Second division leaders Celta suffered a setback in their push for promotion when they were beaten 3-1 by Tenerife on Saturday evening. The Canary Islanders went ahead midway through the first half after Pinto could only push out a long shot from Edu Moya, Gavilán picking up the rebound and serving Keko who scored with a little help from central defender Sergio. Gavilán was a constant menace, and shortly before the break the under 21 international set up Hidalgo for a shot which was going wide before Cristo Marrero deflected it past Pinto. Fernando Vázquez brought on Jesús Perera and Sava ten minutes in to the second half, and within a minute Perera headed on Canobbio's corner for his colleague to head into the net. But with the Galicians pushing forward they left gaps at the back, and after two warning shots from Keko the striker picked up a pass from Hidalgo to score his side's third goal.

Celta are still five points clear at the top though pending Sunday's games after Cádiz could only draw 1-1 at Elche. The home side still had an outside chance of promotion, and with so much at stake the two teams got off to a nervous start. The best chances before the break fell to the locals though, Nino wasting a couple of chances before he finally got his name on the scoresheet a minute before the half time whistle, heading Tasevski's corner past Armando. The Andalusians had only managed one real shot at goal, an effort from Jonathan Sesma which Caballero had no problems dealing with. But ten minutes after the restart referee Medina Méndez gave them a helping hand, awarding a penalty for what he considered was a hand ball by Azkoitia although the midfielder appeared to control the ball on his chest. Abraham Paz tucked away the spot kick, and Armando and his defence did the rest.

Eibar got their promotion campaign back on track with a 1-0 win over Almería, a result which takes the Basque side back to within a point of third placed Alavés pending their game on Sunday. The visitors needed points to move away from the danger zone, and Vellisca and Sahnoun gave the home fans a fright in the opening minutes. But otherwise Medilibar´s team were on top, David Silva having a couple of penalty appeals turned down and Valerio having to put in an excellent performance in the Andalusians goal to keep the scores level at the break. Iban Espadas could have given the visitors the lead after the break had Iraizoz not been on his toes, but a minute later Varela got what was to be the only goal for the locals. Even so Almería could have saved a point had Iraizoz not kept out efforts from substitutes Luna and Isaac near the end.

Terrassa moved out of the relegation zone for 24 hours at least after defeating Sporting Gijón 1-0, ending any hopes that Marcelino's side had of promotion. The Catalans should have taken the lead when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Monty early on, but Quique Martín's spot kick was saved by Roberto. Monty hit the post a few minutes later and went close again before the break as the locals piled on the pressure, and they finally got their reward after the restart when Héctor beat Roberto following an indirect free kick inside the area for what the referee considered was a back pass to the keeper. Juan Carlos and then Monty could have scored a second, but the locals sat back to defend their lead in the last quarter of an hour, Bauzá, Arthuro and Javi Fuego all trying their luck for the Asturians to no avail. (07.05.05)

Alavés took advantage of the slip ups by the teams above them to move back up to second after beating Lleida 0-1 on Sunday lunchtime. The only goal of the game came from Nené in the ninth minute, the Brazilian winger beating Edu from close range after connecting with a deflected cross from Rubén Navarro only seconds after Oscar had missed a chance at the other end. Arnal came close to equalising before the break, and Crusat fired a shot just wide of Bonano's goal after the restart. Epitié could have increased the lead when he broke through but shot into the side netting, but Sergio Rodríguez almost saved a point for the Catalans when he poked a shot just over the bar from close up in the dying minutes. Piterman's side held on for three points though which takes them just four behind Celta.

Recreativo lost some ground on the leading pack after they could only draw 0-0 at struggling Pontevedra later on Sunday evening, although they are still only four points below the promotion spots. With so much at stake the nerves showed right from the start, and there were virtually no shots at goal until the last five minutes of the first half, when Fede Bahón had a strike turned for a corner and Salcedo headed against the bar for the home side, and Xavi Jiménez lifted a shot over the bar at the other end. The Galicians threw everything forward after the break, Luque making a couple of vital saves from Javi Rodríguez and Juan Jesús shooting just over the bar, but Uche came close to stealing away the three points for the visitors when he fired a shot just wide of Moso's goal.

Valladolid waved good bye though to any hopes of going up after sharing the points with Racing Ferrol in a boring 1-1 draw. The 5,300 crowd at the Nueva Zorrilla stadium was the smallest of the season, and they only had a shot from Sousa to entertain them in the first half hour. Top scorer Mario Bermejo tested local keeper Bizzarri late in the first half, but Jaio Castillo hit the post at the other end before Chema opened the scoring on the stroke of half time with a long shot which beat Bello Amigo. Youngster Teo came on at the break for the hosts and showed some good touches, but with a quarter of an hour to go the referee controversially ruled that he had handled in the area. Bermejo stepped up to clock up his 24th of the season from the penalty spot, and after that everybody went home.

The game between Xerez and Gimnastic Tarragona also ended 1-1, leaving both sides safely in mid-table. The locals had set themselves a target of 50 points at the start of the season and that was exactly what they and their opponents had totalled by the end of the match. The Andalusians went ahead in the tenth minute when Serrano turned an effort from Mena past his own keeper, but Abel came close to levelling the scores when he brought a good save out of Tete later in the half. The Catalans did draw level though after the restart with a hotly disputed penalty on Bolo which Diego Torres converted, and Bolo came close to giving his side the victory when he hit the post in the final minutes.

There was more excitement down in the lower reaches of the table, where Córdoba moved off the bottom of the table after coming from two goals down to thrash Málaga B 5-2. The Andalusians were up against right from the start when Selu was shown a red card in only the third minute for a foul on Paco Esteban, and Esteban went close a couple of times before beating Saja twice in a three minute period midway through the first half. But the locals were level by the interval, Marchiori latching onto a loose ball to score his side's first and Cristian Alvarez crashing home a free kick soon afterwards. Berruet headed them in to the lead after the restart, and Villa and Txiki added two more in the last ten minutes for a remarkable win.

Córdoba closed to within three points of Ciudad Murcia, who were beaten 1-3 by city rivals Real Murcia in the last match on Sunday evening. It was Murcia's fourth win in a row, and they finally appear to be clear of the drop zone after so long at the bottom of the table. The two sides share the Condomina stadium, but it was the "visitors" who took the lead when Acciari headed past José Juan shortly before the break. Iván Alonso made it two five minutes in to the second half after good work by Richi and Julio Alvarez, but Luque pulled one back from a free kick a few minutes later. Youngster Pedro León took advantage of a hesitant defence to wrap things up though two minutes from the end, leaving their opponents further down in the relegation spots.

Salamanca started their match in the bottom four after Terrassa's victory the day before, and looked like they would be staying there after trailing Poli Ejido thanks to a goal from Carlos García, who chested Calado's free kick past Tom midway through the first half. However the home side were left with ten men when Paco García picked up a second booking after the interval, and with three minutes to go Jaime latched on to a loose ball to make it 1-1. The result takes Andoni Goikoetxea's side above Terrassa on goal difference, although the Catalans would finish above them if level on points at the end of the season as they have the advantage on a head-to-head basis. (08.05.05)