Second Division - Day 28

With the top two playing on Sunday, third placed Oviedo came into their game at Mallorca on Saturday with a chance to move up into the direct promotion spots. However they failed to take advantage after losing 1-0 in the Iberostar stadium. The islanders were celebrating their 100th anniversary, and the new American owners had their first opportunity to meet their fans. The match itself was fairly dull however, the visitors playing almost an hour with ten men after Dani Bautista was sent off before the break for a foul on Lago Junior. The only goal came five minutes in to the second half when David Fernández turned a Lago Junior cross into his own net, although Brandon and Salomao could have added to the lead later on. Córdoba are now level with Oviedo in the table after they beat Bilbao Athletic 1-2 in a rainy San Mamés stadium. Florin opened the scoring in the twentieth minute, beating Remiro at the second attempt, and Fidel made it two from the penalty spot after the referee ruled that Iriondo had fouled Florin in the area on the hour mark. Aketxe hit the woodwork before that, and .the midfielder did get one back with a long shot, but the goal came too late to change the result.

Cuco Ziganda’s side ended the day back at the bottom of the table after Llagostera picked up a point in a 1-1 draw at Elche. Querol took advantage of a misunderstanding between Javi Jiménez and José Angel to give the visitors the lead midway through the second half, but Sergio León equalized with six minutes to go after Espinosa set him up, and Jiménez produced three or four saves after that to deprive the Catalans of their first away win of the season. Elche ended the day three points below Osasuna, who drop to sixth place after a 2-0 defeat at Lugo. The Galicians had not won at home in almost three months, but Dealbert headed in a Pita corner with a quarter of an hour to go, and Caballero got on the end of an Iriome cross to wrap things up some five minutes later. Girona are now level with Elche and a point above Lugo after they beat Mirandés 2-0, an eighth game without defeat for the Catalans. Kiko Olivas got the opener at the start of the second half after Raúl Fernández saved from Cristian Herrera following a corner, and with ten minutes to go Herrera made it two, his shot deflecting in off a defender after Clerc crossed in from the right. (05.03.16)

Leganés are living a dream this season, and they extended their lead at the top of the table to three points after beating Albacete 0-3 in the last game on Sunday. The Madrid based side went ahead with their first attack, Borja Lázaro lobbing Juan Carlos after Omar Ramos put him through. And although Portu hit the post at the other end, Ramos made it two shortly before the break. And with just under an hour gone Rubén Peña took advantage of a shaky defence to round things off and leave the Manchegans further down in the drop zone. Earlier in the day second placed Alavés were held to a 0-0 draw by Zaragoza, the point keeping them three clear of third placed Oviedo. A heavy sleet storm in Vitoria made play very difficult, and although Fernando Pacheco had to make several saves before the break, a red card for Culio left the visitors a man short for the second half. However they held on for a result which takes them to seventh, just a point below the play-off spots.

Nàstic are still fifth after they drew 1-1 at Alcorcón, who themselves stay two points behind the Catalans, level in the table with Zaragoza. Campaña gave the home team the lead with a direct free kick midway through the second half, but Djené was sent off two minutes later, and Madinda saved a point for the visitors with a long shot some eight minutes before the final whistle. The other three matches on Sunday all involved sides in the lower half of the table, Huesca moving three points clear of the drop zone after a 0-1 victory at Valladolid. Miguel Angel Portugal’s team have not won in their Zorrilla stadium since the end of January, and they found themselves behind when Machís beat Kepa midway through the first half. The visitors had Babcock sent off with a quarter of an hour to go, but even so the hosts couldn’t find a way past Leo Franco.

Ponferradina stay a point ahead of Huesca after a much needed 1-0 victory over Numancia. The León based side had not won a single game in over three months, but with a quarter of an hour to go Jebor set up Basha to beat Munir and give new coach Fabri hope of saving them this season. It was Numancia’s first away defeat since mid-November, and they end the weekend four points above their hosts in fifteenth spot. The wins for Mallorca, Huesca and Ponfe left Almería three points adrift of safety, despite picking up a point in a 0-0 draw at Tenerife. Neither side created too many chances, although the Canary Islanders were on top until Raúl Cámara picked up a second booking with half an hour still to go. Gorosito’s team have now gone three matches without defeat, although they still have a long way to go if they are to stay up this season. (06.03.16)