Alavés moved up to second in the table pending Sunday's games after beating Salamanca 2-1 on Saturday evening. For a long while though they were bettered by their opponents, with Brit giving them an early warning when he shot just wide in the first minute and Oscar Arpón rattling the woodwork later in the first half with Bonano beaten. The hosts only reply was an effort by De Lucas, and Arpón put the visitors ahead on the hour mark with a shot from outside of the area. That woke up Chuchi Cos's side though, and in the next few minutes Sarriegi headed against the bar, Rubén Navarro put a shot over the top and De Lucas brought a good save out of Tom. Bodipo finally headed an equaliser from Carpintero's cross just two or three minutes from the end, and with the game already in injury time Rubén Navarro headed the winner past the hesitant keeper. The defeat leaves Andoni Goikoetxea's side just a point above the drop zone.

Elche kept their slim hopes of promotion alive with a 0-1 win over Racing Ferrol, ending the Galicians run of win wins in a row. Rubén Suárez scored the only goal in the seventh minute of the first half after good work by Peragón, but after that the home side dominated the game. Juanito and Granon failed to convert chances before the break however, and Rubén could have made it two on a rapid breakaway if Bello Amigo had not been on his toes. The pressure from the locals continued after the break, Vosalho, Granon and Mario Bermejo all going close, but they were unable to break through a well disciplined defence, even when down to ten men after Marc Bernaus was sent off near the end.

Xerez returned to winning ways after eight games without a victory, beating Almería 1-2 in their Mediterráneo stadium. Local striker Iban Espadas had an early chance cleared off the line, but after that the visitors took over, Bajic heading past Valerio following Lawal's free kick to open the scoring in the eleventh minute. Lawal hit the bar with another free kick before Mena made it two with a shot from outside of the area a few minutes later, but before the half time whistle Ortíz pulled one back with a strike from left of goal. The home side threw everything forward after the break, but Espadas and Ortíz both failed to find the target when presented with chances later on. It meant a first defeat since Paco Flores took over four games ago, and once again the Andalusians are being drawn into the battle to avoid relegation.

Gimnastic Tarragona won their local derby against Terrassa 3-1, leaving their opponents further down in the drop zone. It was a bad tempered match, with the locals going ahead in the fourth minute with a hotly disputed penalty after Diego Torres fell under a challenge from Charcos, the striker converting the kick himself. Quique Martín hit the bar at the other end, but Abel Buades headed home a corner before the break to make it two. Bolo could have scored a third when he had a goal disallowed for offside, but the visitors got one back through Maikel in the second half, a few minutes after both sides had been left with ten men when Ibon Begoña and then Jordi Navas had received second yellow cards. Cuéllar restored the two goal lead though on a rapid breakaway five minutes from the end, and the game finished with players from both teams brawling at the final whistle.

Málaga B moved four points clear of the relegation spots pending Sunday's games after drawing 0-0 against Poli Ejido. The Andalusians had not won in their Rosaleda stadium since mid February, and keeper Goitia had to make saves from Sabino and Toedtli early on to prevent them from going behind. Usero almost gave José María Bakero's side the lead though when his shot came back off the post into the hands of Kike on the half hour mark, but otherwise the two keepers were not really troubled until the last minute, when Calado got the ball in the net for the visitors only to have the strike ruled out for a previous foul. (30.04.05)

Celta took another step towards an immediate return to the top flight with a 2-0 victory over Valladolid on Sunday lunchtime. The visitors were desperate for a win to have any option of promotion, and could have taken the lead had Orlando Quintana not saved a Diego Mateo header before the break. But five minutes after the restart Vryzas put the Galicians ahead after Sergio headed on Canobbio's corner, and the Greek striker set up youngster Toni Moral for him to score a second goal a few minutes later. Quintana did the rest, keeping out efforts from Mateo and Robles near the end to take his side seven points clear at the top pending Cádiz's match later in the day. (01.05.05)

Cádiz moved back up to second spot, six points behind the leaders, after beating local rivals Córdoba 4-1 later on Sunday evening. The result leaves the visitors still at the bottom of the table. The game got off to an electric start, both sides going close before Jonathan Sesma ran on to a long ball to lob visiting keeper Saja in the twentieth minute. Villa equalised before the break after charging down a clearance, but the locals were back in front on the hour mark with a Manolo Pérez penalty after Oli was fouled in the area by Leo Jiménez. Enrique got a third after Saja could only push out a shot from Oli, and the midfielder then set up Mirosavljevic (popularly known as Mortadelo for his resemblance to the cartoon character) for his first goal for the club.

Recreativo are back up to fourth though, just four points behind Cádiz and three behind Alavés after beating Ciudad Murcia 3-2. The game didn't wake up until a couple of minutes before the break, when Gastón Casas fired a shot against the post. But just a minute after the restart Casas got on the end of Xavi Jiménez's cross to touch the ball past José Juan and open the scoring. A couple of minutes later Uche picked up a pass from Casas to round the keeper and score a second, but Güiza pulled one back with a quarter of an hour to go, latching on to a long pass to fire a shot wide of Luque. Casas restored the two goal lead from the penalty spot after Uche was brought down by Córdoba, but the locals were left with ten men soon afterwards when Loren picked up a second booking, and Güiza gave the home fans a late fright with a second goal in the last minute.

It still looks like a five horse race for the three promotion spots, although Eibar dropped down to fifth after they were held to a 1-1 draw at Lleida. Sergio Rodríguez fired the Catalans into the lead on the quarter hour mark after picking up a headed pass from Oscar García, and Arnal wasted a chance to put them further ahead before the break. Visiting manager Mendilibar made two changes even before half time, and the move paid off when Garitano headed home a corner just a minute in to the second half. The hosts were left with ten men when much protested referee Mateu Lahoz gave second yellow cards to Santos and then keeper Rangel, but the Basques were unable to take advantage, even though David Silva could have won it for them in the dying minutes had he not sportingly kicked the ball out of play to allow an injured opponent to be attended to when free in front of goal.

Sporting Gijón moved up to seventh in the table, albeit some eleven points off the promotion spots, after coming from two goals down to beat Pontevedra 3-2. The Galicians needed to win to have any chance of avoiding relegation, and they got off to the best possible start, Charles turning in a cross to give them an early lead. Javi Rodríguez headed a second goal on the half hour mark, but five minutes later Neru pulled one back with a well placed header from Dorado's cross. Juan levelled the scores after the restart with a long centre which bounced past Moso after he was put under pressure from Ismael, and Brazilian striker Arthuro headed the winner from Pablo Lago's cross two minutes from the end.

Elsewhere Real Murcia climbed away from the danger zone with their third win in a row, Richi getting the goal as they defeated Tenerife 1-0. Visiting keeper Alvaro had to stop efforts from Iván Alonso and Acciari before Alonso found Richi for him to beat Juanmi in the twentieth minute. The Canary Islanders had a chance to equalise when they were awarded a penalty after Urzelai fouled Cristo early in the second half, but Juanmi dived low to hold on to Antonio Hidalgo's spot kick. And Tenerife's challenge ended when Corona was sent off for a second bookable offence twenty minutes from the end. (01.05.05)