Second Division - Day 7
Rayo Vallecano moved to the top of the table on goal difference after beating Villarreal B 0-2 on Saturday evening. Both goals came from striker Rubén Castro before the break, the first from the penalty spot after a defender handled in the area, and the second after connecting with a cross from Quero. Substitute Joan Tomás came closest to getting one back for the home side after the restart, but they were unable to beat Cobeño, and ended the day in next to bottom spot.
Rayo move above last week's leaders Hércules, who drew 0-0 at Las Palmas. Despite the result, keepers Assmann and Calatayud had plenty of work to do, the former saving from Tote and Daciulescu before the break, and the latter keeping out Rondón and Marcos Márquez after the restart. Daciulescu hit the bar later on, but the scoreline remained unchanged.
Numancia missed out on a chance to move up in to the top three after they were held to a 0-0 draw by a Huesca side who played over an hour with ten men after Corona was sent off for a second bookable offence. The locals almost took the lead though when Camacho crashed a free kick against the upright, and the visitors replied with an effort from Del Pino which Miguel pushed against the post.
Córdoba are level with the Soria based side after they drew 1-1 at struggling Murcia, who drop back in to the bottom four as a result. Pepe Díaz gave the Andalusians the lead with a deflected shot from the edge of the area ten minutes before the break, but after visiting keeper Raúl Navas saved a Bruno penalty, Sergio Fernández levelled the scores to make it a sixth draw in a row for José Miguel Campos's side.
Gimnàstic are just a point behind Córdoba after beating Levante 1-0 in Tarragona. Rubén Navarro scored the only goal late on from the penalty spot after referee Lesma López ruled that José Marí had been fouled, a decision which cost a red card for coach Luis García for protesting. Lesma also sent off Javi Guerra for a second bookable offence before half time, and José Marí for the same reason near the end.
Elche's new coach José Bordalás started his new job with a 3-2 win over Recreativo. The ex Hércules boss, who took over after Claudio Barragán was sacked, saw his side go behind when Fornaroli headed Alvaro Antón's cross past Caballero in the twentieth minute. However Jandro equalised on the stroke of half time, and two goals in three minutes from Jorge Molina and Santos midway through the second half turned the scoreline around. Jesús Vázquez got one back from the penalty spot, but too late to change the result.
Celta's return to form took a set-back though after they could only draw 1-1 with Albacete. Iago Aspas opened the scoring for Eusebio's side just a minute in to the second half after Joselu's header came back off the post. But the visitors could have equalised when Falcón saved Salva's penalty a few minutes later, and Merino finally kept up Albacete's unbeaten record in Balaidos when he beat the keeper with a few minutes to go. The game ended with a punch-up in the tunnel between Notario and Català.
Girona won the relegation battle with Castellón, beating their rivals 1-0 to leave David Amaral's side five points adrift at the bottom of the table with only one point to their name. Dorca got the only goal of the game with a shot from outside of the area on the hour mark to give the Catalans their first win of the season, and they looked comfortable even when Xumetra was sent off with a few minutes to go. (10.10.09)
Real Sociedad lead the second division at the end of week seven after a 2-0 victory over Salamanca on Sunday evening. With a line-up virtually made up of home-grown players, the Basque side are in top spot for the first time since they were relegated two seasons ago. Griezmann and Ansotegi scored the goals in a five minute period early in the second half, the first after Xabi Prieto's rapid free kick and the second after Agirretxe set him up. Zurutuza and Azkorra had goals disallowed at each end earlier on, and the visitors finished with ten men after Despotovic was sent off for pushing the referee.
Real and Cartagena are the only two clubs who remain unbeaten, and the newly promoted team stay level with Lasarte's side on points after beating Cádiz 1-3 later in the evening, Toché opening the scoring on the half hour mark after Longás set him up, and De Lucas and Víctor added two more a couple of minutes either side of half time, the first with a low shot and the second after Cygan's header was blocked. Toedtli scored a late consolation for the hosts, beating Rubén from close up.
Betis are out of the promotion spots though after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Unión. Caffa put the Andalusians ahead before the interval, latching on to Nelson's pass to score past Jauregi. But after the break they slowed up, and Goitia had to make several saves before Abásolo scored a deserved equaliser for the visitors after an assist from substitute Juan Domínguez with six minutes to go. (11.10.09)
