Second division, day 10

For the second week in a row Xerez were involved in a table topping clash, this time as leaders they visited second placed Murcia. In the end the two sides shared a point each in a 1-1 draw, although Bernd Schuster's side were ahead for much of the match after Calle scored late in the first half with a header from a Rubiales cross. Murcia came back though with a late equaliser from Setvalls, also with a header from a corner, and the same player could have won it in injury time when he missed the easiest of chances. The point keeps Xerez at the top of the table, but Murcia drop out of the promotion spots to fourth.

Levante moved back up to second place, a point behind Xerez, with a late 2-1 victory over Sporting Gijon. Jofre gave the Valencia based side the lead on the half hour mark with an individualist goal, but they made the mistake of trying to slow the game down, and the Asturians equalised when Cristian Díaz headed home a corner after the break. The introduction of Limones and Rivera put Levante back in the driving seat, and soon after Limones hit the post with a free kick, the winger scored the winning goal to give his side the three points and leave the Asturians firmly down at the bottom of the table.

Albacete are back to third after defeating Salamanca 0-1 in the Helmantica stadium. The long suffering home fans were expecting another score-less draw, with keepers Stelea and Roa both making good saves throughout the match. Ten minutes from the end though Jesús Parera finally beat Stelea to end Jorge D'Alessandro's three match undefeated run.

An exciting match at Oviedo, where the local side drew 2-2 with fifth placed Terrassa to move off the bottom of the table. The Asturians should have wrapped things up in the first half, with Rubén turning a Losada cross in to his own net early on and the referee awarding a penalty to the home side just before the break. Idiakez tucked the kick away, but the referee made him take it again and this time he missed. Two goals in five minutes from Babangida and Juanjo near the end gave the Catalans the lead, but Oviedo saved a point with another penalty in injury time which Geni converted.

Zaragoza moved up to sixth, just a point away from the promotion spots, after beating Almería 1-0. It was their fourth win in a row, and makes Paco Flores' side one of the firm favourites for a quick return to the top flight despite their bad start to the season. It was not an easy victory though, and it was left to a Yordi penalty three minutes from the end after Cani was brought down to tie up the three points. Even then Armindo rattled the crossbar with a free kick in the last minute as the visitors tried to salvage the point they thought they had got only a few minutes earlier. The defeat takes Almería back down into the bottom four.

Poli Ejido and Las Palmas lost ground on the leaders after a 0-0 draw on Sunday evening. The visitors were the better side overall, and went closest to scoring when Rios cleared off the line from Rubén with the keeper beaten. However the Canary Islanders almost threw it away when José Antonio got himself sent off with a second booking for time wasting, and keeper Bo Anderson had to save a last minute effort from the home side.

Getafe managed to do what nobody has done for many a long time, put four goals past Eibar. Vivar Dorado gave the locals the lead late in the first half with, but Jorge Sánchez equalised a minute later following a corner. Getafe scored three goals in a ten minute period in the second half though, with Estévez setting up Alberto and Vivar Dorado for the first two, and then Borja finishing off a team move for the third. Gaizka Saizar got a late consolation goal for the visitors at the end to round off a 4-2 result.

Racing Ferrol held on to beat Numancia 1-0, despite playing the last twenty minutes of the game with nine men. Pezzarossi put the Gallicians ahead with a diving header from Razic's cross in the third minute of the second half, but first Pablo and then Vosalho got their marching orders from the referee. The defeat brought Numancia back down to earth after their cup win against Celta midweek, and they are now only a place above the relegation zone.

Compostela climbed out of the bottom four with their best win of the season, 3-0 over Badajoz. The news that they would soon be collecting their three months back wages inspired them to victory, and Alvaro set up goals for Aguado and Maikel after the break. The third came a few minutes later from a Lima penalty after Pinillos had been fouled, and Badajoz ended with ten men after Miguel Alfonso was sent off in the last minute. (10.11.02)

Tenerife have not had the best of starts this season, and they were held once again to a 0-0 draw at home against Elche. Both sides had scoring chances, with the best being a header from Serrano before the break which keeper Valerio did well to block, and a Hugo Morales effort in the second half which Rondo cleared off the line. Elche ended the day in tenth spot, with Tenerife just one place below them.

Córdoba climbed out of the relegation spots with a 1-0 win over Leganés. Both sides came in to the game without a win in seven outings, and the opening minutes were nervy as the two teams tested each other out. The Andalucians got on top though, and Ramón and Gorka García both had chances before the break. Alfonso Sánchez hit the post in the second half, and a few minutes later got the only goal of the match to leave Leganés on the edge of the drop zone. (09.11.02)