Second Division A - Day 7

High scoring Levante are two points clear of Las Palmas at the top of the second division after winning 0-2 away at Numancia. The first goal came after a quarter of an hour when Amato headed home a Mijatovic free kick, and substitute Congo made it two near the end, turning in Jofre's cross. The home side had several chances, with Jaime Molina, Sestelo (twice) and Cuéllar all failing to take advantage, and they ended the day in seventeenth spot, only a point above the bottom four.

Las Palmas ended the weekend in second place after a 2-1 victory over Getafe on Saturday evening. All three goals came in the first half, with under 21 international Rubén Castro putting the home side ahead from Alvaro's pass with just under half an hour gone. Luis López equalised from the penalty spot five minutes later after Lima fouled Craioveanu, but Monteagudo got on the end of Baiano's free kick almost immediately to re-establish the lead. The home side ended the game with nine men after Angel López and then Lima were sent off in the second half.

Newly promoted Terrassa hang on to third spot after drawing 1-1 at home to newly relegated Tenerife. The referee incomprehensibly ruled out a spectacular headed goal by Gibernel for the home side early on after a linesman signalled incorrectly that the ball had gone out of play earlier, and then they found themselves behind when Paunovic headed Dani's cross past Morales three minutes before the break. However debutant Fernando equalised a minute later, following up after keeper Valerio failed to hold on to a long shot.

Last week's leaders Xerez drop out of the top three after losing 0-1 at their temporary home in San Fernando to Salamanca, their second defeat in a row. Jorge D'Alessandro took over as manager of the visitors midweek after Balta resigned, and he saw his side dominate the first half and take the lead three minutes before the break when a long free kick from Aurelio beat everybody. Schuster's side came back in the second half and Dani Pendín, Zárate and Mena all went close. Then in the last few minutes visiting keeper Stelea saved a penalty from Pineda after Tomás fouled Cañizares to take Salamanca out of the bottom four.

Albacete are in fifth place after drawing 1-1 at Leganés. Visiting keeper Carlos Roa was in great form and kept out efforts from Sivori and Emery before the break. His side took the lead on the hour mark with a Perera penalty after the referee ruled that Gustavo had handled in the area. However the Argentine keeper was beaten in the end when a free kick came off the bar and went in off the back of his own defender Siviero. Albacete ended with ten men after Pablo picked up a second booking a quarter of an hour from the end.

Murcia's good run came to an end when they were beaten 1-0 by Badajoz. The only goal came midway through the first half from Leandro, following Nené's pass. Earlier on Tito had hit the bar for the visitors and Baines had made a great save from a Loreto header. Both teams had a player sent off in injury time, Alfonso (two yellow cards) for the visitors and then Marcos Mato (straight red) for the home side.

Córdoba's Jauregui was instrumental in saving a point for his side in a 0-0 draw at Elche. The visiting keeper made a series of good stops from Serrano and Nino in the first half, and the one time he was beaten the crossbar got in the way. Although the Andalucians saw a lot of the ball early on, only a shot from Eloy caused any problems for Toni in the local goal.

Eibar won their first game in four after defeating Racing Ferrol 1-0 on Saturday. The only goal of the match came midway through the first half from Miguel after Racing keeper De Navas botched a goal kick. He did make up for his mistake in the second half with saves from Kortina and Jorge Sánchez, and the visitors almost saved a point when Pezzarossi and Dutil went close.

Zaragoza recorded only their second win of the season after beating struggling Oviedo 3-1. After a goal-less first half, a goalkeeping mistake by Dorronsoro let in Galletti for the first goal. Aragón added a second soon afterwards with a cross-come-shot following a short corner, and a minute later half time substitute Corona made it three on a quick counterattack. Oli headed one back near the end, but Oviedo stay in next to bottom place.

The only consolation for the Asturians (other than getting drawn against Real Madrid in the cup) is that their neighbours Sporting Gijon are below them in bottom spot. They were in line to win their first game of the season in Maceda's first home game in charge after late substitute Soto scrambled a goal five minutes from the end against Poli Ejido. However their opponents saved a point with an injury time strike from Rios. Sporting should have wrapped things up earlier though, with Dani Borreguero and Villa wasting chances in the first half and Urbano clearing off the line from Villa after the restart.

Last week's bottom team Almería did get their first victory of the season, 2-1 against a Compostela side who made the long journey across Spain by bus due to lack of funds. Maikel put the visitors in front early on but two second half goals from Bilic, the first from the penalty spot after a foul by Cainzos and the second from a pass by Ortíz, turned the game around. However Ortíz was sent off soon afterwards, and in injury time the referee awarded a penalty to the visitors. Having dropped five points in the dying moments of their three previous home games Almería feared the worst, but keeper Barbero saved Maikel's kick to take his side to the brink of safety.