Atlético Baleares fall to UCAM Murcia at the Estadi Balear (1-4)

CD Atlético Baleares suffered their first home defeat after falling 1-4 to UCAM Murcia

The visitors took the lead in the 7th minute through Dani Aquino. ATB looked to respond with a Cata strike that deflected off a defender, a Nofre header over the crossbar and a Raúl Caballero effort straight at goal. In the 38th minute, a UCAM defender almost scored an own goal when his attempted clearance struck the post. Just when it looked as though the sides would head into the break with only one goal between them, Alberto Soto made it 0-2 in the 45+1st minute.

Óscar Troya made a triple substitution at the start of the second half, bringing on Pablo Hernández, Mamadou Alpha and Rubén Catalá for Rubén Bover, Miguelito and Álvaro Martín. In the 59th minute, Aitor Puñal extended the visitors’ lead.

Atlético Baleares responded two minutes later. Raúl Caballero latched onto an assist from Mamadou Alpha to make it 1-3 in the 61st minute. However, the hosts were reduced to ten men when Gerardo was shown a straight red card in the 63rd minute.

Iván López later prevented another goal with a clearance off the line, but José Carrillo put the game beyond reach from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute. Izan Llinares and Alberto Espiñeira replaced Nofre and Jofre respectively in the closing stages, but there was no further change to the scoreline.

Álvaro Martín and Raúl Caballero were shown yellow cards, while Gerardo was sent off with a straight red. For UCAM Murcia, Paco Torres, Alberto Soto, Charaf and David López were all booked.

A tough defeat for Atlético Baleares, who will go in search of their first victory next Sunday against CD Cieza.

Óscar Troya’s post-match press conference: