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Second Division - Day 9

Villarreal are back up to second in the table pending Sunday's games, although they will be less than happy with the result after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Huesca in the last match on Saturday evening. Marcos Senna put the locals ahead in the eleventh minute with a well struck free kick, but David López headed past Juan Carlos to level the scores on the half hour mark. And although Cavenaghi rattled the crossbar as Villarreal completely dominated the second half, the visitors held on to become the first team to take a point away from the El Madrigal stadium this season.

Earlier in the day Alcorcón beat Mirandés 4-0 to move back up to the play-off spots. Visiting keeper Goitia had to save from Quini with only seconds on the clock, and soon afterwards Fernando Sales got on the end of Nagore's cross to open the scoring for the locals. The away side did cause a few problems for Manu before the break, but soon after the restart Juli made it two after Quini could only push out a header from Sales. Nagore scored a third a few minutes later with a shot from outside of the area, and after Aitor Blanco was sent off for a second bookable offence, substitute Dan Nieto wrapped things up from the penalty spot.

Barcelona B are now fourth, level with Alcorcón on points, after Eusebio's side beat struggling Sporting Gijón 3-0. The Asturians were left with ten men when keeper Cuéllar was sent off for bringing down Dongou outside of the area, and his replacement Juan Pablo could have done better when he could only push a vicious shot by Luis Alberto in to his own net shortly before half time. A couple of minutes after the restart David Rodríguez could only fire a penalty kick against the upright after Patric had fouled the striker inside the box, and Dongou and Román added two more later in the second half from assists by Lombán and Rafinha.

Murcia drop out of the top six however after they were beaten 2-1 by Lugo. The Gailicians were looking for revenge after their opponents controversially knocked them out of the second division B play-offs two seasons ago, and they went ahead with a penalty by veteran captain Manu Rodríguez after Mario Marín brought down Rubén Durán in the area ten minutes before the interval. Midway through the second half Oscar Díaz made it two following an impressive run, and although Sutil got one back a couple of minutes later, Iago Díaz and Fran Sol could both have added to the lead near the end.

Further down the table, bottom club Guadalajara beat Ponferradina 2-0 for their first win of the season. Alvaro Antón opened the scoring for Carlos Terrazas's side with a well struck free kick some ten minutes in to the second half, and Vicente headed the second from a Cristian Fernández centre with four minutes to go. The result leaves Hércules in last spot pending their game on Sunday, and Guadalajara are now only three points behind Xerez, who are currently eighteenth after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Racing Santander. The goals came early on, Kaludjerovic heading in Ferreiro's cross to give the Cantabrians the lead in the fourth minute, and Maldonado equalising five minutes later after José Vega set him up. (13.10.12)

Elche opened up the lead at the top of the table to seven points pending Almería's game later in the day after beating Numancia 4-0 on Sunday lunchtime. The visitors had only let in four goals all season, but they went behind in the twentieth minute when Edu Albácar converted a penalty after Sunny brought down Coro in the area, and just three minutes later Coro headed in Fidel's cross to make it two. Ten minutes in to the second half Fidel netted the third himself following a good run by Xumetra, and Albácar scored his second of the day with a direct free kick on the hour mark. With eight wins and a draw in their first nine games, Fran Escribá's side are looking good for a return to the top flight after an absence of 23 years, although they will be aware that last season they topped the table at the half-way stage only to miss out even on the play-offs.

Second placed Almería closed the gap on Elche to five points after beating Córdoba 3-0 in the last match on Sunday, and with Villarreal slipping up on Saturday they are now two points clear of their promotion rivals. It was a flattering result though, the visitors doing most of the attacking in the first half only to come up against an excellent Esteban, and Carlos Calvo beating Alberto García from thirty yards out with quarter of an hour gone, the only real shot at goal from Xavi Gracía's side before the break. After the restart it was more of the same until Fuentes got himself sent off for a second bookable offence, and a few minutes later Charles made it two against his old team on a quick breakaway. That took the wind out of Córdoba's sails, and with ten minutes to go Ulloa charged down Alberto's attempted clearance to round off the scoring.

Girona are up to fourth, just a point behind Villarreal, after a convincing 5-2 win over Recreativo. Curiously there were no goals until a minute before half time, when Jandro converted a penalty after Cifu brought down Juanlu in the area. That opened up the floodgates though, and Luso headed in a corner just two minutes after the restart. A quarter of an hour later Benja made it three after running past Alejandro before scoring from a tight angle, and although Borja Granero got one back with a long shot in off the crossbar, Luso fired home his second of the evening following another corner. With a quarter of an hour to go Acuña clipped in the fifth after Sanchón put him through, and a minute later Alexander got another consolation for the Andalusians from close to goal.

Sabadell drop out of the play-off spots however after they lost 1-2 to Hércules. The Alicante based side started the match at the bottom of the table after Saturday's results, but they were awarded an early penalty after Nauzet fouled Sardinero. And although Portillo could only hit the post at the second attempt after the referee ordered a retake, the ex Real Madrid striker made up for his miss with two goals later on in the second half, the first a header following a series of rebounds, and the second with a shot which Nauzet couldn't stop from entering the net. Gato headed one back with twenty minutes to go, but Juan Carlos Mandiá's team held on for a first away win which takes them to within a point of safety. (14.10.12)

One second division game again on Monday night, with Real Madrid Castilla taking over seventh spot after a 3-2 win over Las Palmas. Borja headed the youngsters in to the lead from Juanfran's cross in only the second minute, but just three minutes later local keeper Jesús dropped a high ball at the feet of David García, allowing him to equalise. Lucas rattled the crossbar a few minutes later though, and second division top scorer Jesé restored the lead for the Mirlos on the half hour mark with a free kick which found a gap in the defensive wall. Midway through the second half Vitolo squared the match again, running on to Momo's through ball before beating the keeper from a wide angle, but two minutes after that Lucas scored what was to prove the winner on a rapid counter-attack. The defeat leaves the Canary Islanders further down in the drop zone, and coach Sergio Lobera is under pressure to turn things around quickly if he is to keep his job. (15.10.12)