Levante won promotion to the first division for the first time in 41 years after they came from a goal down to beat Xerez 1-2 on Saturday evening. Some 2,000 fans including the lady mayor of Valencia made the long trip to the South of Spain to cheer on their side, but they were pinned back in a first half in which Mena had the best chance for the locals. Ten minutes in to the second half Xerez were awarded a penalty when Alexis brought down Del Pino, and although Mora blocked Canito's kick, the midfielder reacted quickly and drove the ball back into the net. Within five minutes the visitors were level though, Reggi breaking free to lob Unanua, and soon afterwards they too were awarded a penalty after Etxabe fouled Reggi, Rivera driving the ball home to send the visiting fans wild. After that it was twenty minutes of frayed nerves in which Levante manager Manolo Preciado was shown a red card for protesting and both sides had a player sent off for a second bookable offence, Etxebe for the locals and Sandro for the visitors. But in the end a victory for the away team which was enough to take them five points clear at the top of the table, and with Numancia and Alavés due to play on Sunday, they are now certain of finishing in the top three. It was another success for the city of Valencia, and the fans swarmed on to the pitch at the final whistle to embrace their players.

Getafe moved up to second pending Sunday's game after a 1-2 win over Ciudad Murcia, and they too are looking good for a first ever appearance in the top flight. With the locals looking for points to get away from the danger zone, the match got off to a lively start, visiting striker Pachón having a goal disallowed in the fourth minute and keepers Tete and Sergio Sánchez both in action early on. The Madrid based side took the lead though when Gari Uranga finished off after Pachón headed on Craioveanu's corner, and when local defender Jorge Cordero was sent off for a hard tackle on Craioveanu on the stroke of half time Getafe appeared to be in the driving seat. Ciudad equalised though with an Aguilar penalty twelve minutes in to the second half after Belenguer brought down Timpani (or Uranga brought down Falcón depending upon which report you read?), but substitute Miguel Angel again came to the rescue with a late winner for the visitors. The victory makes it twelve games without defeat for Yosu Uribe's side, and Madrid may well have three teams in the first division next season.

Drama down at the bottom as well, where Las Palmas are all but mathematically down after losing 1-0 to relegation rivals Poli Ejido. The locals were under new management once again after Julian Rubio was fired midweek, caretaker coach José María Salmerón taking over for the second time this season, but they got off to the best possible start when Pineda drove home a long shot following a corner in only the second minute. After that there were several attempts from both sides, but keepers Kike and Orlando were up to the task and the scoreline remained unaltered right up to the end. The win takes Ejido out of the bottom four level with Ciudad Murcia, and if Córdoba or Leganés win on Sunday, Las Palmas will already be down.

Terrassa and Salamanca inched further away from the relegation spots after a 1-1 draw, and although neither are totally safe they should have done enough to stay up. Both goals came in the opening minutes, Raúl Gañan getting the first for the visitors with just over a minute gone when he ran through to score, and Maikel replying fot the hosts with a spectacular volley from a right-sided free kick. Both sides seemed to settle for a draw as the game wore on, although Cristian almost caught visiting keeper Stelea off guard with a long shot and Tuni missed a sitter at the other end after he failed to control the ball a yard from goal after it came back off the crossbar. The Catalans finished the game with ten men after Rubén picked up a second booking near the end.

Málaga B stay a point above Salamanca after a thrilling 3-3 draw at Eibar, where local manager Amorrortu was in charge for the last time before taking over at Real Sociedad. The Basque side took the lead midway through the first half when Burgueña got on the end of Fagoaga's cross, but Juanma took advantage of a pass from Nacho to equalise three minutes before the break. Brit restored the lead just before the half time whistle after a mistake by Abel, but a header from Rubén and a lob from Geijo turned the scoreline around in the first twenty minutes after the restart. However Goitia had to be at his best to keep out Brit and Burgueña after that until an Arregi free kick in injury time saved a point for the locals. (05.06.04)

More excitement in the second division on Sunday, with Numancia running out 3-1 winners over Alavés on Sunday lunchtime to move back up into the promotion spots. An early own goal from Téllez started them off, the defender heading Fagiani's long free kick past his own keeper trying to clear, and Juan Carlos Moreno made it two only a couple of minutes in to the second half after good work by Kome. A lapse of concentration by the local defence let in Rubén Navarro to pull one back soon afterwards, but the visitors never looked like equalising and Pineda wrapped things up five minutes from the end after Miguel Angel Nuñez set him up on a rapid breakaway. The Soria based side move two points ahead of their rivals, with a better head-to-head record after a draw in Vitoria earlier in the season.

A 3-2 win by Leganés over Algeciras at midday took them three points clear of the drop zone and condemned Las Palmas to the second division B next season. The Madrid based side had not scored at their Butarque stadium in five games, but within two minutes Kuhl had put them ahead with a free kick which took a deflection off a defender to wrong-foot keeper Iñaki. Monteagudo levelled the scores on the half hour mark after the defence failed to clear a free kick, but a cracking shot from Melgar restored the lead on the stroke of half time. Referee Valle Gil was the main protagonist after the break though, leaving the visitors with eight men after sending off Espinola, Iñaki and then Tato within ten minutes of each other, Iñaki's red card also resulting in a controversial penalty which Calandria converted. Valle did make up for it in part awarding a penalty to the visitors in the last minute which Sequeiros tucked away, but it made little difference to an Algeciras side who were already relegated a couple of weeks ago. (06.06.04)

Sporting Gijón made it a four-horse race for the two remaining promotion spots later in the evening with a 2-0 win over Cádiz, although they, like Alavés, will have to hope for a slip-up by Getafe or Numancia to win through. The Asturians got off to a strong start, with Pablo Alvarez and Rubén both testing keeper Navas in the opening minutes. Varela should have done better at the other end when he shot way over with only the keeper to beat on a rapid breakaway, but ten minutes before the interval the locals took the lead when Pablo Alvarez cut in from the wing to fire a shot wide of the keeper. The game slowed down after the restart, and the locals fans started to get worried when Samuel was sent off for a second bookable offence with a quarter of an hour still to go. But five minutes later Alvarez set up Dani Borreguero for him to calm the nerves with a second goal.

Rayo Vallecano kept their hopes of survival alive with a 2-0 win over Córdoba, although they are still four points clear of safety and will have to win both their remaining games to have any chance of staying up. Victories for Poli Ejido and Leganés earlier in the weekend also left the visitors down in the relegation spots, and both sides started nervously, with very few shots on target in the first half. Txetxu Rojo's side took control after the break though, inspired by Luis Cembranos who set up Pulido for him to head the opening goal midway through the half. Córdoba were left with ten men when López Ramos picked up a second booking, and a few minutes later the home side were awarded a penalty after Bolo was tripped as he lined up to shoot. Keeper Jauregui guessed correctly and blocked Pablo Sanz's kick, but the ball span back off the keeper and crept agonisingly over the line. Rayo had got their first win in ten games, but it may have come too late. The visitors are also in trouble though, and manager Miguel Angel Portugal was fired after the match.

Córdoba's defeat was a relief for several sides, including Elche, whose 2-0 win over Recreativo takes them mathematically safe for another year as a result. Either side could have scored early on, Artega's free kick almost finding the target for the visitors and Moisés bringing a good save out of Toño at the other end, but it Moisés who made the break through shortly before half time, scoring on the follow up after the keeper had saved from Arnal. Pernía came close to equalising when he crashed a shot against the crossbar after the break, but otherwise the home side were in charge and substitute Meca rounded things off with a headed goal in injury time.

Six teams are not out of the woods yet though, including Almería, who are only three points away from the drop zone after losing 2-0 at Tenerife. The Andalucians were up against it from the twentieth minute when Jaime was sent off for bringing down Martín Posse as he advanced on goal, but they still had the best chance of the first half, Enke doing well to save from Ortíz when free in front of goal. The introduction of Raúl Martín at half time improved things for the locals, and César Belli gave them the lead when he headed home La Paglia's free kick. Keko got a second individualist goal a few minutes later to wrap things up, and the sending off of Iker Garai in injury time came too late for Almería to react. (06.06.04)