Second division, week 31

The top three kept up their four point gap over the rest after Numancia and Sporting Gijon followed in the footsteps of Levante and won their respective matches. Numancia beat Leganés 3-0 with second half goals from Pineda, Molina and Fagiani, and Sporting won 1-0 against Poli Ejido in front of a 25,000 crowd, Bilic getting the only goal after the break. Alavés kept up their challenge though with a 1-0 win over Salamanca, a De Lucas penalty deciding the match, and Cádiz are still in the running after beating Recreativo 3-1, the Huelva based side's first defeat in 2004. Elsewhere Xerez moved away from the danger zone after a late 1-2 win over Almería, who only stay above the bottom four thanks to a better goal difference than Tenerife, who drew 0-0 at home to Terrassa. (04.04.04)

Leaders Levante threw down a challenge to the chasing teams with a 1-5 win over Málaga B on Saturday night. The locals actually took the lead on the half hour mark, but the Valencia based side took over from then on with an impressive display. With Numancia and Sporting playing on Sunday, fourth placed Getafe closed to within a point of the promotion spots with a 3-0 victory against struggling Las Palmas. Eibar also moved up the table after thrashing a poor Rayo Vallecano 5-0. Rayo's lady president Teresa Rivero left the ground in disgust before the end, but her side stay above the drop zone for now thanks to defeats for the bottom three. Algeciras in particular are another step closer to relegation after losing 0-1 at home to Córdoba. Ciudad Murcia moved away from the danger zone though after beating Elche 2-0. (03.04.04)