It’s been a long time coming getting to watch a CE Mercadal game in Tercera RFEF.
Since starting this site back in 2019, and then becoming even more invested with the additional spare time the pandemic has created, Mercadal have been the top team on the island.
The 2026/27 season represents their 18th season in Tercera, now the fifth tier of Spanish football, and their sixth successive campaign at the level. They have spent all but two (2019/20 and 2020/21) of the last 19 seasons in the division.
As someone who has spent the last 15 years or so in and around non-league football in England, I was keen to see what the level of Tercera was like, knowing that Mercadal are a semi-professional outfit.
And so my chance came for their season opener against SD Formentera. It was a decent match-up on paper, as these two teams finished just two places apart last season, Formentera in 6th and Mercadal in 8th.
It was a 3.30pm kick-off at Sant Marti on a very hot early September afternoon. Managed to get parked fairly easily adjacent to the swimming pool next door and paid the €10 entry on the turnstile.
After taking in the bar area (will do a separate post on the ground as a whole at some point soon), we opted to take our seats opposite the main stand in the open area seats behind the dugout, where there was at least a little bit of shade.
The worst possible start to the season for Mercadal
Mercadal could hardly have got off to a worse start – a throw in came in from the left inside the very first minute, the ball came off the header of a defender and all of a sudden Fernando Losada of Formentera was left in all sorts of space in the box and he fired a right-foot half-volley in to the bottom corner.
It took Mercadal, managed by the experienced and recognisable Lluis Vidal, a little while to get in to the game.
Formentera had an energetic press, led by Alejandro Serrano, and Mercadal struggled to gain any foothold.
But gradually they got there. The youthful right-hand side of Marc Barber Marti, who was probably my man of the match for the home side, and right-winger Angel Martinez Salgado were providing their brightest moments, trying to be direct and push Formentera back.
Due to the heat, a drinks break was called midway through the first half and that proved to be useful for Mercadal, who enjoyed more of the game after that.
Alex Riudavets Lopez started to get in to the game, playing off the left and keen to cut in, although seemingly wary of contact – albeit that changed a little in the second half.
They struggled though to create any chances of note, only a header on the stretch by the experienced (based on his hairline) Simon Vidal Rivero coming close to testing the goalkeeper. But Martinez Salgado was running at Formentera down the right and seemed to be the man most likely to create.
At the back, Angel Lopez Conde looked like a very composed and almost British-like no-nonsense centre-back, enjoying coming up for headers and also showing some nice touches on the ball. His cross field balls to Riudavets, particularly in the second half, were both useful and impressive.
Of the full-backs, already mentioned Barber Marti who was determined and solid, though left-back Juan Sebastian Angulo Tabares seemingly had all the attributes – good size, strength and left-sided – he was guilty at times of giving the ball away cheaply or wanting to play backwards, sometimes surrendering decent position up field for the home side.
After the break, Jacint Pons Coll started to get hold of the ball more in the Mercadal midfield, though Formentera still had the better chances, goalkeeper Jose Luis Alvarez Alonso pulling off two excellent saves, one from a header and the other one-on-one. One came when Serrano broke away down the right, almost losing his shorts in the process, somehow managing to hutch them up and deliver a cross in to the box from which Alberto Gorriz Semper might have done better.
Mercadal huffed and puffed with a succession of corners, but would ultimately get the equaliser through an unlikely source on 78 minutes – a long kick up field by the goalkeeper was only half knocked back by Mario Pineda, and as he went back to rescue it, he sent a 25-yard back pass intended for Carlos Perez Sanchez who had vacated his goal and come to the side of the area which resulted in a catastrophic own goal for the visitors.
Mercadal had freshened their side up with substitutions in the second half, and the Formentera coach might have regretted only making one before the 85th minute. Two Mercadal players went off with cramp in the second half, Tabares and Souaibou Diaby, though it was interesting to see another regular name, Elliot Mercadal, who at first came on up front but then shifted to left-back when Tabares departed.
Of the names that have often popped up while covering Menorca football over the past few years, Roman Huescar is one. He played up front for Mercadal, wearing number 24, and you could see from his presence, his movement and his general attitude that he was an established and quality player at this level. He had a bit of a frustrating day though, and it was disappointing to see him taken off on 54 minutes.
In terms of the level, I would say it was probably comparable to Step 4 of the National League System in England. It was the first game of the season, and of course it’s difficult to compare England and Spain due to the different climates, the artificial pitches and the styles of play.
Surprised by the man in the middle
One thing that was a pleasant surprise was the referee, Hector Cabellos Cruz. He let the game flow, there was very little nonsense when decisions were given and timewasting, which sometimes plagues games particularly at higher levels.
He perhaps let himself down in the closing stages of the game though, when both coaches were shown a red card. There had been a foul on Jacint Pons Coll in midfield, and while he may have made the most of it, it was a foul and a cheap free-kick for Mercadal. The Formentera coach, Michael Romero Requena, didn’t agree so much and so then started a bit of shouting from him to the referee, and Mercadal’s Vidal ended up getting involved too. Now, my lack of Spanish knowledge meant I had no idea what was being said, but eventually the referee brandished two red cards in what seemed a rather extreme solution to the problem.
Now, there are movements in Spain, particularly the Balearics, to reduce the abuse of referees, and so I can understand perhaps where it came from. However, the two coaches didn’t appear to be directing their abuse at anyone other than each other!
Requena had barely made it back to the changing rooms, and Vidal barely over the fence and 10 yards towards his changing room, before the referee blew the final whistle.
There were around 150 people in attendance at the game. A small band of Mercadal ‘ultras’ all decked out in red and white striped shirts did their best to drum up an atmosphere, opting to move around the ground rather than stick to one place. There were a few English people there, including a family wearing Eastleigh FC shirts, wonder how they assessed the level.
All in all, good to spend Saturday how it should be done – watching live football! Hopefully schedule allows me to return to Mercadal later on in the season.
