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Second Division - Day 21

Almería missed out on a chance to go second after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Alcoyano on Friday evening. The East coasters' double strike force of Ulloa and Goitom have caused a lot of problems for defences this season, and with only eight minutes gone the two combined for Ulloa to open the scoring. Gato latched on to a loose ball to beat Esteban and level the scores early in the second half though, and although Goitom took advantage of some slack defending to restore the lead soon afterwards, new signing Wellington Silva combined with Gato to make it all square near the end. Lucas Alcaraz's side could have won it late on however, Pallerés missing the easiest of chances with the goal at his mercy in the last minute. (20.01.12)

Deportivo picked up the honorary title of winter champions at the half-way point of the season after a narrow 1-0 win over Villarreal B on Saturday afternoon. The Galicians were up against it in the first half, Moisés, Jaume and Lucas all rattling the woodwork for the visitors. However the youngsters were left with ten men when Kiko was sent off early in the second half, and with a quarter of an hour to go Lejeune turned Guardado's cross in to his own net.

Deportivo stay three points ahead of Valladolid and Hércules, both of whom won. Valladolid are now in second spot though after beating Guadalajara 0-3 later in the evening, with Oscar opening the scoring for Djukic's side ten minutes before the interval. Jofre made it two a minute after the restart on a rapid counter-attack, and Nauzet got the third from the penalty spot on the hour mark. The locals ended with ten men after Javi Soría was sent off for a second bookable offence a few minutes after the third goal. Hércules won 2-0 against Huesca, with Samuel heading the first a quarter of an hour in to the second half, and Tote made it two late on, his first goal since recovering from a long injury lay-off.

Elche drop to fourth though after they lost 1-0 to bottom club Gimnàstic. The Catalans had not won in seven games, but they took the lead midway through the first half when Alvaro Rey beat Juan Carlos after the keeper had blocked a shot from Powel. Nàstic stay in last spot, but they are now only a point behind regional neighbours Girona, who could only draw 1-1 against Murcia. New coach Josu Uribe saw his side take the lead through Jandro in the eleventh minute, but Tortolero put through his own net later in the first half, and Coro fired a penalty against the crossbar which could have given the three points to the locals.

Cartagena climb out of the relegation spots though after they beat Recreativo 3-1. Collantes opened the scoring for Carlos Rios's side ten minutes before the interval, and Raimondi and Collantes added two more before Raimondi put through his own net later on. Alcorcón and Numancia stay in the top half of the table after they cancelled each other out in a 2-2 draw, goals from Paco Montañés and Miguélez putting the locals two up at the break, but two second half strikes by Juanjo saving a point for the Soria based side. And Sabadell and Las Palmas remain in mid-table after drawing 1-1, Florian giving the Catalans an early lead, but Juanpe heading in Viera's cross to equalise in the last minute, even though David González had been sent a few minutes earlier. (21.01.12)

Córdoba and Celta started their Sunday mid-day match with ambitions of promotion, the Galicians knowing that a win would return them to second spot, and the Andalusians needing the three points to be back in contention for the play-off places. However a dull game ended without goals, leaving Córdoba still two points of the top six, and their opponents down in fourth place. Later in the day Barcelona B beat Xerez 2-0 to move up to twelfth in the table. Tello scored the first six minutes before the break and set up Rodri for the second after the restart to leave the Andalusians just four points off the drop zone. (22.01.12)