Second Division - Day 5

Zaragoza are back at the top of the second division after they beat Alcorcón 2-0 in the last match on Saturday evening. Lanzarote opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a free kick which deflected in off David Rodríguez, and visiting keeper Dmitrovic made two or three saves from Angel before Lanzarote got his second of the night directly from an inswinging corner some ten minutes in to the second half. The Maños are now level with last week’s leaders Levante, who lost 1-0 at Córdoba. The only goal came in the tenth minute, Guille Donoso picking up a Rodri assist and rounding Remiro to score. Paco Montañés in particular did test Kieszek a couple of times after the restart, but the Andalusians held on for a win which takes them up to fifth. Valladolid drop to sixth however after they were surprisingly beaten 0-1 by newly promoted UCAM Murcia. The locals had the better chances throughout, but Tito headed in a Góngora free kick with the game in injury time to give the university side their first win ever in the second division.

Lugo are up to third pending Sunday’s games after they beat Elche 0-3. The Galicians took the lead on the quarter hour mark when Pelegrín turned a Pedraza cross in to his own net, and later in the first half Campillo made it two with a shot from outside of the area. Campillo and Joselu both came up against José Carlos either side of half time, and Igor Martínez headed the third with ten minutes to go after the local keeper pushed out a corner. Lugo are still undefeated, as our Reus, who join Luis César Sampedro’s team on nine points after a 1-0 victory over Cádiz. Both sides had chances throughout, but Fran Carbia volleyed the winner past Cifuentes with ten minutes left on the clock. Reus’s neighbours Nàstic are struggling this season though, and they drop in to the relegation spots after a 1-0 defeat at Numancia. Both teams had draw their first three matches, but Manu del Moral headed the only goal from Nacho’s cross on the quarter hour mark, and a frustrated Sergio Tejero got himself sent off for a hard tackle on an opponent with five minutes to go. (17.09.16)

Five games on Sunday, Mirandés joining Lugo and Reus on nine points, a point behind the joint leaders, after a 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano. Pedro opened the scoring for the home side with an angled shot past Toño, and although Embarba made it all square from Nacho’s assist before the break, Guarrotxena took advantage of a mistake by the visiting keeper to score the winner early on in the second half. Rayo drop in to the bottom four having only taken four points from five games, but their neighbours Getafe moved clear of the danger zone after they beat Oviedo 2-1. At half time though they were losing, Lucas Torró heading the visitors in front in the tenth minute. However Paul Anton fired in the equalizer at the start of the second half, and visiting keeper Juan Carlos had to make saves from Faurlín and Jorge Molina before Molina connected with an Alvaro Jiménez centre to turn in the winner some six minutes before the final whistle. Even so though Juan Eduardo Esnáider’s side had to play the last few minutes with ten men after Molinero picked up a second booking a minute or so after the goal.

Up to now in the second division draws had been the order of the day, but strangely there were none at all this weekend. Tenerife won 0-1 at Almería in the Sunday mid-day kick-off, Ximo Navarro putting through his own net with ten minutes or so to go to give the Canary Islanders their second victory of the season. Later in the evening Sevilla Atlético beat Huesca 2-0 for their first win since being promoted. Both goals came in the middle of the second half, Curro Sánchez volleying home the opener on the hour mark, and Carrillo firing a low shot past Herrera just five minutes later. And in the last game of the weekend, Mallorca also clocked up their first victory of the new campaign, Culio scoring the only goal with a deflected free kick midway through the first half to beat Girona 1-0. The Balearic islanders stay in the bottom four however, albeit level on five points with six other teams, one above Rayo Vallecano and two above Nàstic, who find themselves at the foot of the pile this week. (18.09.16)