Numancia 2 - Espanyol 0

Numancia: Nuñez; Iñaki, Muñiz, Iván Rocha, Octavio; Castaño, Nagore, Pacheta (Caco Morán 88'), Barbu; Ojeda (Rivera 75'), Rubén Navarro (Chispa Delgado 91'). 4-4-2.
Espanyol: Cavallero; Cristóbal (Catalá 44'), Nando, Pochettino, Navas; De Lucas, Molnar (Serrano 63'), Sergio, Arteaga; Martín Posse (Manel 77'); Tamudo. 4-4-1-1.

Team changes: Numancia: Ojeda for Soria / Espanyol: Cavallero, Pochettino, Molnar, Tamudo for Mora, Soldevilla, Velamazán, Serrano.

Goals:
1-0. 22. Barbu. Directly from free kick through crowded goalmouth.
2-0. 52. Ojeda. Picked up ball on right, dribbled into area and shot with left foot.

Numancia moved to within a point of safety with a good win against a demotivated Espanyol. The Soria side have been slipping down the table since losing their unbeaten home record recently, and they had only picked up three points from their last five matches before this one. Kicking off early on Saturday night, their victory took them to 44 points, and they were hoping that Betis would drop points at Valladolid the following day to seal their place in the first division next season. As it happened Betis won, but Numancia ended the weekend in 15th place, above Real Sociedad and Oviedo and still five points clear of Betis. With the Sevilla based side visiting Real Madrid next week it could be all over by then, although if not then the last day match between Numancia and Betis could decide who goes down. Goikoetxea decided on a more attacking line up than in recent weeks, changing from five at the back to four, with Iñaki switching to right back, Barbu dropping to midfield and Ojeda joining Rubén Navarro up front. Espanyol have already decided that they have nothing to play for in the league, and already with their minds set on the cup final in three weeks time, they were not prepared to risk aggravating injuries by playing players who were not fully fit. Flores therefore left out Roger (recently converted with great success to left back) and Galca, both suffering niggling injuries, and also rested Toni Velamazán. Super-sub Navas came back into the defence, with De Lucas and Molnar joining midfield. The inclusion of Molnar was a surprise, the young Hungarian having hardly appeared even as substitute throughout the season. The substitutes' bench also contained some unfamiliar faces, with Chile's Santis being joined by B team players Iván Díaz, Soldevilla and David Catalá. The crowds turned out in force, with 10,000 supporters (including 500 from Espanyol) packing the stadium to capacity for the fourth time this season. The first attacks fell to Numancia, with Ojeda earning himself a yellow card from referee Carmona Méndez (and a 5.9, 5.7, 5.6 from the diving judges) for falling in the area. Tamudo went close twice before Barbu opened the scoring with a free kick which appeared to catch keeper Cavallero unsighted as it cut through a crowd of players, and Rubén Navarro beat everyone but the keeper a couple of minutes later. Just before half time Cristóbal limped off the field, thereby spoiling his 100% record this season. Curiously the only other outfield player to have played every minute of every match so far, Racing's Mellberg, was sent off in his match right at the end. That only leaves three keepers, Herrera, Prats and Esteban with their records intact. Cristóbal's replacement was David Catalá, the young full back making his debut for the first team with this appearance. Ojeda took advantage of his inexperience early in the second half to cut in from the right and strike a strong shot past Cavallero to wrap up the match with only his third of the season. The rest of the match went to the home side, with Rubén and Ojeda's substitute Rivera shooting wide. Espanyol's only reply was a shot from the half way line by Sergio which almost caught Nuñez by surprise. Numancia's supporters danced on into the night (no change there) believing their side to be safe for another season. Maybe they are, although it could be a little premature. Espanyol's fans returned home, more interested in getting their tickets for the cup final in Valencia on the 27th than in the result of this match, which left them in 12th place. With only 17,000 available for each set of supporters and over 30,000 requests some are going to be disappointed.

Remaining matches:
Numancia: Alavés (A), Betis (H)
Espanyol: Bilbao (H), Deportivo (A)

Valladolid 0 - Betis 3

Valladolid: César; Torres Gómez, Santamaría (Congo 70'), Peña, Heinze, Marcos; Caminero, García Calvo, Rodrigo (Vizcaino 46'); Shoji Jo (Alberto 60'), Víctor. 5-3-2.
Betis: Prats; Otero, Vidakovic, Filipescu, Luis Fernández; Finidi, Alexis, Benjamín (Romero 65'), Denilson (Bornes 72'); Gálvez (Merino 60'), Alfonso. 4-4-2.

Team changes: Valladolid: Peña, Caminero for Márquez, Vizcaino / Betis: Luis Fernández, Alexis, Denilson, Gálvez for Rivas, Crosa, Karhan, Cañas.

Goals:
0-1. 45. Gálvez. Spun and shot after centre by Finidi.
0-2. 70. Denilson. On third rebound after Alfonso's shot saved by César.
0-3. 71. Finidi. After good run by Denilson left him with an open goal.

Change of manager, change of fortune goes the refrain here, and Betis's fortunes changed for the seventh time in two years as another manager stepped up to the plate. This time it worked, at least for the time being, as Betis won their first game for eleven weeks under new boss Faruk' Hadzibegic, an ex Betis player who earned himself the nickname 'Pepe' during his playing days from the affectionate local crowd. Hadzibegic has been appointed on a trial basis for the last three matches, with an option of staying on for another year if he does well. He certainly started off right, and if they keep on at this pace they could just save themselves from relegation, although to do so they will at least have to win both their remaining matches, at home to Real Madrid next weekend, and away at Numancia (who could still go down instead) on the last day. Knowing that a draw was no use, Pepe decided on an attacking formation right from the start, with Alfonso and Gálvez as twin strikers, and Denilson and Finidi on the wings. He also brought back Luis Fernández and Alexis into the side. Valladolid were still smarting from last year's farce, when the 2-1 result was turned into a 0-3 by the disciplinary committee after their manager at the time Sergio Kresic inadvertently fielded five non-EU players during six minutes of the match. Although the man directly responsible for the legal action, Javier Clemente, is no longer at Betis, Valladolid fans waved banners before the match protesting against Betis president Ruiz de Lopera for unsporting conduct. Don Manuel, wise man that he is, decided not to travel to the game this time. Valladolid manager Gregorio Manzano kept a mainly unchanged side, with Peruvian international Peña returning to the side after an injury, with García Calvo returning to midfield, and Caminero replacing Vizcaino alongside him. His team had very little to play for, having decided not to enter the Intertoto, and it showed on the day. The first 45 minutes were virtually without shots at goal, most of the play being concentrated around midfield, and a rainstorm which broke after half an hour or so made life even more miserable for supporters. Only an on-form Benjamín (an ex Valladolid player) broke the monotony with a shot which was blocked by César before Galvéz finally found the back of the net on the stroke of half time. The goal came as a relief to Betis, who were mathematically down for a few minutes after Oviedo scored in their match. Manzano moved his pieces around, with Vizcaino coming on for Rodrigo at half time, and Alberto replacing an off-form Shoji Jo just before the hour mark. Benjamín managed another shot at goal before he was replaced by Romero, and the Argentinian started the move which lead to the second goal. His strong shot was pushed out by the keeper as far as Alfonso, and after his attempt was blocked by Torres Gómez, Denilson followed up to score a rare goal. A few minutes later the Brazilian winger turned provider, his run on the left leaving a trail of defenders before he left the ball on a plate for Finidi. Strangely the final 0-3 scoreline was identical to last season's back room result, a fact which added insult to injury for the home supporters who were hoping for revenge. They drop to tenth, and are only waiting for the season to end before they can start their holidays. Betis now have a three point gap between them and Oviedo, with a 2-1 aggregate score in their favour which means that if they can draw level with them they are saved. They could even overtake Real Sociedad, Numancia or Racing if they win both games. On today's form they might just do so.

Remaining matches:
Valladolid: Mallorca (H), Real Madrid (A)
Betis: Real Madrid (H), Numancia (A)