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Second Division - Day 38

Second placed Eibar are edging agonizingly towards their first ever promotion to the top flight, and they moved a point closer after drawing 0-0 against Ponferradina on Saturday evening. The Basque side have picked up almost half of their points away from home this season, and for the fifth time in a row they were unable to win in their Ipurúa stadium. The visitors needed a result as well though to keep clear of the danger zone, and they set up their stall right from the start to defend. Santamaría had to make saves from Jota, Morales and Urko Vera, but even after Bellvis was sent off for a second bookable offence with six minutes to go, there was no way through. Eibar’s biggest threat now is from Las Palmas, who moved to within three points of them after beating local rivals Tenerife 1-0 later in the evening. With both sides in the play-off spots this was the most important match between the two Canary Island teams in ten years, but with a tense draw seemingly on the cards, Vicente Gómez got on the end of Momo’s cross to head home a last minute winner.

The defeat leaves Tenerife down in seventh spot, now two points behind Sporting Gijón, who beat bottom club Hércules 2-1. Both teams changed their managers this week, B team coach Abelardo replacing Sandoval for the Asturians, and Jokanovic coming in for Quique Hernández at the Alicante based side. De Lucas put the visitors ahead on the half hour mark, but just five minutes later young debutant Jony made it all square with a shot from outside of the area. Cuéllar stopped Portillo from restoring the lead shortly before the break, but twenty minutes in to the second half Lekic got on the end of Santi Jara’s free kick to head in the winner, and the locals held on despite having Guerrero sent off for a second booking near the end. Sabadell are level with Tenerife as well after they won 2-1 against local rivals Barcelona B. Anibal headed in Tanabe’s cross to open the scoring shortly before the break, and although Dongou got on the end of Adama’s centre to equalize on the hour mark, Collantes put the home side back in front some five minutes later after connecting with a cross from Ciercoles to poke a shot past Masip.

Further down the table, Girona and Real Madrid Castilla cancelled each other out in a 1-1 draw, a result which left both still down in the bottom four. The locals had the better of the first half, Pacheco having to save from Ortuño and Timor, but Aguza hit the post with a long shot just before the break, and a minute after the restart Quini ran through to beat Becerra. Pacheco made a couple more stops later in the second half, but with a minute or so to go Ortuño headed in a long throw by Iván López to save a point for his side. Mallorca stay a point above the drop zone after they drew 1-1 at Numancia, although they felt they could have had more out of the game after Alfaro headed in Hemed’s cross to put them in front with twenty minutes on the clock. Midway through the second half though Regalón headed in a corner to give his team their twentieth draw of the season, keeping them two points above their opponents in the rankings. Elsewhere Alcorcón are close to safety after a 1-0 victory over Lugo, the result taking them level with the Galicians on 50 points. Juli got the only goal from the penalty spot after David Prieto pulled down Serrán inside the area early on in the second half. (10.05.14)

Zaragoza still have a chance of making it in to the play-off spots after they beat Córdoba 1-2 in this weekend’s Sunday mid-day kick-off. The Andalusians had taken 14 points from their last six games, and they went in front with just under a quarter of an hour gone, Pedro beating Leo Franco after Cidoncha slipped trying to cut out Arturo’s attack. Cidoncha made up for his mistake though, heading a Víctor Rodríguez free kick in for the equalizer with twenty minutes to go, and in the third and final minute of injury time Roger won the ball off Raúl Bravo and ran on to beat Juan Carlos for the winner. Later in the evening leaders Deportivo also saved the day late on at Alavés, Borja Bastón getting on the end of Seoane’s cross to make it 1-1 in the 91 st minute. Second division top scorer Viguera had given the Vitoria based side the lead a few minutes after the interval, picking up the ball after a clearance by Lux hit Seoane on the back, and firing a shot in off the post. Local keeper Iván Crespo made first class saves from Luisinho and Toché after that, and Toché had a goal ruled out for a dubious offside before Borja struck. Depor stay two points clear at the top of the table despite a third game without a win, and their hosts remain in the relegation spots for another week.

Murcia are probably the most on-form side at the moment, and they moved up to fourth in the table after thrashing Mirandés 5-0, their seventh game in a row without defeat. Kike García opened the scoring in the seventh minute after good work by Wellington Silva, and the striker added a second with a long lob over the keeper shortly before the break. Eddy headed in Saúl’s cross to make it three on the stroke of half time, and after the restart Kike completed his hat-trick and Malonga added a fifth, both from further c by Saúl. Recreativo are now a point below the play-off spots however after they lost 3-1 at regional neighbours Jaén, who themselves ended the weekend three points above the drop zone as a result. Sergi Barjuán’s side had only picked up two points from their previous four games, and with only half an hour gone they were already two down, Víctor Curto netting both following passes from Israel Jérez and Juanma. Some ten minutes in to the second half Morcillo got one back with an impressive shot from outside of the area, but a few minutes later Jozabal latched on to a Víctor Curto cross to wrap things up. (11.05.14)