Second Division - Day 34

Second placed Girona stay eight points clear of Tenerife after the two sides drew 3-3 in the Heliodoro stadium on Saturday evening. The Catalans went two up, Carlos Ruíz turning the rebound in to his own net after Dani Hernández saved from Sandaza late on in the first half, and Alcalá heading in a free kick just before the break. Suso got one back from the penalty spot though before the half time whistle after Ramalho tripped Vitolo in the area, and although Aarón Ñíguez missed a second penalty after a foul by Borja García on Suso, Alberto fired home the equalizer a few minutes later. With a quarter of an hour to go Amath gave the Canary Islanders the lead after Bono pushed out a shot from Lozano, but soon afterwards Alcaraz saved a point for the visitors with a well struck free kick. Tenerife stay third though, still a point ahead of fourth placed Cádiz after the Andalusians drew 1-1 at Huesca. Vinicius hit the post for the locals before Samu Sáez put them in front with a hotly disputed penalty after he was brought down by Sankaré early on in the second half, but Ortuño levelled the scores with a header from a corner some three minutes in to time added on. It was a severe blow for the hosts, although they still move up in to the top six pending Getafe’s game on Sunday.

Further down the table Nàstic climb four points clear of the relegation zone after they came from a goal down to beat bottom club Mirandés 4-1. Alex García headed Pablo Alfaro’s team in to the lead with ten minutes gone, but Xavi Molina made it all square after a previous header came back off the post shortly before the interval, and Sergio Tejera put the Catalans in front after picking up a loose ball on the edge of the area midway through the second half. Three minutes later Cristian beat Roberto for the third time, and Emaná wrapped things up from the penalty spot after the keeper brought down Delgado in the area with five minutes to go. Numancia also move clear of the danger area after they beat Elche 1-3 earlier in the day. Ruíz de Galarreta took advantage of a poor clearance by Juan Carlos to open the scoring shortly before half time, and Nacho made it two for the visitors after the local keeper could only block a Dani Nieto free kick. Borja Valle headed one back for Alberto Toril’s side, but Unai Medina made sure of the three points with an injury time penalty after Edu Albácar tripped Ruíz de Galarreta in the area. (15.04.17)

Getafe moved up to fourth in table, level on points with third placed Tenerife, after a 0-3 win at Southern Madrid neighbours Alcorcón on Sunday evening. The visitors went two up thanks to own goals shortly before the break by David Navarro and Tropi from crosses by Chuli and Portillo respectively, and Jorge Molina wrapped things up with a shot from a wide angle after picking up an assist from Paul Anton. Oviedo drop to sixth however after they lost 2-1 at Lugo. Toché gave the Asturians an early lead after Saúl Berjón headed on a long free kick, but strikes either side of half time by Joselu gave the Galicians a win which takes them to within four points of the top six. Valladolid though lose ground on the teams above them after they were thrashed 6-2 by Sevilla Atlético in the mid-day game, the youngsters themselves moving level with their opponents in the table. Eteki fired the locals in front early on, and Marc Gual helped himself to a hat-trick before the interval. Raúl de Tomás got one back from the penalty spot after he was brought down in the area after the restart, but Ivi and Carrillo added two more before De Tomás rounded off the scoring late on.

The other three games in Sunday all involved sides in the lower reaches of the table, Zaragoza moving seven points clear of the relegation spots after a 1-0 victory over Mallorca. Angel headed the only goal from a Lanzarote corner some ten minutes before the interval to leave Sergi Barjuán’s side still in joint bottom spot with Mirandés. They are now four points adrift of Alcorcón and Almería, who were beaten 1-0 by regional rivals Córdoba. Markovic latched on to a Pedro Ríos pass to score the winner with twenty minutes to go, although the locals could have won by a bigger margin had Aguzo not hit the post late on. UCAM Murcia are now just two points above the bottom four after they lost 0-1 to Rayo Vallecano, Michel’s side moving two points above their hosts, level on points with Córdoba, Nàstic and Reus (who play at Levante tomorrow). Javi Guerra headed in an Ebert free kick midway through the first half, the referee waving away claims for offside, and after the break visiting keeper Gazzaniga made saves from Collantes, Jona and others to ensure three important points against a direct rival in the battle to avoid the drop. (16.04.17)

Leaders Levante end the weekend still nineteen points clear of third place after a 0-0 draw against Reus on Monday night, and they could even ensure promotion next weekend if results go in their favour. It was always going to be a low scoring game against the two best defences of the second division, and only a couple of efforts by Carbià and Campaña troubled the two keepers before the break, Later on in the second half Edgar Badía had to keep out substitute Morales a couple of times, and with the game in injury time the visiting keeper did well to tip a dangerous Verza free kick over the bar. In the end Levante maintain their unbeaten home record this season, and the Catalans picked up a useful point to keep them five points above the relegation spots, although with only one win in their last thirteen games they are by no means safe as yet. (17.04.17)