Leaders Xerez were held to a 1-1 draw by Elche on Saturday evening, but still top the table pending Sunday's games. The Andalucians found themselves behind midway through the first half when Rubén beat Julio Iglesias with a shot from the edge of the area. But Moreno equalised after the restart, and the locals could have won later on when Trotta cleared a Dani Pendín effort off the line, and then Mena struck a free kick against the bar.

Alavés scraped up into the top three for 24 hours at least, although they will be disappointed with their 1-1 draw at home to Ciudad Murcia. Visiting keeper Miki saved twice from Rubén Navarro before Cuevas headed Ciudad into the lead from Aguilar's free kick on the quarter hour mark. Four minutes later though the Vitoria based side were level when Pape Thiaw headed home Nené's cross. Güiza and ex Alavés midfielder Pablo went close for the visitors after the break, but local substitute Bodipo wasted the best chance late on.

It was a day for 1-1 draws, with Pontevedra and Tenerife also sharing the points in their match. The Canary Islanders had the best chances in the first half, with Moso saving well from Limones after good work by Gavilán, and they took the lead through Cristo Marrero eight minutes after the restart. Tenerife were left with ten men though when La Paglia picked up a second booking soon afterwards, and Capdevila saved a point for the locals with an individualist effort in injury time.

Málaga B got their first win of the season, beating Gimnastic Tarragona to climb above their opponents and out of the relegation zone. Both goals were scored by Alberto in the first quarter of the match, the first when he nipped in between the defence to beat Felip and the second when he headed home a corner on the far post. Codina and Serrano had chances for the Catalans, but otherwise they put up a poor performance and have only picked up one point from their last four games. (25.09.04)

The second division continues to be a dour struggle as always, with a change in the top spots once again and only 17 goals being scored in the eleven games. Incredibly, the highest score of the weekend was Terrassa's 2-1 win over Valladolid on Sunday lunchtime, taking them up to second in the table, a point behind Xerez. Veteran forward Juanele got the equaliser for the Catalans midway through the first half following a partially cleared free kick, a quarter of an hour after Oscar Sánchez had put the visitors ahead. Jesús cleared an effort from Valladolid's Aduriz off the line before half time, but substitute Gallego got the winner for the hosts later in the half just seconds after coming on.

Lleida had a chance to go top if they had beaten Poli Ejido later in the day, but their 0-1 defeat leaves them out of the top three to be replaced by their opponents. Visiting keeper Kike was the star of the match with a series of saves from Crusat, Nakor, Santos and Lezaun, but Toedtli headed the only goal late in the first half to steal away the three points. Ejido finished with ten men after Calado was sent off late on.

Eibar move up level with Terrassa and Ejido after a 1-0 win over Córdoba, although they stay in fourth place due to their inferior goal average. The visitors had only picked up one point all season, and they were left with ten men when Francisco was shown a second yellow card. Varela got the only goal a few minutes later at the second attempt after Jauregui had saved his first effort following a corner won by under 19 international David Silva, who was one of the best players in the match.

Recreativo failed to keep up with the leaders though after they lost 0-1 to Racing Ferrol, their first defeat of the season. It was a dull match, with the only chances in the first hour and quarter falling to Juanito, who had an early effort saved by local keeper Toño, and Uche, who headed wide at the other end after the restart. But with a draw on the cards, ex Recre striker Mario Bermejo got on the end of Bayarri's corner to head home the winner against his old club.

Sporting also missed out on a chance to close in on the top spots when they were held to a 0-0 draw by Cádiz. The only chances of the game came early on, local keeper Roberto saving from Dani Navarrete in the third minute and Ismael rounding Armando put shooting against the post a few minutes later.

Real Murcia got their first point on the board in a 1-1 draw against Celta, although they stay at the bottom of the table level with Córdoba at the end of the weekend. The hosts had the better of the first half, with Richi testing Pinto on more than one occasion and Acciari missing an easy chance. But the visitors opened the scoring against the run of play after the break, Sava eventually being awarded the goal by the referee as he got the last touch when an effort by Vryzas bounced off the post. Local manager Manolo Preciado was shown the red card after protesting about a possible penalty on Karanka, but his side saved a point when debutant Mariano Fernández headed home a Julio Alvarez free kick three minutes from the end.

Salamanca beat Almería 0-1 to record their first win, although it was not enough to get them out of the relegation zone. Luna got the ball in the net for the locals early on only to see it ruled out for a previous foul, and Galan missed wasted another chance after the break. But Brit got the only goal a few minutes later after Zé Tó set him up to take a much needed three points. (26.09.04)