Alavés moved to the top of the second division pending Sunday's games after beating Elche 0-2. Rubén Navarro got the opening goal early on and had a second strike disallowed soon afterwards for a non existent offside. Moisés also had a goal ruled out for a borderline offside at the other end and Zárate volleyed just wide before the break, but Dani Mallo had to save from Kiko two minutes in to the second half to keep the lead to one goal. Eventually though Alavés scored again, De Lucas winning the ball in midfield and running on to a return pass from Rubén Navarro to slide the ball in to the net, and Kiko could have made it three if his shot had not hit the post. It was a bad start for Elche's caretaker manager Lico, who took over from Ruggeri during the week, and after four defeats in a row his side are only four points off the relegation spots.

Tenerife made it eight games without defeat after drawing 2-2 against Cádiz, although they should have done better after racing in to a two goal lead within the first twenty five minutes. Martín Posse gave them the lead with a quarter of an hour gone when he collected Antonio Hidalgo's long pass and rounded the keeper, and Keko got on the end of another cross from Hidalgo to head the second. But Sambruno got one back four minutes later when he headed Dani's free kick past Enke, and Vitolo had to clear an effort from Mario off the line before the interval. The visitors equalised though midway through the second half when Roberto Carlos turned Oli's cross past his own keeper, and although both sides went close later on, in the end they settled for a draw which, in Tenerife's case, was their 20th of the season.

Xerez moved up to a safe eighth place in the table with a 3-0 victory over Salamanca on Saturday evening, and if they can solve their grave financial problems they look like staying up for another season. The Andalucians took the lead midway through the first half when Cachorro picked up a pass from Calle to beat Stelea, and added two more in the last quarter of an hour, the first from Francis on a rapid counterattack and the second from Jurado with a shot into the top corner of the net. The visitors have only picked up two points now from their last four games, and they ended the weekend only three points above the bottom four. (22.05.04)

Leaders Levante kept up the two point gap at the top after beating struggling Las Palmas 2-0 in a match which kicked off at midday. Alexis got the ball in the net for the locals early on only to see it ruled out for a previous foul, but Reggi headed them in front soon afterwards from Descarga's cross. Only some first class saves from Mora kept out Changui, Rubén and Momo before the break though, and the keeper also stopped efforts from Pedro Vega and Rubén after the restart as the Canary Islanders threw everything forward. But with ten minutes to go substitute Congo got free on a breakaway to score a second goal and wrap things up. Las Palmas are now five points away from safety in next to bottom spot, and with only four games to go they need a near miracle if they are to stay up. (23.05.04)

Numancia completed a hat-trick of victories for the top three sides with a comfortable 3-0 win over Málaga B on Sunday evening, keeping them level with Alavés and two points behind Levante. The visitors got off to the better start, with Nacho hitting the post in the opening minutes, but Pineda headed the Soria based side ahead of the half hour mark and then set up Rosu for a second goal just two minutes after the interval. Luis García made important saves from César Navas and Juanma at the other end, but Kome put the result beyond doubt a few minutes later and substitute Xisco Nadal could have scored a fourth near the end had Goitia not been on his toes.

Sporting Gijón and Getafe lost ground on the leaders as both were held to away draws, and they ended the weekend three points off the promotion spots. Getafe shared the points in a goal-less match against neighbours Leganés, who just managed to stay out of the relegation spots as a result of their seventh draw in a row. The home side came closest to scoring, hitting the post twice with a Kuhl free kick and a header from Navas, although local keeper Raúl had to make a first class save from his own defender Alessandria and Pachón headed another chance just wide. Alessandria was sent off though five minutes from the end for a second bookable offence, and Craioveanu almost stole away the three points when his last effort was somehow saved by the excellent Raúl.

Sporting played out an extraordinary 2-2 draw at Eibar, where they fell behind to two controversial penalties and ended up scrambling a last second equaliser with eight men on the pitch. All the action took place in the second half, referee Rodado Rodríguez awarding a first penalty two minutes after the restart for a foul by Samuel on Gorka Brit, which the ex Osasuna striker converted himself. Dani Borreguero equalised two minutes later, but Brit got a second penalty later on when Yago was sent off for bringing him down, and the Asturians were left with eight men after Cristian Díaz picked up a second booking and then David Bauzá and local striker Saizar were both sent off for fighting. Sporting didn't give up though, and in the fourth minute of injury time they won a corner. Keeper Roberto went up with the attack, and he and Rubén both appeared to get a head to the ball as it rocketed into the net, sending the 3,000+ visiting fans wild. There were ugly scenes after the final whistle though, and Rodado needed a police escort to get out of the ground.

Recreativo's late push for promotion is virtually over though after they threw away a two goal lead and ended up drawing 2-2 at Terrassa. The Andalucians went ahead in the eighth minute when Raúl Molina followed up after Iker Begoña's shot was blocked by Morales, and a minute later a long shot from Moreno made it two. Ismael pulled one back later in the first half after Toño blocked a previous shot, but Raúl Molina should have wrapped things up midway through the second half when he somehow missed the target from only two yards out. The Catalans were left a man short when Besora went off injured with all three substitutions made, but even so they managed to equalise soon afterwards when Molist got on the end of Gallego's cross to beat the keeper. Recre also finished the game with ten men after Iker Begoña was shown a straight red card near the end,

The other three games on Sunday evening also ended all square, meaning that the bottom spots looked very similar at the end of the day to what they did at the start. Poli Ejido and Córdoba did themselves no favours sharing the points at 1-1, leaving the former still in the relegation spots and the latter only just above them thanks to a better head-to-head and overall goal average. The visitors opened the scoring against the run of play on the quarter hour mark when Pulpo González took advantage of a defensive mistake to beat Kike, but Calado levelled the scores before half time from the penalty spot after Soria brought down David Prats. Poli had the better chances after the break, Prats going close twice, but Ramón should have given Córdoba their first win in seven games had he not turned Txiki's free kick wide from a yard out.

Ciudad Murcia and Almería also drew 1-1, a result which takes the visitors two points above the drop zone and keeps their opponents two points higher up the table. Labaka opened the scoring for the home side in the twentieth minute, heading home Aguilar's free kick, and Camuñas came close to making it two when he hit the post on the stroke of half time. Ciudad were left with ten men though five minutes after the restart when Toni González (who was making his debut after signing on loan from Mallorca) picked up a second booking. Even so Luna and Ortíz both tested Alberto Cifuentes before the visitors were awarded a hotly disputed penalty after Labaka and Francisco challenged for a high ball. Francisco converted the kick, and Jorge Pérez almost snatched a victory for the visitors in the last minute.

Time is running out though for Rayo Vallecano, who once again only managed to save a point in the last minute against bottom club Algeciras. The Madrid based side have now only picked up three draws from their last eight games, and they ended the weekend as they started, four points away from safety. Things seemed to be going well when a cross from Luis Cembranos took a deflection off a defender to wrong-foot Iñaki in only the sixth minute, but four minutes later José Marí levelled the scores, getting ahead of a sleepy defence to head home Tevenet's free kick. Armentano and Tevenet wasted a good chance between them midway through the first half, but José Marí got his second of the night on the stroke of half time, this time a header from a corner, to put the visitors in front. Peragón ruined a great chance to equalise after the break when he touched a shot from Cavas over the line from an offside position when it was going in by itself, but he made up for it in the end when he scrambled the ball into the net in the dying seconds. Even so the fans once again ran amok at the end, in some cases jostling the players as they left the stadium, and having being warned once about their behaviour the club could now face a ground closure. (23.05.04)