Returning striker Aritz Aduriz bagged a brace to end Real Mallorca's recent poor form and fire the islanders to an important victory over Espanyol on Sunday.
Aduriz missed last weekend's heavy defeat at Real Betis with a muscle strain, but returned in style to set Mallorca on their way to a first win since late September.
Following an even first half at Son Moix, the Basque forward gave Mallorca the lead four minutes after the interval and added a second on the hour mark to put the game out of Espanyol's reach.
And Fernando Varela wrapped up an ultimately comfortable victory with a third goal for the home side with 14 minutes remaining.
Mallorca and Espanyol were both in mid-table at the start of play.
Gregorio Manzano's side enjoyed wins over Numancia and Racing Santander late last month, but back-to-back defeats against Sporting Gijon and Betis saw the islanders slip back.
Espanyol, meanwhile, had looked impressive in recent draws with champions Real Madrid and high-flying Villarreal.
Both sides came into this game knowing it is one they had to win if they were to compete at the business end of the Primera Liga.
But despite their recent poor form, Mallorca dominated the early stages.
Venezuela midfielder Juan Arango almost gave the visitors the lead after just seven minutes, but saw his shot athletically pushed away by Espanyol keeper Carlos Kameni.
A minute later, Enrique Corrales stormed forward and flashed an inviting center across the Espanyol box, but nobody was there to apply the finish and the visitors cleared the danger.
But Espanyol began to defend with more authority while they also enjoyed more possession.
And captain Raul Tamudo missed a great chance to put the Catalans ahead on the half-hour mark when he failed to get any power behind his shot following a sweeping attacking move.
Three minutes later, Mallorca should have gone ahead when Jose Luis Marti robbed Nico Pareja, but miscued his effort inexplicably wide with only Kameni to beat.
Aduriz was off target and Varela saw a shot deflected wide as Mallorca looked for an advantage at the break.
But despite their dominance at the beginning and end of the half, the home side had to be content with a goalless scoreline at the the interval.
After the break, though, they quickly went ahead following a bad mistake from Kameni.
The Cameroon goalkeeper made a complete mess of Jose Manuel Jurado's cross and Aduriz gratefully headed into the empty net.
And Mallorca doubled their lead 11 minutes later.
This time, Aduriz rose above Nene to power a header past Kameni following Jurado's corner.
Ferran Corominas and Tamudo missed good chances to pull a goal back for Espanyol in the second period.
However, Mallorca continued to look dangerous and Aduriz almost bagged his hat-trick after 74 minutes, but saw his drilled shot deflected wide of the target.
But two minutes later, the Basque striker began the move which ended in Arango setting up Varela for an easy third.
