Second division, day 9

Xerez and Real Murcia extended their lead at the top of the table to four points after both won their respective matches. A Camuñas goal midway through the second half gave Xerez a narrow 1-0 win over Málaga on Sunday lunchtime. Geijo was sent off against his old club early on and no less than four more players were shown red cards in the final minutes. Real Murcia stay level with the Andalusians though after beating third placed Sporting Gijón 0-1, Pedro León getting the only goal from a direct free kick on the stroke of half time.

The fight for the third promotion spot is wide open though, with no less than 16 teams separated by five points. Albacete moved above Sporting into the top three after thrashing Cádiz 4-1, with Buades getting two and Camara another in the first half hour. And Salamanca are level with them on points after coming from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Hércules. The other two games on Sunday also ended all square, with Numancia and Almería drawing 1-1 and Poli Ejido and Castilla finishing goal-less. (22.10.06)

Ciudad Murcia moved back up to third spot after a 2-0 win over bottom club Vecindario on Saturday night. Saizar opened the scoring in the first half and Luque wrapped things up after the restart. Alavés are just two places below them though after beating Castellón 2-0, Aloisi and Toni Moral getting the goals in the second half.

Curiously none of the five away sides who played today managed to score a goal, with struggling Elche losing 1-0 at Valladolid thanks to a Llorente strike two minutes in to the second half. Lorca moved away from the danger zone with a 1-0 win over Ponferradina, and the Canary Islands derby between Las Palmas and Tenerife ended 0-0. (21.10.06)