Two more sides, Getafe and Compostela, join Terrassa in the second division A next season, and only one place remains to be decided between Almería and Real Madrid B next weekend. Both Getafe and Compostela were relegated last season and will return at the first attempt, something quite unusual given the difficulty of winning promotion under the regionalized structure of the lower leagues. Strangely two of the three sides promoted, Getafe and Terrassa, finished fifth in their regional groups and only made it into the playoffs because the Las Palmas and Zaragoza reserve sides, who finished above them, could not go up as their first teams were relegated to the second division B last season.

Compostela only needed a point in their last two games with their only other rival Barcelona B, but they did it in style with a 1-0 victory. The visitors threw everything at them from the start but were unable to beat Oliver and his defence, and Maikel gave the Gallicians their fourth win in a row with a header from Alvaro's cross a quarter of an hour from the end. Compostela still have to resolve their financial difficulties and must pay five months back wages to their players by the end of next month if they are to go up, but with promotion already in their pockets they should be able to raise the necessary funds.

The other two teams in group B, Mérida and Valencia B had nothing to go for and played out a dull 0-0 draw. Sanjulián hit the bar with a free kick for the visitors in the first half, but they lost Sergio González for a second bookable offence early in the second half and ended the game with nine men when Alegre also picked up a second yellow five minutes from full time. Mérida could not break through though, and even missed a penalty when Chico hit the bar with his kick. Both move level with Barça B on five points, seven behind the leaders, and their only hope is that Compostela do not meet their debts to players, in which case the second placed team would be promoted.

Getafe held on to take a point at Motril and secure promotion only a year after being relegated. The Madrid based side have worked a minor miracle after dropping to tenth spot in their regional group only four months ago, and have bounced back under manager Felines since then without losing a game. The Andalucians were unlucky not to take the lead though in the first half when Huegun hit the post and Castillo had a goal disallowed. But Iñaqui gave the visitors the lead after the restart and although Huegun equalised soon after, there was no further score. Getafe stay four points clear of their rivals, and assuming they pay off their debts they will go up from 2B for the third time in ten years.

Cultural Leonesa beat Hospitalet 3-0 in the other group C match, which only served for the home side to make back up with their fans. The locals scored twice in a three minute period just before the break, first from Blaya and then from Julen. The Catalans gave up the fight and Blaya missed several easy chances before finally getting his second of the game in the second half.

UD Almería virtually ensured their place in the silver division with a narrow 1-0 victory over promotion rivals Pontevedra in front of 10,000 fans. The club which was only formed last season from the merger between Almería CF and Poli Almería now only need one point in the return group D game at Pontevedra next week to go up. Francisco got the only goal of the game in the sixth minute after a defensive mistake, and almost went two up when Cervián hit the woodwork near half time. The Gallicians did go close near the end though when Barbero made a good save from Diego Castro.

Real Madrid B came back from behind against Espanyol B to win 2-1 and keep their promotion hopes alive. The European champions' reserve side found themselves behind in the ninth minute when Gaizka beat the offside trap to score past Carlos Sánchez. However Borja levelled the scores with a long shot just before the break which caught keeper Manel off guard, and Luis García got the winner in the second half after a good run by young substitute Soldado. Espanyol's Jarque was sent off for the second time in the playoffs after picking up a second booking right at the end of the game. Almería's victory over Pontevedra makes it difficult for them though, and they have to win their return game at Espanyol B next week and Almería have to lose for them to go up. (22.06.02)

The group A champions Terrassa celebrated in style on Sunday with a 0-4 win against Ceuta. The North Africans resisted until the second half, but the Catalans scored four goals in a twenty minute period through Juanjo, Héctor, Juanmi and Fernando to make it five wins out of five.

The other two teams Hércules and Barakaldo had nothing to play for, and they didn't even give their fans any joy with a boring 0-0 draw. In any case only 500 supporters turned up at the Rico Pérez stadium in Alicante. (23.06.02)