Leaders Recreativo moved six points clear of second placed Nàstic pending their game on Sunday after beating Real Madrid Castilla 4-1 on Saturday. By half time the Andalusians were three up, with Cheli opening the scoring from Rosu's cross in only the second minute in front of the first capacity crowd in four years. Rosu set up top scorer Uche for him to head the second on the half hour mark and got on the scoresheet himself when he headed home Viqueira's free kick on the stroke of half time. Oscar Diaz headed one back after the restart, but Rosu wrapped things up soon afterwards with his second of the night.

There was a big crowd at Lorca as well, where the minnows held on to third place after beating Sporting Gijón 1-0. Sava and Maldonado both went close and Jorge Sánchez hit the bar before Ramos picked up Maldonado's pass to open the scoring a minute before half time. And only visiiting keeper Roberto kept Sava, Ramos and Gorka from increasing the lead after the interval.

Levante stay just behind Lorca on goal difference though after a last gasp Ian Harte penalty gave them a 1-0 win over Tenerife. The Valencia based side had been on top for most of the match, with Riga hitting the post in the first half, although Cavallero had to be at his best to keep out a Cristian Alvarez free kick later on. Cocito fouled Reggi in the area though with two minutes to go and Harte did the rest.

Tenerife's defeat means they are still only one place above the relegation spots, although Racing Ferrol's 1-1 draw against Hércules takes some of the pressure off them. The Alicante based side were missing several key players, but they still took the lead when Cámara chipped local keeper Bouchard a quarter of an hour in to the match. Manolo volleyed home Juanito's cross to level the scores soon afterwards, but both keepers had little work after that. (13.05.06)

Second placed Gimnastic Tarragona kept up the five point gap over the chasing pack with a 1-0 win over Almería on Sunday lunchtime. The visitors started the day in fifth spot, and a win would have closed the gap with their rivals to four points. But with only four minutes gone veteran striker Antonio Pinilla burst through to beat Valerio and put the hosts in front. Kalu Uche had goal disallowed for a dubious offside and Luna headed over later in the first half, but otherwise Nàstic were on top and could have won by a bigger margin had Carlos García not cleared off the line from Carlos Merino in the last minute. Almería ended the game with ten men after Galca picked up a second booking, and they are now virtually out of the promotion chase.

Ciudad Murcia kept themselves in the hunt though after coming from behind to beat Poli Ejido 2-3, and they stay only two points behind Lorca and Levante. Abel Resino's side started off ahead when Luque beat Kike on the quarter hour mark, but Keko headed in Pedro Vega's free kick only a minute later. Sunny had an effort cleared off the line before Moreno lobbed the advancing José Juan to give the hosts the lead midway through the first half. However Luque fired in a shot from outside of the area to square the match again, and even though Kome was sent off for a second bookable offence, Piti won it for "City" with a shot from the edge of the area near the end.

Xerez drop out of the relegation race though after losing 1-0 at Elche, who themselves move away from the danger area. The locals had the better of the first half, with Trotta hitting the post, and Toledo took advantage of slack defending to open the scoring in the first minute of the second half. Nino had a second goal ruled out for a non existent offside, but Aragoneses had to save from Geijo late on to ensure the three points. Xerez ended with ten men after Moreno was shown a second yellow card in the last minute.

Another of the promotion candidates Numancia were beaten 3-1 by Real Murcia, and they ended the weekend level with Xerez six point off the top three. Youngster Tato put Sergio Kresic's side two up with only a quarter of an hour on the clock, the first after a pass from Richi and the second with a low shot past Juan Pablo. Juan Carlos Moreno headed one back from Montenegro's free kick ten minutes later and Juanmi had to keep out substitute Miguel a couple of times after the break, but Nacho Garro wrapped things up in injury time.

Down in the lower reaches of the table, Lleida missed out on a chance to close up on Tenerife after they were held to a 0-0 draw by bottom club Málaga B. Nakor wasted a couple of opportunities to put the Catalans ahead in the first half, especially when he turned Rubén's free kick against the bar on the half hour mark. And substitute Camacho also could have won it when he too rattled the woodwork in the dying minutes.

Lleida are now three points behind the Canary Islanders, who themselves see the gap above them open up to four points after Castellón managed a 1-1 draw at Albacete. Despite the early domination by the visitors, César Ferrando's side took the lead when Aranda beat Raúl Jiménez ten minutes before the break. But Zamora fired a long shot into the top corner of the net after the restart to ave a valuable point for his side.

Eibar could be mathematically down by next weekend after losing 0-1 against Valladolid, and with Málaga B already out as well due to the relegation of their first team, the two remaining relegation spots would appear to be between Racing Ferrol, Lleida and Tenerife. The only goal at the Ipurúa stadium came midway through the first half when Víctor finished off after good work by Carreño, although Ramis, Víctor and Sousa could all have added to the lead later on. (14.05.06)