It hasn’t been an easy week because of the virus. I caught it too, and it’s been a bit of an unusual week,” says Costa on the matter.
But the team managed to overcome all the obstacles and secure a very important result: “We had to win, no matter what, regardless of the opposition. And that’s how we saw it; the team went out to play, as I say, with a fire in their eyes, and you could tell. We’re very happy with how we won because we’ve learnt from previous situations and applied those lessons in this match,” explains Mojica.
The Colombia international also praises the message delivered by Martín Demichelis following the defeat to Alavés: “We knew we had to improve, we did so, and we also had that push from him, which, as the team leader, came in very handy.”
For his part, the Portuguese midfielder points out that ‘nobody outside the club expected us to win’ in Girona and that "it was a massive effort."
A goal that had been discussed beforehand
The lead in Girona came following a spectacular cross from Mojica and a subsequent header from Samu, who has now scored seven goals. It was a move that had been planned well before the action unfolded: “In previous training sessions, even before the match, over tea, I’d spoken to Samu about the possibility of him scoring and me providing the assist. It was lovely because exactly what we’d pictured out came to pass,” said the full-back.
The travelling fans
Another man of the match, Leo Román, highlighted at the end of the match that the squad were “very happy to repay the fans’ affection with three points” and added that “there were moments when you could hear only them”, so it was “huge support.”
Mojica adds: "At the end of the match, many of us gave our shirts to the fans because that support and winning like that was really special. I think that bond between the fans and the team is already well established."
Pre-match energy
In recent matches, and since the signing of Martín Demichelis, the team bus’s arrival at the stadiums has been notable for the fact that the players turn up the music and bang on the windows to create a great pre-match atmosphere.
“I think that pre-match atmosphere is crucial. It gives us a lot of energy,” says Samu.
“I love putting music on, and so does Abdón. It’s created a really great atmosphere on the journey from the hotel to the stadium,” adds the Colombian.
Match against Villarreal
With the victory secured, it’s now time to set our sights on the match against Villarreal, naturally with the added emotional boost of facing them on the back of a win: “The team is very happy, super motivated. This victory has been super important. We have to keep putting in the same effort we did against Girona. We have to work hard this week and the manager is already asking for intensity and hard work,” says the Portuguese player.
He also points out that “football is very much a mental game” and that when a team is fighting for something, whether it’s titles or staying in the top flight, they have to “manage things very well”. “We want the ball, we want to press, we want to play and not let them play. That’s the mindset we need to have throughout the match. We have to know how to sustain this intensity for the whole match,” adds Samu.
For his part, Mojica believes the team must approach the match with a winning mentality, regardless of the opposition: ‘We’re talking about the third-placed team in LaLiga, but we no longer look at whether the opposition are top, bottom or mid-table. We see these as crucial matches that we have to win.’
Supporters
Finally, Samu talks about the importance – yet again – that the supporters will have ahead of this Sunday’s match: “Hopefully they’ll turn up and it’ll be like the day against Espanyol, when they really spurred us on. They’re absolutely vital. Hopefully they’ll make a lot of noise and sing their hearts out because the team is going for the win.”
