Second Division - Day 1

Four games on the opening day of the new season, with Córdoba beating Valladolid 1-0 in the last match of the evening. The two sides are amongst the favourites to go up this year, but Fidel swung it for the locals with an angled shot some ten minutes before the final whistle. Before that visiting keeper Kepa had to make important saves from Florín and Xisco amongst others, and López Silva hit the post in the second half. Osasuna are hoping to push for promotion this year after just saving themselves from the drop on the last day of last season, and they got off to a good start with a 0-2 win at Llagostera. Benja hit the bar for the locals before the break, but some seven minutes in to the second half Pucko combined with Nino to open the scoring, and Roberto Torres added the second from the penalty spot ten minutes later after Chus Herrero fouled Unai García in the area.

Alcorcón have also been there or there abouts in recent seasons, and they too started well with a 2-0 victory over Chapi Ferrer’s rejuvenated Mallorca. David Rodríguez got the opener after Bellvis set him up on the quarter hour mark, and Chema Rodríguez made it two some twelve minutes after the restart. Elsewhere Alavés also took their first three points of the season with a 2-3 victory at newly promoted Huesca. The Vitoria based side went three up with just over an hour gone, Kiko Femenía starting things off with a shot from outside of the area in the fifth minute. Local captain Camacho hit the post in reply, but some sloppy defending allowed Juli and Guichón to add two more after the interval. Samu and Christian pulled two back however, and the home side could have saved a point had Figueroa not missed a good chance in the dying minutes. (22.08.15)

Very few goals in the first division on the opening weekend, but the second division more than made up for it with 36 in the first ten games! Nine of those came in Soria (one more than in the whole of the top flight to date!), where Numancia beat Tenerife 6-3 on Sunday to start the season at the top of the table. Curiously at half time the Canary Islanders were in front, strikes by Suso and Carlos Ruíz overturning Oscar Díaz’s opener. However Juanma levelled it again from an Alvarez free kick soon after the restart, and Natalio and Pablo Valcarce added two more in the next twenty minutes. And substitute Alex Alegría came on for the last twelve minutes or so to score two more, with Nano getting another one back for the visitors in between. Meanwhile Ponferradina joined Alcorcón and Osasuna in joint second spot after they won 2-0 against Elche. The visitors are still rebuilding a new squad after they were relegated from the top flight for failing to pay the taxman, but they put up a good fight before Yuri and Berrocal found a way past Pol Freixenet in the last quarter of the match.

Only one other victory on Sunday, Almería starting their push for an immediate return to the first division with a 3-2 win over Leganés. Sergi Barjuan’s side raced into a three goal lead with less than half an hour on the clock, Iago Díaz opening the scoring in the second minute and Quique González making it two some four minutes later, and Mantovani deflecting Iago Díaz’s shot past his own keeper a few minutes later. The visitors finally came back with two goals in the last ten minutes, a Candela free kick and a team move which ex Athletic Bilbao striker Guillermo finished off. Zaragoza are another of the favourites to go up this year, but they threw away a one goal lead before drawing 1-1 at Mirandés. Cabrera headed in a Pedro free kick at the start of the second half, and Pedro and Ortuño both mised chances after that. Abdón Prats made it all square though with ten minutes to go, and the locals could have won it when Lago Junior hit the bar near the end.

The other two matches involved the two teams who won through in the 2B group champions’ play-offs last season, Oviedo and Gimàstic Tarragona, and both came from behind at home to draw 2-2. Oviedo saved a point against Lugo in their return after twelve years in the wilderness, Jonathan Vila and then Linares equalizing after Carlos Pita and Pablo Caballero had twice given the Galicians the lead early on in the first and second halves. And Nàstic came back from two down to draw 2-2 against Albacete, despite playing the last quarter of the game with ten men after Manolo Martínez was sent off. Edu Ramos opened the scoring for the visitors early on in the second half and Rubén Cruz made it two from the penalty spot with five minutes to go, but Xavi Molina got one back almost immediately, and De la Espada saved the draw with a second penalty in the fourth minute of time added on. (23.08.15)

Girona just missed out on direct promotion to the top flight in the last minute of the last match last season, but they started the new campaign with a win after beating newly promoted Bilbao Athletic 0-1 in the Monday night game. It was a hard fought contest, Felipe Sanchón and Santamaría rattling the woodwork at either end before the interval. The Lion Cubs were left with ten men though when Unai Bilbao picked up two bookings at the start of the second half, and Jairo got was to prove the winner (from a possible offside position) on a quick counter-attack with ten minutes left to go. (24.08.15)