Second division - day 38

Racing Santander consolidated their second spot with a 0-4 victory over Córdoba on Sunday lunchtime. The visitors took the lead ten minutes before the break when Bodipo took advantage of a mistake by Velasco, and Javi Guerrero added two more after th restart, the second from the penalty spot after a foul by Ramón. Home team manager García Remón made changes to his defence, but it made little difference and Julio Alvarez made it four just before the end to move to within six points of Atlético Madrid. Córdoba's fifth defeat in a row leaves them down near the bottom four, and there could soon be a fifth change of manager this season if things do not improve.

The big news of the day though was that Atlético Madrid are back in the first division. A surprise defeat for Recreativo Huelva coupled with a draw by Oviedo means that they are now mathematically promoted, and the victory celebrations began 24 hours later (or six days earlier) than expected. Club president Jesús Gil had a special message of congratulations for prison inmate 'the Scorpion', a two metre tall Atlético fan who he met during his recent stay behind bars! His next job (Gil's that is) is to get Luis Aragonés to sign a new two year contract before the team building begins, Spanish law courts permitting.

Recreativo were beaten 1-2 by Leganés, who climb up to midtable as a result. The home side took the lead in the fourth minute through Raúl Molina and for a few minutes were back in third place above Xerez. However Fede Marín headed the Madrid based side level after the break, and Darmon shot into an empty net ten minutes from the end to sink the Andalucians. Manager Lucas Alcaraz and his assistant were both sent off near the end after the referee turned down a double penalty appeal in the dying minutes.

Oviedo missed out on another opportunity to catch up on the top three after being held to yet another draw, this time 1-1 at Murcia. The Asturians were still shaky after the near riot of their fans after their home defeat the week before, and they allowed themselves to be dominated by David Vidal's side for much of the game. Murcia took the lead on the stroke of half time with an Aguilar penalty after Gurrutxaga had brought down Godino, but Paredes made it all square with a shot from over 30 yards two minutes in to the second half. Oviedo's Onopko got himself sent off for the fourth time this season right at the end, and they ended the day in fifth spot, two points behind Recre and five below Xerez. Murcia's point at least takes them back out of the bottom four on goal difference.

The slip ups by Xerez, Recre and Oviedo mean that the fight for third spot opens up. With four games still to go, Elche, Sporting Gijon and Albacete all now have an outside chance, although they will probably have to win all their games to get there. Albacete beat Burgos 2-1 to keep their slim hopes alive, with Padilla opening the scoring just before the interval and Mikel getting a second later on after Dani Pendín had equalised. All three goals came from headers, and Mikel's was his first since returning from a six month long injury.

Sporting though got the biggest score of the day, a 5-3 win over Racing Ferrol. The Asturians scored four in the first half through Villa, Jacob (own goal), Soto and a shot from the halfway line by Dorado, with Diawara equalising temporarily for the visitors in-between. However Cobas was sent off just before the break, and Ferrol fought back with strikes from Grodzic and Redondo before Isma put the result beyond doubt near the end. The Asturians are level with Albacete, eight points off third placed Xerez.

Eibar ensured they will remain in the 'silver' division with a 0-1 win at Badajoz. It was their second victory in a row after a previous run of nine without a win, and Blas Ziarreta's side are now sitting comfortably in tenth spot. Badajoz though drop back down to fifteenth, four points above the relegation zone, and they still need a few more points to be safe. The only goal came in the second half from Kortina, with a little help from Jorge Zafra who deflected the ball past his own keeper.

Numancia and Levante both moved away from the relegation zone with single goal victories. Numancia beat Jaén 1-0, leaving the Andalucian side down at the bottom of the table. The only goal of the game came from their new signing from Sheffield United, Patrick Suffo, who hit a 30 metre free kick into the top of the net early in the second half. The home side played for most of the game with ten men after Kome got himself sent off in the tenth minute.

Levante's good recent form continued, and they followed up on their victory at Xerez last week with another 0-1 away win, this time at Salamanca. For once Makukula was off target for the home side, and the visitors took the three points with a last minute goal from Javi Peña, who headed home a long cross from Kaiku. Levante's victory leaves Extremadura back down in the bottom four, just behind Murcia on goal difference. (28.04.02)

Atlético Madrid had to delay their promotion celebrations another week after they were held to a 3-3 draw by bottom club Gimnàstic Tarragona. All tickets were sold out for the 58,000 capacity ground several days before, with a victory mathematically guaranteeing first division football for Luis Aragonés' side next season. However Nàstic had not read the script, and surprised their opponents with a goal in the tenth minute from the head of Albert Tomás. Diego Alonso levelled the scores a few minutes later though, finishing off after Fernando Torres laid in a loose ball, and the Uruguayan striker made it eighteen for the season when he headed home a long cross after the break. The crowd went wild, but only a minute later Cuéllar silenced them with a well taken goal almost straight from the kick off. Correa put Atletico back in front nine minutes from the end with a screamer from outside of the area, but with the Mexican wave circling the stadium, Cuéllar once again spoilt the party with a free kick from the edge of the area in the last minute of ordinary time. The referee added another five minutes, and home side keeper Mono Burgos almost gave his side victory when he joined the attackers for a last minute corner. However it was not be, and Nàstic kept their hopes of salvation alive with a vital point. Atlético will almost certainly be promoted anyway, but this was a setback for controversial president Jesús Gil, who is facing serious corruption charges and was only released from prison last Monday. He may be forced by the courts to put his shares in the club up for auction, and next season's plans could be affected as a result. It is not all joy at the Calderón stadium.

Poli Ejido and Xerez played out a 1-1 draw, a result which neither wanted. The visitors were looking for their first win in five matches to stop their slide out of the promotion spots, and veteran Lardín came in to replace their suspended top scorer Pineda. However Ejido have only lost once in their Santo Domingo stadium since the end of October, last week against Atlético, and they too needed the three points to avoid relegation. In the end though they had to make do with a point each which keeps Ejido in the bottom four, and could leave Xerez out of the top three depending on Recreativo's match on Sunday. Antonio headed Bernd Schuster's side into the lead in the first half following a corner, but Oscar Arpón made it all square after the break.

Elche and Extremadura also drew in the other match played on Saturday evening. Their 0-0 scoreline is a blow to Elche's promotion hopes, and leaves Extremadura only a point above the drop zone. Right now though the points gained by them and Ejido leave Murcia down in the bottom four pending their game tomorrow. Elche's Nino had a penalty saved by Felip early in the game after a defender was ruled to have handled in the area, and they ended the game with ten men after Moha was sent off for a second bookable offence near the end. (27.04.02)