Hércules continues to navigate a difficult spell without a recent scoring burst, as Marcos Mendes from Guinea-Bissau has not found the net since February 10. On that day, the blue-and-white squad delivered a hard-fought win in the Andratx championship, with Mendes sharing the scoring duties with Carlos de la Nava. Since then, the club has endured one defeat and several draws, a sequence that has cooled the momentum of Rubén Torrecilla’s team and pushed them out of direct promotion contention. They now sit in sixth place, a position that still leaves an opening to secure promotion as soon as possible but hints at a longer road ahead.
Mendes began the season with a fireworks display of goals, a first-half performance that teased the possibility of remarkable scoring records. That electric form, however, has not carried into the second phase. The drought aligns with a broader crisis at Hércules, a downturn in both results and the team’s on-field effectiveness that has erased the favorable trends seen at the start of the campaign. Across most fixtures, Mendes has faced a composed defensive focus from opponents, and the team has struggled to convert chances into consistent scoring. While his work rate remains evident in every match, the instinct to convert has not followed in kind, leaving the forward without the necessary goal tally to propel the team back into the upper reaches of the table.
The situation places Mendes at the center of a pivotal stretch for Hércules. With the final run of the season underway, the club relies on a sharp turnaround from its leading striker to reclaim momentum. The team must repair the balance between offensive pressure and defensive discipline, ensuring that strong passages do not give way to a relapse of earlier failures. The dynamics of the squad in this phase suggest a need for renewed confidence, tactical adaptation, and a higher conversion rate in front of goal. In this context, Mendes remains a key figure; his ability to translate chances into goals could determine whether Hércules can climb back toward the promotion conversation or settle into a longer campaign beyond the anticipated horizon. The narrative of the season thus far positions him as a catalyst for any revival, with the weight of expectations resting on his shoulders as the club seeks a decisive resurgence.
Analysts have noted that the quality of finishing will be decisive in the remaining fixtures. The forward’s influence extends beyond mere statistics; his movement, surrounding build-up play, and decision-making in the box shape how opponents organize defensively against Hércules. If Mendes finds his scoring touch again, the team’s attacking dynamics could regain their earlier variety, creating space for teammates and restoring balance to a lineup that had shown dangerous versatility early on. Conversely, a continued drought would intensify scrutiny of the club’s approach, including how the squad deploys its wide players, the role of midfield creativity, and the strategic deployment of forwards in the final third. In this sense, the season’s closing chapters will test both Mendes’s resilience and the coaching staff’s tactical adaptability, with promotion ambitions serving as a constant backdrop to every fixture [Source: Marca].
For Hércules, the path back to the top is not only about one player finding form. It requires collective execution: sharper finishing, improved set-piece accuracy, and a renewed collective belief that translates into points at crucial moments. The team’s ability to maintain defensive solidity while increasing offensive threat will be a telling signal of its capacity to recover the earlier shape that carried them to the top of the standings on several occasions during the campaign. In the broader landscape of the competition, the struggle underscores how a single drought can redefine a team’s trajectory, especially when the squad confronted in-form rivals and a congested schedule. Mendes remains central to any hopeful resurgence, and the next run of matches will reveal whether he can rewrite the narrative of a season that promised much but has yet to deliver consistent results, a reminder of the fine margins that separate promotion from another challenging chapter in the club’s history [Source: AS].