Second division, day 36

Alavés took advantage of the slip ups by the teams above them to move back up to second after beating Lleida 0-1 on Sunday lunchtime. The only goal of the game came from Nené in the ninth minute, and Piterman's side held on for three points which takes them just four behind Celta. Recreativo lost some ground on the leading pack after they could only draw 0-0 at struggling Pontevedra, although they are still only four points below the promotion spots. Valladolid waved good bye though to any hopes of going up after sharing the points with Racing Ferrol in a boring 1-1 draw, the only action of note being another goal by the second division's top scorer Mario Bermejo from the penalty spot late on. The game between Xerez and Nàstic also ended 1-1, leaving both sides safely in mid-table.

There was more excitement down in the lower reaches of the table, where Córdoba moved off the bottom of the table after coming from two goals down to thrash Málaga B 5-2. They closed to within three points of Ciudad Murcia, who were beaten 1-3 by city rivals Real Murcia in the last match on Sunday evening. It was Murcia's fourth win in a row, and they finally appear to be clear of the drop zone after so long at the bottom of the table. Salamanca started their match in the bottom four after Terrassa's victory the day before, and looked like they would be staying there after trailing Poli Ejido going in to the final minutes of the game. However Jaime scored a late equaliser for a final 1-1 result which takes Andoni Goikoetxea's side above the Catalans on goal difference. (08.05.05)

Second division leaders Celta suffered a setback in their push for promotion when they were beaten 3-1 by Tenerife on Saturday evening. The Canary Islanders were two up at the break with an own goal by Sergio and a strike by Cristo, and although Sava headed one back after the restart, Keko wrapped things up near the end. Fernando Vázquez's side are still five points clear at the top though after Cádiz could only draw 1-1 at Elche. It could have been worse however had Abraham Paz not equalised with a controversial second half penalty after Nino had given the home side the lead on the stroke of half time. Elsewhere Eibar got their promotion campaign back on track with a 1-0 win over Almería, Varela getting the only goal after the interval to take the Basque side back to within a point of third placed Alavés pending their game on Sunday. And Terrassa moved out of the relegation zone for 24 hours at least after defeating Sporting Gijón 1-0, Héctor getting the winner after the restart. (07.05.05)