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Second Division - Day 40

Granada made sure of a place in this season's play-offs after beating struggling Villarreal B 3-0 on Friday evening. By half time it was all over, Iñigo López starting things off in only the fourth minute when he headed in an Abel Gómez corner. A quarter of an hour later Collantes made it two with a shot which Diego Mariño deflected in to his own net, and with half time looming Ighalo scored the third from a Dani Benítez assist. The defeat left the visitors only six points above the relegation zone, and the gap could be down to three if Salamanca can beat Cartagena on Saturday. (20.05.11)

Rayo Vallecano will join Betis in the first division next season! The Madrid based side are scheduled to play Xerez on Sunday, but a 2-2 draw on Saturday between Celta and Elche meant that they are sure of at least second place. Celta's home record has been abysmal recently, and despite going ahead twice they were pegged back in the end. Tuñez headed the opener from a De Lucas free kick with just over half an hour gone, but Cristóbal equalised four minutes later after Yoel failed to hold on to a previous effort. De Lucas connected with a David Rodríguez pass to restore the lead after the restart, but once again Angel headed past the keeper to save a point which keeps his side above their opponents in the table.

Betis are on track to be second division champions though after they beat Huesca 3-1. Rubén Castro set up Jorge Molina for the first goal in only the fourth minute, and then scored the second from the penalty spot after corona fouled Molina early in the second half. Camacho got one back with another penalty after Casto brought down Roberto, but after corona was sent off for a second bookable offence, Beñat rounded things off with a cross late on which bounced past everyone in to the net.

Celta, Elche and Granada will be in the play-offs for the third promotion spot, and Valladolid are close to taking the last place after a 1-0 victory over Gimnàstic. The locals had the better of the first half, although the best chance fell to Powel at the other end. Five minutes after the break though Javi Guerra headed in a Pedro López cross, and Abel Resino's team could have extended their lead later on.

Nàstic's defeat drags them back in to the struggle to avoid the last relegation spot, and they are only just ahead of Salamanca on head-to-head goal difference after Balta's side beat Cartagena 2-0. The visitors were still in with a chance of making the play-off spots, and honours were shared until Juanjo got on the end of Edu Bedía's cross to open the scoring on the stroke of half time. Marcos Márquez wrapped things up though with a second goal from Bedía's free kick midway through the second half.

Córdoba are also not safe after they lost 3-0 to already relegated Ponferradina, although it would need two defeats and a strange combination for them to go down. Yuri headed in Abraham's cross early in the first half to put the locals in front, and the striker could have scored again when he hit the bar before the break. With a quarter of an hour to go Saizar turned in Del Olmo's centre for the second, and Francis Suárez completed the scoring in the second minute of injury time.

Las Palmas are sure of another season in the second division though after a 0-0 draw with Numancia. Action was few and far between, with Quero having an early penalty appeal turned down, and Sergio Suárez (brother of Francis) and Javi Guerrero going close before the break. Jonathan Viera did bring a good save out of Eduardo after the interval, but that was about it.

Albacete and Tenerife are both already relegated, and they met in the Carlos Belmonte in what was named the "game of dignity". There was little dignity for the home side though, a 1-2 defeat (their seventh in a row) leaving them firmly at the bottom of the table. Julio Alvarez headed against the post before Nino opened the scoring from the penalty spot after he was brought down by Nuñez on the quarter hour mark. Tato beat the offside trap to equalise before the break, but Alvarez got the winner later on in the second half.

Alcorcón's chances of making the play-offs are now remote after they were held to a 0-0 draw by Recreativo. Both coaches made changes to their line ups, and the only action in the first half were a couple of headers by David Sanz and Alberdi which local keeper Fabricio dealt with comfortably. Neither keeper was really troubled after the restart, and in the end both teams settled for a draw which in Recre's case was their 19th of the season.

Barcelona Athletic are of course not eligible for promotion, but they are on track for finishing ahead of all four of the play-off teams after they beat local rivals Girona 0-2. Many of Luis Enrique's side were on first team duty at Málaga, but even so they went ahead early on when Tébar turned an Edu Oriol cross past his own keeper trying to clear. And Benja scored a second with seven minutes to go to end any hopes that their opponents had of squeezing in to the play-offs. (21.05.11)

Rayo Vallecano celebrated their promotion to the first division with a 3-0 victory over Xerez on Sunday lunchtime. Results the day before had confirmed their return to the top flight, and a big crowd turned up to celebrate. The visitors were looking for points themselves though to keep them in the push for the play-off spots, and they held on until Moreno was sent off just before the break after being shown a second yellow card. Three minutes after the restart Trejo connected with Aganzo's centre to break the ice, and although numbers were evened up when Amaya also picked up a second booking, a strike by Armenteros and a Susaeta free kick completed the scoring in the last ten minutes. (22.05.11)