Second division, day 1

An extraordinary start to the season in a second division which had a reputation for draws last season, with all eleven games ending with a winner. No doubt the result of the day was Valladolid's 2-4 win at Dmitri Piterman's Alavés, Aduriz getting a hat-trick as the visitors raced into a four goal lead with an hour gone. Valladolid share the promotion spots with two Catalan sides, Terrassa, who beat eight man Salamanca 3-0 after a thunderstorm and a power failure delayed kick off, and newly promoted Nàstic, who won 2-0 against a team who were two divisions above them last season, Real Murcia.

More normal though was the lack of goals at this level, the other four matches on Sunday all ending with single goal victories. A Jandro penalty helped Celta to start their attempt to return to the top flight with a 0-1 win over Almería, and there was the same result at Sporting Gijón, where Angel Rodríguez gave Recreativo their first three points. There were two Southern region derbies later in the evening, with Xerez beating Málaga B 1-0 thanks to a late penalty, and Ciudad Murcia winning by the same score against Córdoba. (29.08.04)

Four matches from the second division were brought forward to Saturday, with three of the four newly promoted sides in action. Lleida and Racing Ferrol faced each other in their first game back at this level, with the visitors running out 1-2 winners thanks to two hotly disputed penalties either side of half time. A controversial spot kick was also enough for a much-changed Poli Ejido to beat another of the new teams Pontevedra 0-1, and Tenerife also won against Elche by a single goal, Hidalgo scoring near the end. In the other match played on Saturday, Eibar got off to a good start with a 2-1 victory over Cádiz. (28.08.04)