With only two games to go to the end of the season, all second division matches with something at stake have been synchronized to kick off on Sunday evening. The local derby between Xerez and Cádiz was played on Friday night though, with both sides cancelling each other out in a 1-1 draw. The goals came late in the in the day, Jonathan Sesma putting the visitors ahead after good work by Velázquez and China's Shang Yi equalising with an individualist effort soon after coming on as substitute, his first goal for the club. Xerez had had the best chances before that, Francis wasting an easy opportunity just after the restart and Mena also bringing a good save out of Navas later on. The locals staged a sit-down protest at the start of the match to complain about the sacking of manager Esteban Vigo the week before and the more than eight months' wages that they are due, which, if not settled by the end of July, could mean the team get relegated despite their current position in the top half of the table. (11.06.04)

The race for promotion is still wide open after the top four all won, and Numancia, Getafe and Alavés will have to battle it out for the two remaining spots on the last day. Numancia consolidated their second position with a 0-1 win over bottom club Algeciras, and with a home match against Recreativo to come they must be favourites to join Levante in the top flight next season. The Soria based side opened the scoring ten minutes before the break when Juan Carlos Moreno fired the ball into the net after Mikel Alonso's first effort was blocked, and keeper Luis García kept out Armentano and his colleagues in the second half to tie up the three points.

Getafe stay level on points with them though after a late 2-1 victory over Eibar, Gari Uranga heading the winning goal from Craioveanu's cross only two minutes from the end to send the 15,000 capacity crowd wild. Craioveanu had already set up the first goal for Pachón with his corner kick a quarter of an hour in to the match, and for half an hour or so they were in the first division. News from Vitoria that Alavés had scored thought meant they would have to wait for the last day, and when Cuevas set up Dani for the equaliser in the second half there were long faces. But Uranga got the winner to keep up their thirteen game unbeaten run and take the Madrid based side a step closer to a first ever appearance in the first division.

A win next weekend at Tenerife will take Getafe up, although if either they or Numancia slip then Alavés will be waiting to nudge them out. The Basque side stay two points behind both after beating Ciudad Murcia 1-0 thanks to a Rubén Navarro strike shortly before half time. The visitors needed points themselves to move away from the danger zone, and Camuñas hit the bar with a long shot early on. Navarro went close at the other end though before he finally beat Tete with a clever back-hell from a De Lucas cross four minutes before the interval, but Gaspercic had to be at his best after that to ensure victory for his side. Alavés now need to win at Eibar and hope that Getafe draw or Numancia lose for them to make the promotion spots.

Levante were sure of promotion a couple of weeks ago though, and they tied up the second division title this weekend with a 2-0 win over struggling Poli Ejido. Aganzo started off the fiesta with a headed goal from a Rubiales cross in the tenth minute, and Congo wasted a couple of chances to increase the lead before the break. The visitors had more to play for though, but Sabino failed to convert a couple of opportunities after the restart, and Congo wrapped things up for the Valencia based side later in the second half after a mistake by keeper Kike while trying to clear.

There was sadness in Gijón however, Sporting losing 2-1 at Almería to wave goodbye to any chances they had of going up this year. It was the last match in Almería's Juan Rojas stadium, and the home side were fighting to make sure of their place in the second division for next season. All the goals came in a ten minute period in the second half after a dull first 45 minutes, Francisco putting the Andalucians ahead soon after the restart after Sahnoun set him up. Ismael equalised latched on to Miguel's pass to equalise two minutes later, but Ortíz restored the lead with an individualist effort.

Málaga B and Tenerife will also both be staying up after drawing their match 2-2. The visitors got off to the best possible start, Keko beating Goitia with a shot which took a deflection off a defender, but Mario levelled the scores shortly before the interval after Juan Rodríguez played on Nacho's corner. Keko put the Canary Islanders back in front with a quarter of an hour to go, but substitute Paco Esteban lobbed Alvaro four minutes from the end to earn the point they needed to be safe.

Terrassa are also clear of any threat of going down despite losing 2-1 to already relegated Las Palmas, where the local fans gave their side a hard time following their poor season. The Catalans sent a warning shot to their opponents early on when Maikel went close from Quique Martín's corner, and soon afterwards Recio got on the end of the next corner from the winger to head the opening goal past Orlando. The league's top scorer Rubén scored twice after the break in his last home appearance before moving on to Deportivo though, the first after taking a return pass from Angel and the second from Hietenen's long through ball. .

The last two remaining relegation spots are still unclear after this weekend's results, although Rayo Vallecano must still be favourites to join Las Palmas (who they play next weekend) and Algeciras after they were held to 1-1 draw at Salamanca. Txetxu Rojo's team are three points adrift of four sides, Córdoba, Leganés, Poli Ejido and Ciudad Murcia, but with a better head-to-head record than all but Leganés, a win combined with defeats for two of them would still see them safe. They could have been in a better position though if they had been able to hold on to a lead given to them when Pulido headed home a Luis Cembranos cross midway through the first half, but Zé Tó equalised near the end after Saja could only push out Robert's shot.

Córdoba moved out of the bottom four to the detriment of Ciudad Murcia after a 1-0 win over Elche, their first home victory in three and a half months. Olivera missed a sitter for the Andalucians early on, but Soria got the goal they were looking for a few minutes later when he steered a header past Dani Mallo from Pablo Sierra's free kick. Both sides hit the woodwork either side of half time, Luis Gil for the visitors and then Ramón for the locals, but the home side held on to give caretaker manager Pedrito a win in his first game in charge after Portugal was fired midweek.

Córdoba visit Leganés next weekend in their last match, and with the loser favourites to go down it will be a real cliff-hanger. The Madrid based side missed out on a chance to pull away from the danger zone this weekend after losing 3-1 at Recreativo. Uche opened the scoring for the Huelva based team on the half hour mark, and although Calandria headed an equaliser, Manu del Moral ran on to restore the lead before the break. Uche hit the bar with a delightful lob after the break, and then set up Raúl Molina for the easiest of goals to round things off.

With so much at stake, next weekend promises to be a hum-dinger. The relegation positions could still be affected though by decisions in the back office, given that any club which is not up to date with payments to their players by 31st July will be automatically relegated. In previous seasons Recreativo, Levante and Leganés have all been reinstated as a result (Mérdia, Burgos and Compostela went down instead), and with several clubs in trouble (Xerex, Ciudad Murcia, Leganés, Tenerife and even Valladolid to name but few), it will be important to finish as high as possible in the table, even within the relegation spots. (13.06.04)