Second division, day 18

Last weekend's leaders Recreativo Huelva surprisingly lost 2-0 to bottom club Castellón on Thursday, and they drop to second spot behind Xerez. Raúl Sánchez and Héctor got the goals in the first half, and the Andalusians played the last 45 minutes with ten men after Dani Bautista was sent off. Lorca moved up to join the group on 26 points after beating Eibar 0-3, a result which could cost the job of local manager Carlos Terrazas. César put through his own net early in the second half and substitute Maldonado added two more in the dying minutes to leave the Basque side further down in the relegation zone. (22.12.05)

Xerez moved three points clear at the top of the table pending Recreativo's match on Thursday after beating Albacete 3-1. Geijo opened the scoring for the Andalusians early on, and although Bermejo equalised, Bajic restored the lead soon afterwards and Ríos wrapped things up in the last minute. Valladolid stay in third place, albeit nine points behind the leaders, after a thrilling 3-3 draw with fourth placed Levante. The visitors took the lead three times through Riga, Manchev and Ian Harte, but goals from Oscar Sánchez, Llorente and Sousa levelled it each time. Visiting keeper Cavallero was sent off near the end, as were both coaches Marcos Alonso and Mané. Sporting Gijón failed to take advantage though after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Poli Ejido, Calandria equalising for the Asturians after Keko had given the visitors the lead.

The table is once again very tight, and only one point separates five sides battling for the third spot. A last minute goal from Crusat gave Almería a 2-1 win over Málaga B to put Paco Flores's team back in the fray. Elche's five match unbeaten run came to an end though when they were hammered 4-1 by Ciudad Murcia, and they drop down the table to seventh. Ciudad move up level with neighbours Hércules and Real Murcia after they cancelled each other out in a 1-1 draw, and Nàstic are also on 26 points after a 0-1 win at Numancia, who stay in the bottom four as a result. (21.12.05)

Tenerife's season is going from bad to worse, and their run without a win was extended to eleven games after they lost 1-2 at home to Racing Ferrol. Toni Moral put the Canary Islanders ahead in the third minute, but Baha equalised soon afterwards and Granon got the winner late on to take the Galicians out of the bottom four pending the rest of the midweek games. Lleida also move out of the bottom four after holding Real Madrid Castilla to a 0-0 draw earlier in the evening, a result which still meant that the youngsters move up three places to seventh. (20.12.05)