Yet another leader in the second division, as Elche beat second placed Lleida 1-2 to move to the top of the table pending Sunday's games. The Catalans took the lead through ex Espanyol forward Oscar after substitute Nakor set him up just two minutes after the break, but the visitors equalised soon afterwards with a controversial Moisés penalty after the striker fell under a challenge from Dorado. The locals were left with ten men when Bruno picked up a second booking, and Moisés almost put his side in front with a shot against the crossbar. But visiting keeper Unanua made two vital saves from Stankovic before Rubén hooked in the winner seven minutes from the end.

Eibar also moved up into the promotion spots with a 2-0 win over Valladolid, who drop into the bottom half of the table as a result. Ex Real Sociedad striker Llorente opened the scoring with a free kick in the first minute, and added a second a quarter of an hour later after Bizzarri could only push out Burgueña's effort. The visitors hardly managed a shot on target all 90 minutes, and Llorente came close to completing his hat-trick after the break. It was an easy victory for the Basque side, who ended the match with ten men when Burgueña was sent off near the end for elbowing an opponent.

Celta Vigo and Racing Ferrol cancelled each other out, their Galician derby match ending 1-1. Last season the two sides were two divisions apart, but it was the newly promoted team which took the lead when Juanito beat Pinto with a long shot midway through the first half. Jandro levelled the scores though a few minutes later after Sava set him up, but neither side were able to add to the scoreline after that. Celta have now gone five games without a win, and they drop down to mid-table.

At the other end of the country, Málaga B surprised their neighbours Recreativo Huelva, beating them 0-1 to record their third win in a row. It was a dull match, and neither side troubled the opposing keeper until Uche headed against the visitors' cross bar ten minutes before the interval. Soon afterwards though Usero got on the end of a corner to head past Toño, handing the hosts their second home defeat in a row. (09.10.04)

Poli Ejido moved two points clear at the top of the table with a flattering 1-4 win over Gimnastic Tarragona on Sunday evening. Pepe Mel's side opened the scoring with a Calado penalty after a efender handled in the area midway through the first half, and Pedro Vega made it two from a Víctor Salas cross just before the break. Bolo had had a penalty appeal turned down in the first half, but he did get his first goal since joining from Rayo Vallecano just after the restart. After that the Catalans pushed forward, but they were stopped by an excellent Kike and then caught out twice on the counter-attack, Pedro Vega getting his second of the night from a free kick and Toedtli beating Felip with a long shot in the dying moments. It was Nàstic's second home defeat in a row, and leaves them down in the relegation spots.

Xerez are in third place after drawing 1-1 with Tenerife, a late penalty from Dani Pendín saving their unbeaten record. The Andalusians should have wrapped the match up early on against a defensive opponent, visiting keeper Keleman stopping efforts from Cachorro and Lejic. Keleman was there again late in the second half to save from Moreno, and the play went up the other end for Hidalgo to put the Canary Islanders in front. But six minutes later Pendín equalised after Jesús Vazquez gave away a penalty and got himself sent off into the bargain, and Tenerife held on with nine men after Fagiani also picked up a second booking a few minutes from the end.

Alavés moved to within a point of the promotion spots after a 3-2 triumph over a battling Pontevedra. Bodipo was the inspiration for the home side, and he opened the scoring in the third minute after beating the offside trap to round keeper Moncho. Xaco hit the bar at the other end near the break, but it was Bodipo again who set up Rubén Navarro for a second goal after the restart. Mauro pulled one back for the Galicians, but Pape Thiaw made it three before a last minute Juan Jesús penalty reduced the gap to one goal.

Down at the bottom, Córdoba and Real Murcia are now six points adrift after both lost, and managers Esteban Vigo and Manolo Preciado may both be out of work by next weekend. Córdoba fell to a 2-0 defeat at Almería, who had not won at home this season before this match. The turning point came when Roberto Nanni came on for the injured Luna midway through the first half, the new signing setting up Esteban Navarro for a first goal soon after coming on, and getting the second himself after the restart when Isaac put him through.

Meanwhile Real Murcia were beaten 0-2 at home by Cádiz, and they too have only picked up one point from their first seven games. Preciado was serving a one match ban and had to watch from the stands as visiting keeper Armando got the better of Richi on two or three occasions in the first half. But Jonathan Sesma put the Andalusians ahead only minutes after the restart when Oli headed Varela's cross into his path, and Oli got the second himself on the follow up a quarter of an hour later after Sesma's shot came back off the post.

Ciudad Murcia climbed away from the bottom spots after beating Terrassa 0-1, a remarkable result given that the visitors had to play the last half hour with nine men. Espejo was the first to go on the half hour mark when he was shown a red card for bringing down an opponent as he advanced on goal, but even so Güiza gave the visitors the lead soon after the restart with an opportunist goal. Cuevas was sent off for a second bookable offence a few minutes later, but Ciudad held on to give manager Miguel Alvarez a satisfying win against the side who fired him last season.

Salamanca beat Sporting Gijón in the Molinón stadium for the first time in almost 30 years, but with the sides around them winning it was not enough to take them out of the relegation spots. Zé Tó put the visitors ahead in the first minute after intercepting a bad back pass from Samuel, but Pablo Alvarez headed an equaliser before the break. Sporting had several chances to wrap things up after the restart, the best a shot from Juan against the bar, but with Salamanca down to ten men after Tomás was sent off, Zé Tó got his second of the night two minutes from the end. (10.10.04)