Second division A day 39

Betis went above Tenerife up into second place after a narrow 1-0 victory over Getafe. The only goal of the game was scored by Amato from the penalty spot after the striker himself was brought down. Tenerife could only draw 1-1 at home to Salamanca despite taking the lead through new signing Bruno Marioni on the half hour mark. Quique Martín equalised ten minutes from the end to cost them what could be a vital two points. Next week they travel to Sevilla, and a defeat there could leave them out of the promotion spots.

Atlético Madrid struggled to beat neighbours Leganés 1-0, but it was enough to take them up to fourth place and keep up the pressure on the top three. Luque got the only goal of the game ten minutes into the second half with a shot from outside of the area to take the three points. Spain's under 16 striker Fernando Torres, (now 17 years old), made his debut in the second half. Atlético move to within three points of the promotion spots, opening up a gap over Recreativo and also Albacete, who drew 0-0 at Badajoz, the Extremaduran team's twentieth draw of the season.

Getafe's defeat at Betis leaves them with one foot in the second division B, and it could be two if the disciplinary committee decision goes against them. The last relegation spot is wide open after this week, with Compostela picking up a point against Levante. It should have been three after Juanito gave them the lead just before the break, but a Lima goal near the end brought them down to earth. Should they get the three points from the appeal though then four points will separate five teams, including Elche, Ferrol, Leganés and also Murcia, who lost 2-0 to Extremadura, with goals by Pedro José and Ismael. Bottom club Lleida are already relegated, and they lost again, this time 3-0 at Córdoba. José Mari, Soria and Rafa Moreno were the scorers. (27.05.01)

Leaders Sevilla moved to the gates of the first division with a 1-3 away victory against struggling Universidad Las Palmas. Zalayeta opened the scoring for the visitors early on, but Alexis equalised from the penalty spot three minutes later. Fredi put Sevilla in the lead though before half time, and another penalty from Olivera after the interval wrapped things up. Fourth placed Recreativo Huelva were beaten 3-1 by neighbours Jaén. Referee Rubinós Pérez awarded three penalties in the game, the first converted by David for the visitors in the eleventh minute and the other two scored by Pepelu and Nono for the home side later on before Jurado added the third for Jaén near the end. Rubinós also sent off three players, one from Jaén and two from Recreativo, leaving the visitors virtually out of the promotion race. If Atlético Madrid and Albacete both fail to win on Sunday, Sevilla will be mathematically promoted.

Elche beat Eibar 2-0 to move away temporarily at least from the bottom four. Goals from Nadj and Changui either side of half time helped them move on to 42 points, one behind Racing Ferrol who were beaten at home 2-3 by Sporting Gijon. The visitors raced into a three goal lead with strikes from Pablo Alvarez and Manel and an own goal by Horcajada, but late goals from Pazolo and Razov almost saved a point for Racing. The results virtually condemn Universidad to join Lleida in the second division B. The other two relegation spots depend to a large extent on the disciplinary committee, who have postponed until next week the decision about whether to overturn Getafe's 2-1 victory over Compostela after the home side accidentally fielded four non-EU players for a few minutes during the match last weekend. (26.05.01)