Second Division - Day 17

Córdoba opened up a three point gap at the top of the second division after a 2-0 victory over Llagostera on Saturday evening. Xisco missed an early chance before he got on the end of Nando’s cross to head the opener on the half hour mark. The Catalans were left with ten men when Aimar picked up a second booking with a quarter of an hour to go, but the result was in doubt until Markovic and De Tomás combined to set up Víctor Pérez with the game already in injury time. The defeat leaves the visitors still down in the bottom four, and to make matters worse Giva was also given a red card for a hard tackle just before the final whistle. Second placed Alavés dropped points though after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Alcorcón. Toquero, Dani Pacheco and Juli all missed chances early on, and the visitors took the lead when Campaña beat Fernando Pacheco with a long shot some twenty minutes from the end. Kike Femenía got on the end of a long cross to level it some ten minutes later, but it was too late to do any more.

Alavés are still four points clear of the chasing pack though pending Sunday’s games, with only one point separating the seven teams below them after Lugo beat Ponferradina 3-1. Lolo Pavón headed the visitors in front from an Alvaro Antón cross with half an hour gone, but strikes from Jonathan Pereira either side of half time turned the scoreline around, and Pablo Caballero wrapped things up after Campillo set him up with a quarter of an hour left on the clock. Elche are now three points below the play-off spots after they beat Girona 0-1, Sergio León getting the only goal from the penalty spot after Lejeune pulled back Lolo on the quarter hour mark. The Catalans have only won once at home this season, and they find themselves just two points above the bottom four, level with Mallorca, who lost 2-1 at Tenerife later in the evening. The Balearic Islanders took the lead in only the second minute when Moutinho turned a Joan Oriol cross past Dani Hernández. However half time substitute Cristo equalized soon after the restart with a shot into the top corner of the net, and just a minute later he passed in for Omar to score the winner. (12.12.15)

Zaragoza ended the weekend in fourth spot after a 2-2 draw against Numancia in this Sunday’s mid-day game, although they will be ruing an opportunity to close the gap on the leaders after throwing away a two goal lead. Abraham gave the Maños the lead with just over half an hour gone, following up after Munir could only push out a shot from Marc Bertrán, and Ortuño made it two after picking up a pass from Erik Morán some twelve minutes in to the second half. However just three minutes later Pedraza headed in a corner, and a quarter of an hour later Oscar Díaz turned a Natalio shot into the net to give the visitors their ninth draw of the season.

Oviedo are up to third place after they won 1-2 at Mirandés later in the evening. Alex Ortíz headed in an Eguaras corner midway through the first half to give the home side the lead, but after the interval Toché scored twice in four minutes to turn the scoreline around, the first following a Susaeta corner, and the second after good work by Koné. The Asturians are now a point ahead of Zaragoza and also Osasuna, who were held to a 1-1 draw by neighbours Bilbao Athletic. The Pamplona based side had dropped out of the direct promotion spots recently after two defeats in a row, and they found themselves behind again, somewhat against the run of play, when Iriondo won the ball off Oier and put Unai López away for him to beat Nauzet. Visiting keeper Remiro had several saves to make after that, but he was finally beaten by Roberto Torres after Oier’s cross was only partly cleared.

The point though takes Bilbao off the bottom of the table, above Almería, who were beaten 1-2 by Huesca. The Asturians had not won in thirteen games, and by half time they were already two down, Luis Fernández getting the first from a free kick, and then heading in for Machís to score the second shortly before the break. Chuli headed one back from an Oscar Díaz cross with seven minutes to go, but the visitors held on for a first win under new coach Anquela. They move out of the relegation spots, above Girona and Mallorca, and level with Albacete, who were beaten 0-1 by Valladolid. The visitors started the day a point below their hosts in the table, but a header by Juan Villar from Hermoso’s assist on the stroke of half time gave Miguel Angel Portugal’s side a much needed three points. Elsewhere Leganés won 1-0 against Nàstic, a result which takes the Madrid based team above their opponents and into the play-off spots for the first time in their history. Szymanowski got the only goal shortly before the break with a diving header from a Víctor Díaz cross to give his team a third win in a row. (13.12.15)