Alavés 4 - Oviedo 0

Alavés: Herrera; Contra (Eggen 88'), Karmona, Téllez, Geli; Tomic, Desio; Magno (Vucko 75'), Jordi Cruyff, Ibon Begoña; Javi Moreno (Iván Alonso 65'). 4-2-3-1.
Oviedo: Esteban; Keita, Danjou, Martinovic, Ivo (Rubén Reyes 46'); Amieva (Bango 55'), Onopko, Tomic, Iván Ania; Losada (Rubén 77'), Oli. 4-4-2.

Team changes: Alavés: Magno, Ibon Begoña for Eggen, Pablo / Oviedo: None.

Goals:
1-0. 24. Javi Moreno (penalty). After Iván Ania tipped ball over bar with his hand.
2-0. 36. Geli. Coming from behind after defence failed to clear Moreno's cross.
3-0. 85. Martinovic (own goal). Ball bounced in off his foot as keeper tried to clear.
4-0. 89. Jordi Cruyff. Took pass from Vucko and curled shot round Esteban.

Alavés moved up to second place in the league with a convincing victory over Oviedo. Defeats for the two teams above them Deportivo and Real Madrid means that they move ahead of both, marginally in front of Deportivo on goal average thanks to the four goals they scored in this match. With leaders Valencia losing as well, they are now only two points away from the top, a position they have never held in all their long history. In fact their current second place equals their best ever league position which they achieved last season for the first time in almost seventy years, and confirms that last season's performance was not just luck.

This season Alavés have managed to hold on to their basic block of players, especially in defence where they are once again the team who have let in least goals, but they have also strengthened their squad with the likes of Jordi Cruyff, Iván Alonso, Ivan Tomic, Geli and Vucko. All five played some part in this game, with Vucko making his league debut in the last quarter of an hour after making his first appearance in the UEFA cup match last week. Their manager Mané went back to his more attacking line up for this game, leaving out a defender Dan Eggen to make room for an extra man in midfield, and with Azkoitia and Astudillo injured, Ibon Begoña was given another start. Oviedo manager Radomir Antic has also signed a Yugoslavian Tomic, Djordje, and he lined up with the same ten team mates as the last match. Antic has only in fact made one or two changes to his starting line ups in all the season, and it is starting to bear fruit, with the side in the top half of the table before the start of this match.

Oviedo's Achilles heel though, as last season, is their away record. Unbeaten at home, they have not been able to get it together on their away visits, and they have not in fact scored even one goal in their four outings up to this one. Antic's boys were anxious to change that, and in the opening fifteen minutes they were unlucky not to go ahead, with Téllez clearing off the line from Onopko and Tomic and Losada gonig close. Then disaster struck, midfielder Iván Ania getting himself sent off after making a spectacular finger tip save from Jordi Cruyff as the ball was entering the top corner of the net. After much deliberation referee García-Aranda produced the red card and awarded a penalty, which the league's top scorer Javi Moreno scored from. Geli added the second before the break, and only excellent goalkeeping by Esteban prevented Alavés from going further ahead.

At half time Antic decided he might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb, and put on an extra forward Rubén Reyes for his left back Ivo, moving his defensive line forward to limit the actions of the home team forwards. It worked right up to the last few minutes, when with Vucko pressuring from behind, Martinovic involuntarily put through his own net on an unlucky rebound. Jordi Cruyff finally got his name on the scorecard near the end, leaving Alavés full of confidence for their upcoming UEFA cup second leg match against Lilleström. Oviedo drop back down below the half way point, and Antic has to work out why what works at home doesn't work away. If he sorts that one out he may be home and dry.