Celta are up to second in the table pending the rest of the weekend's matches after beating Alcoyano 0-3 on Friday night. The Galicians got off to a good start, Miki heading Toni's corner past his own keeper under pressure from Bermejo in only the fourth minute. Cañadas hit the bar with a free kick soon afterwards, but the unfortunate Miki got himself sent off for a hard tackle on Toni, and with the first half coming to an end David Rodríguez ran on to a long Tuñez through ball to roll a shot past Maestro and make it two. Ten minutes after the restart Orellana wrapped things up, curling a shot over the keeper after intercepting a bad clearance. And although César Ramón had a strike ruled out for a borderline offside and Gato rattled the crossbar with another free kick, the visitors held on comfortably for three points which takes them above their local rivals Deportivo on goal difference. (06.01.12)
Elche stay in first place after coming from behind twice to beat Guadalajara 2-4 on Saturday evening. The East coast side had spent the holiday period at the top of the pack, but they went behind for the first time in only the second minute when Barral headed in Ernesto's corner, Xumetra set up Nicki Bille for the equaliser half an hour later though, and although Iván Moreno restored the lead from Jony's assist, the visitors were level again at the break after Xumetra beat Saizar for a second time. Six minutes after the restart Linares headed in Palanca's cross to put Elche in front for the first time, and Edu Albacar wrapped things up later in the second half with a well struck free kick.
Deportivo return to second spot after a 2-1 victory over Xerez. The Galicians went ahead when Lombán turned Bruno Gama's cross in to his own net in the sixth minute, and Guardado made it two midway through the first half with an angled shot past Doblas. But with te first half coming to an end Campano got one back with a well struck free kick, and although Capdevila was sent off early in the second half, there were some nervous moments for the home fans before the final whistle. Depor stay a point clear of Hércules, who beat Las Palmas 2-1 thanks to a hotly disputed last minute penalty which Michel converted. Quiroga had headed the Canary Islanders in to the lead at the start of the second half, but Carlos Calvo equalised soon afterwards with a direct free kick.
Valladolid remain in fourth spot after a comfortable 1-4 win at Sabadell. Javi Guerra scored a first half hat-trick for Djukic's side, the first after Peña set him up with a quarter of an hour on the clock. Lanzarote got one back midway through the second half, but Marquitos made sure of the three points with a fourth goal with a quarter of an hour to go. With Almería and Córdoba playing on Sunday, Murcia closed to within two points of the play-off spots after beating bottom club Gimnàstic 0-2. The Catalans in fact had the better chances, but Ruso headed the visitors in to the lead in the eighth minute, and then finished things off with a second goal in the last minute.
Nàstic drop three points behind Cartagena, who beat relegation rivals Huesca 2-0. Both goals came in the middle of the first half, Dimas firing the first past Luis García and Chamorro getting the second from Lafuente's cross to give new coach Carlos Ríos a first win. Huesca stay in the bottom four, with Villarreal B just above them on goal difference after losing 3-1 at Recreativo. Marcos Gullón opened the scoring for the visitors on the quarter hour mark, but goals by Matamala and Sergi Enrich in the next fifteen minutes turned the scoreline around, and after Gullón was sent off, Juan Villar completed the scoring in the last minute. Recre move up to fifteenth, a point now behind Barcelona B, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Numancia. Jonathan Soriano gave the locals the lead early in the second half, but Del Pino levelled it with a header a few minutes later. (07.01.12)
Córdoba are up in to the play-off spots after a 1-0 win against struggling Girona on Sunday evening. Borja García got the only goal of the game in the first half, following up after his own penalty kick was saved by Santamaría. They could have won by a bigger margin in the end though when Aguilar headed against the post after the restart. Córdoba replace Almería in the top six after Lucas Alcaraz's side drew 1-1 at Alcorcón earlier in the day. Ulloa put them ahead with his side's first shot at goal eight minutes before the interval, but early in the second half Michel Macedo was sent off with a second yellow card for bringing down Montañés in the area, and Quini drilled home the resulting penalty to save a point for the locals. (08.01.12)