Leaders Atlético
Madrid faltered again, being held to a 0-0 draw in the Calderón
stadium by Córdoba, and they have now only picked up two points
in their last three home games. Luis Aragonés left Fernando Torres on
the bench, but his replacement Diego Alonso was given little support and only
went close once in a boring first half which ended with whistles of protest by
the home fans. Mono Burgos saved twice from Eloy in the second half, and
Atlético only got close to scoring after Torres came on with twenty
minutes to go. Córdoba have now gone six games without a loss under new
manager García Remón.
Second placed Xerez
moved to within five points of Atlético after beating Racing
Ferrol 2-1. Cañizares had a goal disallowed for the home side for a
foul on the keeper, but Bernd Schuster's side took the lead before the break
when Antonio finished off after Moreno headed on Cachorro's free kick. Cubillo
added a second after the break, but Ismael pulled one back a few minutes later
to set up a nail biting finish. Xerez ended the game with ten men after late
substitute Pereira was sent off for a foul on Iñigo. The result ends
Ferrol's run of five games without defeat, and they lose ground on the top
teams.
The battle for third place
between the two closest contenders Racing Santander and Recreativo
Huelva ended with a scandalous 1-5 victory for the visitors. After a lively
first half in which both sides had chances, Benítez opened the scoring
for the Andalucians on the stroke of half time. An error by Racing keeper
Lemmens let in Soriano for Huelva's second five minutes after the break, and
then the locals were reduced to ten men when Mena picked up two yellow cards in
quick succession. Quique Setien changed his side around, but Benítez
added a third for the visitors before Javi Guerrero pulled one back. Soriano
made it four from the penalty spot just after the hour mark after the referee
ruled that Antoñito had been fouled, and Luque saved another penalty at
the other end from Javi Guerrero. Substitute Epitié got the fifth near
the end to take Recreativo two points above their rivals.
Oviedo moved back up
to within three points of Racing after their first win in five games, a 1-0
victory over Badajoz. The visitors let their hosts off the hook early
on, thanks in part to some good goalkeeping by Esteban (the second division's
Zamora), and Oli made them pay for it with his first goal in six months. Even
so there were some nervous moments at the end before the Asturians could
celebrate their victory which keeps them in fifth place. Badajoz stay in
fourteenth position, seven points clear of the bottom four.
A good win too for Oviedo's
neighbours Sporting Gijon, who won 1-2 at struggling Extremadura
to move a place behind them in sixth. Soto opened the scoring for the visitors
after a defensive error, but a minute later the hosts were level thanks to a
Jesús strike. Another mistake let in Villa to restore the lead, and
although Jorge Pérez and Roberto both hit the woodwork in the second
half, Sporting held on to give Extremadura their fourth defeat in a row and
leave them on the brink of the drop zone.
Burgos are setting
new records this season, but not the kind they like. They have now gone 843
minutes without scoring a goal after drawing 0-0 at home to Salamanca,
their third such result in a row. The previous record of 813 minutes was held
by Sabadell in the first division fourteen years ago. Both sides did hit the
woodwork, Zegarra for the visitors from an early free kick and José Mari
and Pendín for the home team either side of half time. Despite their
poor form, Burgos stay in mid-table eight points clear of the drop zone and a
point behind their rivals.
Elche stay a place
above Salamanca despite losing 2-1 at Murcia. Godino put the home side
ahead in the first half, following up after Valerio saved a penalty from
Peternac, who was making his first start under new manager David Vidal. Serrano
levelled the scores for the visitors in the second half only three minutes
after coming on as substitute, scoring from the rebound after Reinke failed to
hold on to a Raúl Ivars shot, but Juanma headed the winner a few minutes
later. This was Murcia's first win in five games, and they move four points
above the relegation spots.
Eibar and
Leganés inched closer to safety after playing out Saturday's
fourth scoreless draw. Leganés are becoming a bit of a bogey team in the
Ipurrúa stadium, where they have only lost once in nine visits, and once
again they came away with a point despite Clotet giving away a penalty on
Garitano near the end which Barkero missed. Eibar should have taken the lead in
the first half when Cabrejo hit the bar, and Fede Bahón cleared off the
line from Jorge Sánchez after the break, the Basques keeping up their
attack even though they were a man less after Xabi Sánchez picked up a
second booking early in the second half.
All three bottom clubs won,
narrowing the gap between them and the teams above them. Gimnastic
Tarragona gave themselves an outside chance of survival after defeating
relegation rivals Numancia 3-1. All three of Nàstic's goals came
in the first half hour, the first two from direct free kicks by Pinilla and
then Marcelo, whose kick took a deflection off a defender. Iban Pérez
added a third from a corner to take the Catalans into a comfortable lead by the
break. Pacheta hit the bar for the visitors soon after the restart, but Manu
Sarabia's side didn't get the ball into the net until seven minutes from the
end, when Iznata scored, also from a deflected free kick.
Nàstic's first win in
seven games takes them to within four points of their opponents and keeps them
just above Poli Ejido, who extended their unbeaten run at home to ten
matches after defeating Albacete 2-0. Both goals came in the second
half, the first through ex Osasuna striker Trzeciak after the referee waved
play on when Sergio Cruz was brought down in the area, and the second from a
Sandro header. Albacete drop a place to seventh, and they are now eight points
away from the promotion spots.
Nàstic and Ejido stay
above Levante, who won away against the team in the fourth relegation
spot, Jaén. Manolo Jiménez was in charge of the home side
for the first time after replacing Anquela during the week, but his side were
beaten thanks to a late scrambled goal from Descarga and before that some
excellent keeping from Rafa. Jaén are now only a point above the bottom
three having only taken two points from their last seven games, and the fans
booed their players off the pitch at the end. |