Betis 2 - Racing Santander 2

Betis: Prats; Merino, Crosa, Bornes, Filipescu; Cañas, Benjamín, Alexis (Romero 72'), Denilson (Karhan 50'); Cuéllar (Oli 66'), Alfonso. 4-4-2.
Racing: Lemmens; Mellberg, Arzeno, Neru, Sietes (Manjarín 60'); Espina; Munitis, Bestchastnykh (Tais 75'), Vivar Dorado, Amavisca; Salva (Rushfeldt 67'). 4-1-4-1.

Team changes: Betis: Bornes, Benjamín, Cuéllar for Luis Fernández, Karhan, Romero / Racing: Arzeno, Sietes, Bestchastnykh for Tais, Txema, Colsa.

Goals:
1-0. 16. Alfonso (penalty). After Cuéllar brought down by Neru.
1-1. 65. Salva (penalty). Debateable foul by Benjamín on Munitis.
1-2. 75. Rushfeldt. From 3 metres out after Manjarín pulled back from touchline.
2-2. 85. Alfonso (penalty). Tais ruled to have fouled Oli.

Betis and Racing drew in a match which both really needed to win to move away from the relegation places. In the end a point apiece was not so bad however given that their closest rivals Oviedo and Atlético Madrid both lost, and although they remain in 16th and 17th place, they are just that little bit closer to safety. Hiddink has been under pressure recently to come up with results, and he made three changes in an attempt to shake up the side, and with Oli not yet fully fit, Cuéllar was prefered up front ahead of Gálvez. Bornes and Benjamín also came in to the starting line up for the first time in many weeks. Racing manager Gustavo Benítez decided to change his line up back to a formation he has used on occasions this season, with Espina playing in front of the back four and four men in midfield. Colsa dropped out, and Russia's Bestchastnykh was given a chance for once. The game was dominated by penalties, with referee Puentes Leira awarding three during the match. The first came in the first half just minutes after Alfonso's header was saved by Lemmens, and this time the man in white boots stepped up to give the keeper no chance with a shot wide into the roof of the net. Racing's top scorer Salva has been stuck on 21 goals for almost three months now, and he finally got off that figure after scoring the second penalty of the night. This was his ninth penalty of the season, and keeps him in second place in the top goalscorers table. The emotion must have been too much for him and he was replaced by Rushfeldt, and the Norwegian striker took advantage of the opportunity to give his team the lead halfway through the second half. Benítez added another defender Washington Tais for Bestchastwhatshisname, but the Uruguayan was ruled to have fouled substitute Oli five minutes from time (Oli fell rather easily and dramatically), and Alfonso added his second from the spot to salvage a point for his team. The result still leaves Betis in a difficult position, and Hiddink is already considering offers from elsewhere, including Glasgow Celtic, as Lopera sharpens up his knives.

Numancia 1 - Real Sociedad 2

Numancia: Nuñez; Jaume, Muñiz, Iván Rocha, Octavio; Nagore, Moreau (Moran 43'), Castaño (Rivera 80'), Iñaki (Barbu 77'); Chispa Delgado, Ojeda. 4-4-2.
Real Sociedad: Alberto; Corino, Gurrutxaga, Loren, López Rekarte (Idiakez 55'); Juan Gómez, Aranzábal; Sa Pinto, Khokhlov, De Paula (Jauregui 90'); Jankauskas. 4-2-3-1.

Team changes: Numancia: No change / Real: Juan Gómez, De Paula for Fuentes, Aranburu.

Goals:
1-0. 58. Delgado. Strong header after cross from right by Iñaki.
1-1. 67. Idiakez. Controlled cross from Sa Pinto on right to shoot past Nuñez.
1-2. 78. Idiakez. Picked up ball on left, beat defender and shot.

Real Sociedad finally got their first victory of the season, and they did it in one of the most difficult grounds in the league, the Pajaritos stadium in Soria. Numancia's home form has dropped a bit recently though after setting records at the start of the season, and they are gradually sliding down the table to within sight of the drop zone. Real Sociedad meanwhile are going the other way, and they crossed over at around 19.33 p.m. when Idiakez scored his second goal of the night. Both ended the day on 39 points, five points above Oviedo who occupy the last relegation spot. Idiakez is one of Real Sociedad's young talents who broke in to the side last year under Bernd Krauss, but Clemente has hardly used him all season. He came on ten minutes into the second half in place of Rekarte to strengthen the attack and immediately turned the game around with two well taken goals. Earlier Chispa Delgado had put the home side in front in what is becoming a standard play for Numancia, with Iñaki once more crossing from the right for one of his players to head home. Earlier in the season it was Pacheta who got on the end of most of Iñaki's centres, but with the midfielder once again injured, the Uruguayan striker is the one who is being picked out, with this his third headed goal in as many matches. Numancia manager Goikoetxea decided to play an unchanged side even though Moreau had been doubtful right up to the kick off, and in the end the Frenchman had to go off just before half time as his knee injury was playing up again. Clemente made two changes, bringing in his powerful Argentinian defender Gómez for Fuentes and substituting the suspended Aranburu with forward De Paula in a new formation which was a copy of Deportivo's 4-2-3-1 line up. Jauregui, another youngster who has been injured for most of the season, was expected to start this week, but in the end he took a place on the bench and came on in the last minute, but maybe Clemente will give him a chance next week in the local Basque derby against Athletic Bilbao. After the match Numancia's giant Argentinian striker Ojeda was so upset about the result that he punched a glass door, and had to have 15 stitches put in his hand. After the match one wag joked that that was just what Numancia needed to get into UEFA this year. Sorry, I know it loses a bit on the translation, but stitches and points in Spanish both translate as puntos (do you ever wish you never started something....).