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Second Division - Day 5

A brave Hércules fought back from a goal down with ten men to beat Barcelona B 2-1 in the Friday night game. The Alicante based side were left a man short when Diego Ribas picked up two bookings in quick succession midway through the first half. And when Deulofeu picked up a long pass from Rodri to open the scoring early in the second half it seemed to be all over. However just a minute later Michel connected with Carlos Calvo's cross to level the scores, and although Jonathan Dos Santos hit the post, Samuel headed the winner from Michel's cross with twenty minutes to go. (16.09.11)

Only two points separate the top nine teams going in to Sunday's matches after last week's two leaders both lost on Saturday. Elche were beaten 1-0 by Recreativo, who clocked up a second win in a row after losing their first two games. Chances were few and far between though until ten minutes in to the second half, when Alex Quillo got on the end of Aitor's corner to open the scoring. A few minutes later the visitors were left with ten men when substitute Rúper picked up two quick bookings soon after coming on, and keeper Juan Carlos had to make a couple of saves after that to keep his team in the match. Any chance of a comeback ended though when Mantecón was also sent off for a second bookable offence with three minutes to go.

Sabadell have been the revelation side so far this season, but they dropped points for the first time after losing 2-1 at Deportivo. Lassad missed a chance to add to his recent impressive tally, but with five minutes to go to the break he sent Valerón away for the veteran midfielder to shoot low past De Navas. Three minutes later Guardado connected with Salomao's cross to make it two, and the game appeared to be over. However the Catalans fought back after the restart, and after Baha ran through to fire a shot past Aranzubia with a quarter of an hour to go, there were some nervous moments for the local fans. The win takes Depor level with their opponents in the table, although Elche and Hércules occupy the two direct promotion spots thanks to a better goal difference.

Valladolid missed out on a chance to go top though after they were beaten 1-3 by Murcia earlier in the afternoon. The visitors had not picked up a single point since their return to the second division, but within a quarter of an hour they were two up, Baraja turning a cross in to his own net and Richi taking advantage of slack defending to score the second. Murcia were left with ten men when Pedro was sent off on the hour mark, but five minutes later Alberto saved a Bueno penalty after Jorge handled in the area, and although Javi Guerra pulled one back with five minutes to go, Iturra wrapped things up on a rapid counter-attack. Valladolid's Rueda was also sent off near the end.

Alcorcón are now level with Valladolid on seven points after beating struggling Cartagena 0-2. After a dull first half, Iván Bolado and Toni Moral went close for the locals. But a second yellow card for Goni left them with ten men, and just five minutes later Quini got on the end of Sergio Mara's free kick to put the Madrid based side ahead. A quarter of an hour later montañés got the second with a long shot to leave Paco López's team at the foot of the table without a point to their name. The coach may soon be this season's first managerial casualty.

Córdoba join Las Palmas on seven points as well after beating the Canary Islanders 0-1 in the last game on Saturday evening. The locals were missing Vitolo and Viera, and without them they were unable to recreate the form of recent weeks. Only a couple of efforts from Herner and Javi Guerrero caused any problems for Paco Jémez's new side, and Charles scored the only goal with twenty minutes to go after controlling Borja's assist on his chest before beating Barbosa.

Xerez complete the group on seven points after they drew 0-0 with Gimnàstic. Although they had won their two games away from home, they were yet to pick up a point in their Chapín stadium, and once again their fans were disappointed as they failed to score. The only real chances fell to José Marí before the break, and Powel could have won it for the visitors after the restart if he been able to convert any one of three opportunities. In the end though a red card for Rodri ended their hopes of a win for Nàstic, and they settled for a point which still leaves them down in the drop zone.

Nàstic's neighbours Girona also find themselves in the bottom four after they fell to a last minute 1-0 defeat at Numancia. Cedric hit the post and then missed an easy header in the first half for the locals, but Benja went close a couple of times for the visitors, and Moha had a goal ruled out for a borderline offside after the restart. The game appeared to be heading for a draw though until Julio Alvarez beat Santamaría with a well struck free kick in the third minute of injury time.

Girona are just behind Alcoyano, who themselves stay a point ahead of Huesca after a 3-3 draw in the Alcoraz stadium. The locals had lost their first three games, but they raced in to a two goal lead with strikes from Javi Martínez and Manu Molina. Before half time though the visitors had levelled the scores with goals from Alvaro and from Miki, who beat Cabrero with a shot from outside of the area. Luis Helguera restored the lead for the locals in the second half with a header from a corner, but five minutes later Rafa Gómez equalised again to save a valuable point for his side. (17.09.11)

It seems the newly promoted teams are here to stay this season, and Guadalajara are still unbeaten after drawing 3-3 at Villarreal B on Sunday evening. Fofo put the locals ahead in the tenth minute, but Iván Moreno equalised for the visitors soon afterwards, and three minutes after the restart Ryan Harper picked up a pass from Soria to edge it for the visitors. At that point Guadalajara were sitting at the top of the table, and when Ernesto converted a penalty on the hour mark after Dervite was sent off for a foul on Anibal, it looked like they were going to stay there. But midway through the second half Jaume Costa's shot hit Fofo and deflected in to the net, and with the game coming to an end substitute Joselu beat Saizar again to save a point for his side.

Guadalajara end the weekend in a more than respectable fifth though, level on points with Almería, who beat Celta 1-0 earlier in the day. Temperatures in the Mediterráneo stadium were above thirty degrees, and there were very few chances for either team throughout the game. The only goal came a quarter of an hour from the end when the ball hit the referee and fell to Bernadello, who beat Sergio with a shot from outside of the area. The win takes Lucas Alcaraz's side two points above their opponents in the table. (18.09.11)