Second Division - Day 30
Zaragoza move up in to the top three pending Sunday's games after beating leaders Xerez 1-2 on Saturday night. Jorge López started things off midway through the first half, the referee waving away appeals for a previous foul. Pedro Ríos equalised though after the restart, beating Doblas at the third attempt, and a couple of minutes later Zaragoza were left with ten men after Ponzio picked up a second booking. However Jorge López got his second of the night with seven minutes to go to take the three points.
Real Sociedad stay just three points behind Zaragoza after a 0-3 victory at promotion rivals Castellón, Xabi Prieto opening the scoring in the seventh minute from a Carlos Martínez cross. And after the break Agirretxe got the second from a Castillo pass, and Marcos scored a third with an individualist effort to make it four wins in a row for the Basque side.
The other three matches on Saturday involved teams in the lower half of the table, and all ended with the points being shared. Las Palmas fought back with two goals in the second half to draw 2-2 at Girona, an eighth draw in nine games for the locals. Strikes from Gabri and Paco Esteban in the first half seemed to have put them on the way to a victory, but Samuel headed in a corner after the break and Saúl made it all square a few minutes later.
Bottom club Sevilla Atlético also came back from two down to draw 3-3 with Murcia in a match with four penalties. Ochoa and Bruno gave the visitors the lead with strikes either side of half time, but Armenteros and José Carlos levelled the scores with two penalties in five minutes midway through the second half. Bruno restored the lead with another penalty, but José Carlos saved a point with a fourth spot kick later on.
Celta have not won in ten games, and they were unable to do more than draw 0-0 with Albacete, even though the visitors ended with eight men. Kitoko was the first to go for a second bookable offence on the hour mark, and Trotta and Alberto were also sent off in the final five minutes. Trashorras and Miku both hit the woodwork in the second half, but Eusebio's side couldn't find the net. (28.03.09)
Tenerife are the new leaders of the second division after the Canary Islanders beat Córdoba 2-0 on Sunday evening. A 19,000 crowd saw Alfaro open the scoring in the third minute of the second half with a free kick which took a deflection off the defensive wall. . And the ex Sevilla winger scored his second of the evening a few minutes later to take his side a point above Xerez.
Rayo Vallecano occupied third spot for a couple of hours on Sunday after they won 0-1 at Eibar. Piti scored the only goal in the tenth minute, intercepting a bad clearance from Pampín and lobbing a shot back over the keeper. And after that the locals were unable to make any headway against a well organised defence, leaving Josu Uribe's side further down in the drop zone.
Later in the evening Hércules got back above Rayo after coming from a goal down to beat Alavés 1-3. Juanjo put the Vitoria based side ahead in the sixth minute, and they held off their opponents until the third minute of the second half, when Tote got on the end of Sendoa's cross to equalise. Sendoa himself scored a second for the visitors after Fernando Sales set him up, and Rubén Navarro got the third on a counter-attack to leave the locals still down in the bottom four.
Huesca and Salamanca consolidated their places in the top half of the table after a 0-0 draw. The locals had the better of the first half, Borrego hitting the bar and Rubén Castro having a twice taken penalty saved by Alberto (after scoring the first time) following a hand ball by a defender in the area. Camacho hit the woodwork again for the home side after the restart, but in the end both teams settled for a point.
Gimnàstic closed to within two points of Levante after beating the Valencia based side 2-0, Visiting keeper Reina made a string of first class saves in the first half, but he could do nothing to prevent N'Gal opening the scoring after a good team move in the first minute after the break. And N'Gal picked up a return pass from Víctor to make it two a few minutes later, giving his side their first win in a month.
Elche also moved safely up to mid-table after a 0-3 victory at neighbours Alicante. Santos fired a shot in to the top corner of the net in the ninth minute to put the visitors in front, and Fernando Niño got the second following a free kick on the hour mark. And Saúl finished things off late on to leave the home side further down in the relegation spots. (29.03.09)
