Numancia made it twenty-two points out of a possible twenty-four after beating Cádiz 2-0, and they return to the top of the table pending Levante's game on Sunday. It was the visitors who had the better of the first half, and Mario wasted a chance to give them the lead around the half hour mark. A few minutes later though Kome put the locals ahead with a shot from outside of the area, and Pineda made it two just three minutes after ther restart on a rapid counter-attack. Pineda and Culebras could have increased the lead, but keeper Luis García had to make important saves from Raúl López and De Quitana in the final minutes to stop the Andalucians from getting back into the game.

Third placed Sporting couldn't keep up the pace though, and they fell to a 1-0 defeat in a bad tempered game at Terrassa. Quique Martín scored as early as the third minute for the Catalans, driving a shot past Roberto after the defence failed to clear a Juan Carlos cross, and Monty could have got a second goal a few minutes later as the home side continued to dominate. The Asturians came back strongly though, and Bilic, Yago and Rubén all had efforts saved by Morales before the break. The keeper also stopped shots from Juan Diaz and Pablo Alvarez in the second half, and the locals were thankful to hear the final whistle after Jordi Navas and Maikel were both sent off (as well as manager Enrique Martín) in a nervous last five minutes.

The other two games played on Saturday involved four teams fighting to avoid relegation. A last second goal by Keko gave Tenerife a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano, a result which took the Canary Islanders out of the bottom four pending Sunday's matches. The Madrid based side had taken the lead with ten minutes on the clock, Pablo Sanz following up after Vitolo had cleared Biagini's clever back-heel off the line. And they should have gone further ahead near the end when Alvaro saved a Peragón penalty after a defender handled in the area. But Keko popped up to save the day and keep his side just a point behind their rivals.

Almería got ahead of both of them though after winning their local derby against Poli Ejido 1-2. Caretaker manager Alfonsín was in charge for the first time for the visitors after Duque was fired midweek, and he saw his side go two up in ther first twenty minutes with headed goals from Lozano and César. The hosts pulled one back five minutes later when Jaime turned Sierra's free kick into his own net, but although both sides had their chances after that, the scoreline remained unchanged. It was all too much for Alfonsín, who was sent off after being booked twice for arguing with a linesman. (10.04.04)

Levante failed to regain top spot after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Getafe on Sunday lunchtime, and they had to settle for second place by the end of the weekend. The visitors started the game in fourth position, and they came to Valencia looking to defend and catch out their opponents on the breakaway. Honours were shared in the first half, local striker Aganzo failing to beat Sergio Sánchez early on and Alberto shooting wide at the other end a few minutes later. Craioveanu and Gari Uranga both had chances to put the visitors in front after the break, but it was the locals who struck first, Reggi heading his side into the lead with twenty minutes to go. Yosu Uribe threw on extra forwards though, and Nano finally levelled the scores after Craioveanu's free kick came back off the bar. That set up a frantic last few minutes, with Mora turning another free kick from the Romanian against the bar and both sides going close.

Ciudad Murcia edged away from the danger zone and left opponents Leganés a point above the bottom four after holding them to a 0-0 draw. Local manager Martín Delgado reverted to Melgar and Nico Medina to shore up his midfield, and although the pairing were in control, their forwards were unable to convert any of the chances they set up. Calandria and Txiki both had shots cleared off the line by defenders, and visiting keeper Alberto Cifuentes saved at point blank range from Calandria before the half time interval, and then from an Arrué free kick after the restart. The Madrid based side eventually ran out of steam when Vitali was sent off for a second bookable offence, and local keeper Raúl had to keep out a late effort from Jorge Sánchez to at least save a point.

Alavés moved up to fourth in the table, just two points behind Sporting, after beating Las Palmas 1-2. The Vitoria based side went in front midway through the first half when Rubén Navarro lobbed keeper Sessa, and the striker missed a couple of chances to increase the lead immediately after the restart. The league's top scorer Rubén levelled the scores on the hour mark, but both he and substitute Changui were foiled by Gaspercic on three or four occasions from then on. And with the game coming to a close, ex Las Palmas midfielder Edu Alonso struck the killer blow when he beat Sessa after the keeper had blocked an effort from Astudillo. The defeat leaves the Canary Islanders down in next to bottom spot, and caretaker manager Tino Luis (who took over from David Vidal this week) has some work to do if they are to stay up.

The top five have opened up a five point gap over sixth placed Recreativo, who kept alive their faint hopes of promotion with a 1-2 win at Córdoba. The locals started well and in the eighth minute took the lead through Nico Olivera after Pulpo González punished a mistake by Diego Camacho. The Huelva based team were in command after that though, and Uche scored twice either side of half time, the first after good work by Arpón and Benítez and the second with a header past keeper Jauregui. Substitute Dante López wasted three chances to equalise later on, and the locals ended with ten men after Francisco was sent off for a second bookable offence. Down in the lower reaches,

Xerez put their financial problems behind them to beat struggling Málaga B 2-1. The players were in an angry mood after president Gil Salgado failed for the umpteenth time to live up to his promise to pay them several months' back wages, but they fought back from a goal down to record their third triumph in a row and move away from the relegation spots. Juan Rodríguez put the visitors ahead with a direct free kick, but Català headed the equaliser only three minutes later from Cachorro's free kick. And the winning goal also came from a set-piece play, Cachorro finding Calle soon after the restart for him to score past Goitia. The locals ended with ten men after Iván Hernández picked up a second caution a quarter of an hour from the end, and they finished the weekend third from bottom, three points still away from safety.

Salamanca finally ended their run of nine games without a victory after beating bottom club Algeciras 1-0. It was not any easy victory though, and the only goal came from the penalty spot midway through the first half after the linesman ruled that Espejo had handled in the area, Raúl Sánchez converting the kick for his fifteenth goal of the season. Raúl Gañan and Noguerol both put efforts wide after the break, but Tevenet could have saved a point at the other end for the Andalucians. Algeciras have now lost their last six games, and they found themselves twelve points behind next to bottom Las Palmas by the end of the weekend.

Elche manager Oscar Ruggeri saved his job for another week at least after his side won 2-0 against Eibar. A string of poor results had left the new coach in a precarious position, and his side struggled to get going against a well organised opponent. Moisés had a goal disallowed though for a previous foul later in the first half, and Nino opened the scoring on the stroke of half time after controlling a long ball from Tasevski. Visiting keeper Basauri kept out a couple of efforts from Moisés after the restart, but substitute García Granero finally put the fans at ease with a second goal in the dying minutes after good work by Nino. (11.04.04)