Second Division - Day 26
Friday night's game saw Rayo Vallecano get back to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over bottom club Castellón. A run of eight games without a win had brought about a change of manager, and technical director Felipe Miñambres was in charge for the first time at Vallecas. A couple of minutes in to the second half Rubén Castro headed in Quero's cross to open the scoring for the Madrid based team, and Coke added a second following a corner before Pedro Hernández put through his own net late on. (26.02.10)
Hércules opened up a three point gap at the top of the second division after beating Celta 1-0 on Saturday evening. The Alicante based side should have taken the lead early in the second half when Vasco Fernandes brought down Del Olmo in the area, but Falcón saved Farinós's spot kick. With a quarter of an hour to go though Gerardo's corner fell loose in the area, and Tote reacted quicker than his marker to poke the ball in to the net from off the ground. Real Sociedad fall behind their opponents after they were held to a 1-1 draw at Huesca. The locals took the lead when Moisés headed past Bravo early in the second half, but Labaka saved a point with another header from Estrada's wide free kick with ten minutes to go.
Real maintain their seven point advantage over fourth placed Levante however after the Valencia based side could only draw 1-1 with Las Palmas. Rubén Suárez put the locals ahead midway through the first half with an individualist effort, but just a minute later Cejudo equalised with a spectacular volley from Saúl's cross. Similar results for the two sides immediately behind Levante, with Numancia drawing 1-1 against Gimnàstic, and Villarreal B also drawing 1-1 at Albacete. Dimas gave the Soria based side the lead with an angled shot early on, but Nàstic levelled the scores after the break with a strike by Rubén Navarro. And Jefferson Montero put Villarreal B ahead with a first half strike before an injury time Tarantino header made it all square. The visitors were playing with ten men by then after Nacho Insa was sent off.
Down in the lower reaches, Murcia moved out of the drop zone to the detriment of Albacete after beating Salamanca 0-2. Bruno opened the scoring in only the second minute with a well struck free kick, and Capdevila wrapped things up after a rapid counter-attack in injury time. Salamanca were left with ten men after Zamora was sent off near the end, and after ten games without a win they are now only two points of the relegation spots. Cádiz drop further down in to the bottom four after a last minute defeat at neighbours Recreativo. Ramis fired Víctor Espárrago's side in to the lead with just over half an hour gone, and Toedtli saw his penalty kick saved by Guaita soon after the restart. But Pablo Sánchez turned a low shot from Carmona past Casilla a few minutes later, and with the game coming to an end Alvaro Antón drilled a low free kick in to the net to ensure three vital points for his side. (27.02.10)
Betis kept their hopes of promotion alive after a 1-2 victory over third placed Cartagena on Sunday lunchtime. Jonathan Pereira opened the scoring for Víctor Fernández's side with a shot from the edge of the area only six minutes after the kick-off, and Mehmet Aurelio headed the second after Carlos García headed on a corner early in the second half. Tato got on the end of Balboa's cross to pull one back later on though, and there were some nervous moments for the visiting fans before the final whistle. The Andalusians move up to fifth, now five points behind their opponents.
Only two matches on Sunday evening, with Córdoba drawing level with Elche in mid-table after beating them 2-0. Pepe Díaz opened the scoring for the Andalusians from the penalty spot after Martí Crespo brought him down in the area a couple of minutes before half time, and José Vega wrapped things up later in the second half with a lob over keeper Caballero. Girona stay a point above the relegation spots after a 1-1 draw at Real Unión, who themselves remain five points below the Catalans. Peragón put the visitors ahead midway through the second half, but Eneko Romo saved a point with a late penalty after Aitor Sanz was fouled in the area. (28.02.10)
