The high scores in the World cup have certainly not motivated the second division promotion playoffs. Only one goal in the first halves of the six games played on Saturday, although there were a few more after the break, particularly in the last five minutes or so.

UD Almería were one of those sides who left it late, with Moreno firing in a shot from outside of the area in the 89th minute to beat Espanyol B 1-0. The visitors had dominated for most of the match and Albacar hit the bar midway through the second half. However their captain Moisés Hurtado was given a rigorous red card with a quarter of an hour to go, and they held on as long as they could before Moreno found the way through. Almería have now taken maximum points from their three games, and they are now favourites to go through from group D. Espanyol B are already out of the race, and cannot now be promoted.

A late goal by Borja saved a point for Real Madrid B in the same group and keeps them in with an outside chance of going up. Pontevedra were the better side in the first half, and they took the lead through Capi with only 15 seconds on the clock after the break . However Toni got himself sent off midway through the half, and they allowed their opponents back to level at 1-1. Madrid B now have to beat Almería next week if they are to have any hope of promotion.

Both matches in group B were also played on Saturday, with leaders Barcelona B losing top spot after being held to a 0-0 draw by Mérida. There were few goalscoring chances, with Nano shooting weakly at the keeper before the break and Chico bringing a good save out of Víctor Valdés after the restart. David Sánchez hit the post for the visitors later on as they piled on the pressure, but this time they could not beat Juanma.

Compostela go top of the group, a point ahead of Barcelona B, after a 0-1 win at Valencia B. The only goal of the game came from Maikel in the second half, his second of the playoffs. The Gallicians were the better side throughout and should won by a bigger margin, particularly when they won a penalty only to see it saved by Rangel. Valencia B's Borja was sent off at the end, and they now have little hope of going up.

Group C leaders Hospitalet were beaten 1-0 by bottom club Motril, a real set back for their plans. The Andalucians had the better chances in the first half and took the lead on the stroke of half time when Nandi beat Manu following a corner. L'Hospi did their best after the break, but Motril held on for their first points in the playoff.

One match from group A was played on Saturday, with Ceuta getting revenge for their 1-0 defeat at Barakaldo the week before with a similar result in their Alfonso Murube stadium. It was a real struggle for the North African side though, and the Basques hit the woodwork no less than four times during the match. And then in the last minute Zárraga put through his own net to hand the locals a surprise victory which takes them a point above their opponents. (08.06.02)

Terrassa took a big step towards returning to the second division A for the first time since 1979 with a 2-1 win over Hércules. All the goals came in the first half, with the team from Alicante taking the lead with less than a minute on the clock through Parrado. Things looked rosy for the visitors when the league's only lady referee Caroline Domenec sent off Terrassa's right back Iván for a high tackle on Fernando. However only two minutes later the numbers were evened up when Rome was given a red card for bundling over Juan Carlos in the area, and Keko made it all square from the spot. Juan Carlos set up Keko for his second of the night before the break, leaving Terrassa with nine points out of a possible nine at the top of the table.

Earlier in the day Getafe moved further towards going back up at the first attempt with a 1-0 victory over Cultural Leonesa. The only goal came from the penalty spot early in the second half after Zafra had been brought down, Luis López converting the kick. Zafra had hit the post with the goal at his mercy before the break. The Madrid based side move on to seven points, three above Hospitalet at the top of group C. (09.06.02)