Levante maintain their four point lead at the top with a game in hand after second placed Girona were beaten 2-1 by Alcorcón on Sunday evening. Oscar Plano put the locals ahead early on, and then won a penalty off Pablo Marí which David Rodríguez converted. The Catalans were left with ten men when Alcaraz picked up a second booking with only half an hour gone, but even so Christian Herrera got one back with a second penalty after David Navarro fouled Ramalho in the area with ten minutes to go. Cádiz and Lugo moved up into the play-off spots, now just three points behind Girona, after both won on Sunday. Cádiz beat regional rivals Córdoba 1-3 despite going behind to a Rodri strike some ten minutes in to the second half. Ortuño scored twice after that though, and Aitor García rounded things off to hand local coach Luis Carrión his first defeat since taking over three weeks ago. Lugo meanwhile won 3-1 against Numancia, the result leaving the Soria based team just a point above the drop zone. Iñigo Pérez cancelled out Joselu’s early opener, but strikes by Djaló and Joselu after the break gave the Galicians the three points.
Oviedo drop out of the play-off spots to ninth however after they lost 2-1 at Zaragoza, albeit that they are still only two points below third placed Getafe. Ángel took advantage of a long clearance from Irureta to open the scoring with a quarter of an hour gone, and the visitors were left with ten men when Verdés was sent off for a hard tackle on Lanzarote shortly before the break. Ángel got his second of the night from the penalty spot after substitute Oscar Gil brought him down early on in the second half, and although Varela pulled one back with a well struck free kick, the goal came too late to change the result. The Maños are now just two points behind their opponents in the table, still a point below Valladolid after they thrashed Mirandés 5-0. Claudio Barragán was in charge of the visitors after Carlos Terrazas was fired a few days ago, but José Arnáiz and Juan Villar put the locals two up at the break, and after the restart Mata netted twice and Raúl De Tomás wrapped things up near the end. Mirandés end the weekend in twentieth spot, level on points with Mallorca, who find themselves in the relegation zone once again after a 2-1 defeat at Almería in the mid-day kick-off. An early strike from Puertas and a Fidel penalty soon after the restart put the hosts two up, and a late goal from Lekic could not prevent the Andalusians from clocking up a much needed win which takes them above the islanders in the table. (11.12.16)
Levante returned to winning ways, a 1-0 victory over Tenerife on Saturday keeping them four points clear at the top of the table. The Valencia based team had not won since the beginning of November, and there were few chances as the visitors looked to defend from the start. However with a quarter of an hour to go Víctor Casadesús scrambled the ball in following a prolonged attack, and the locals held on after that to keep up their unbeaten record in the Ciudad de Valencia stadium. Getafe end the day in third spot after a 2-2 draw at Elche, although they will be unhappy with the result after taking a two goal lead in the first half. Portillo put the visitors ahead following a Damian Suárez corner in the fifth minute, and Jorge Molina added a second on the stroke half time. Two goals in as many minutes though from Guillermo and Nino midway through the second half levelled the scores, and in the dying minutes the home side should have won it, Albácar firing a penalty over the top and Dorca hitting the bar.
Huesca stay just two points below Getafe, now in sixth spot, after a high scoring 5-2 win over UCAM Murcia. Samu Saíz opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a long shot past Biel Ribas, and although Jona made it all square, strikes either side of half time by Borja Lázaro and Gonzalo Melero restored the lead. Collantes added a fourth soon afterwards, and Vadillo netted a second for the univerisjty side before Melero headed in a corner to round things off. The defeat leaves coach José María Salmerón’s job hanging by a thread, and his team stay in next to bottom spot, albeit still two points clear of Nàstic, who lost 0-1 against Rayo Vallecano. Local keeper Dimitrievski was the best player on the park, and he appeared to have saved a point for the Catalans before Javi Guerra got on the end of Embarba’s cross to finally beat him with two minutes to go. (10.12.16)
Reus moved up to third in the table, level on points with Sevilla Atlético, after beating the Andalusians 0-1 in their Friday night game. Chances were few and far between before substitute Jorge Díaz was brought down in the area by Diego González midway through the second half, the Uruguayan forward converting the spot kick himself. The youngsters could have saved a point though had Edgar Badía not saved from Cotán in the dying minutes. Another narrow win for the Catalans, who are back in the play-off spots despite having only scored seventeen goals in their eighteen games. (09.12.16)