Second division - day 12

Salamanca stay top of the table after their closest rivals Hércules were beaten 1-0 by Girona on Sunday evening. Jito got the only goal with a quarter of an hour to go to hand the Alicante based side their first league defeat of the season. Xerez moved above Hércules to second spot after thrashing Alavés 5-0 later in the evening. The visitors were left with ten men when Edu Albácar was sent off in the eighth minute, and Pedro Ríos opened the scoring a couple of minutes later. Antoñito added two more before the break and Momo and Sarmiento finished things off after the restart. Castellón were also in the promotion spots for a few hours after beating Murcia 2-0 earlier in the day, a Mario Rosas penalty and a shot from Arana in the second half of the match leaving Javier Clemente's side still down in the drop zone.

Rayo Vallecano drop to fifth in the table, albeit just a point away from Xerez, after drawing 0-0 at Celta. And Tenerife and Real Sociedad drew 1-1, with Marc Bertrán scoring for the Canary Islanders with just four minutes to go but Labaka saving a point for the visitors in the third minute of injury time. Huesca came from a goal down to beat Levante 2-1, Geijo getting the first for the visitors but José Vegar scoring twice for the Aragón based side after the interval, the first from the penalty spot. And down at the bottom of the table Elche won 0-2 at Sevilla Atlético, a fifth game without defeat taking Claudio's side to within two points of safety. (16.11.08)

Four games on Saturday night in the second division, with leaders Salamanca held to a 2-2 draw at Albacete. Pelegrín headed David Amaral's side in to an early lead, but strikes from Jaime on the half hour mark and Alberto two minutes after the restart turned the scoreline around. Miku equalised though later on to take his side three points clear of Hércules pending their game on Sunday. Zaragoza's struggle to return to the top flight taking another set-back though after a 0-0 draw at Gimnàstic. Marcelino's side actually move up to third in the table, but any one of three teams could overtake them tomorrow.

The relegation battle between Alicante and Córdoba ended 2-2, although the locals felt unhappy about the result after a last minute strike from Capi was ruled out. The home side had raced into a two goal lead within the first three minutes thanks to a Peragón penalty and a strike from Jordá, but Asen got one back shortly before the break and Pablo Ruíz equalised later in the second half. Only one side managed to win on Saturday, Las Palmas beating Eibar 1-2 to move ahead of their opponents in the table. Sutil put the Basque side ahead with a quarter of an hour gone, but second half strikes from Pablo Sánchez and Saúl gave the Canary Islanders the three points. (15.11.08)