Second placed Xerez were beaten 1-0 by Castellón, despite the fact that the locals ended the game with seven men after having four players sent off! Natalio got the only goal on the quarter hour mark, intercepting a bad back pass by Francis to bundle the ball past Julio Iglesias. Visiting midfielder Pedro Ríos got himself sent off midway through the second half, but soon afterwards the lights went out due to a power cut. And when they came back on again it was referee Piñeiro Crespo who appeared to have a black-out, showing fourteen yellows and sending off four local players, Mora, Mario and Biagorri for second bookings, and Natalio with a straight red. Even so Castellón held on to hand the Andalusians their second defeat in a row.

Sporting Gijón failed to take advantage though after falling to a 2-0 defeat against an improving Numancia, and the Asturians drop to sixth. The home side had the better of the first half, with Bolo and Julio Alvarez in particular going close, and Kenji Fukuda headed them in to the lead from Del Pino's cross twenty minutes in to the second half. And substitute Pablo Lago wrapped things up on a rapid breakaway near the end to keep up his side's four game unbeaten run.

Almería moved ahead of Sporting to fifth after thrashing struggling Lorca 4-0. All four goals came after the break, with Michel picking up a pass from Bermejo to open the scoring within a minute of the restart. Acasiete made it two soon afterwards with a header which deflected in off Català, Ortíz volleyed the third after Alberto set him up, and Crusat rounded things off in the dying minutes.

Tension at Alavés, where the local trainers' bench had to be protected by the police as angry fans protested against club president Dmitri Piterman (despite his absence) and his coach Chuchi Cos (who had to leave the ground at half time). The Vitoria based side beat Ciudad Murcia 1-0 though, Arthuro getting the goal from the penalty spot after Ogbeche was brought down in the twentieth minute to give them their first win in seven games, taking them away from the danger zone. Ciudad ended with ten men after Ayoze was shown a red card in the last minute.

Hércules also climb up the table after a 1-0 win against Poli Ejido, their first victory in four games. The Alicante based side didn't start well though, and keeper Sergio Aragoneses was in constant action in the first half. However they took the three points thanks to a Moisés strike after Schiavi headed on Montenegro's corner some twenty minutes after the interval.

Málaga came away from bottom club Vecindario with a point after drawing 1-1, a result which keeps them just two points above the drop zone. The Andalusians took some time to adapt to the artificial pitch, and Arnau had to save from Atxábal and Xisco early on. Raúl Borrero headed the locals in to the lead from Mario Prieto's cross a quarter of an hour from the end, but a long, wind assisted free kick by José Marí caught Keleman off his line a few minutes later. (09.12.06)

Valladolid stay top after a 0-0 draw at Cádiz on Sunday lunchtime, a good result for the visitors after they had Vicente sent off for a second bookable offence midway through the second half. Jonathan Sesma missed a golden chance to put the locals ahead before the break after a header by Abraham Paz was blocked, and Paz had a goal disallowed for a previous foul. However Medilibar's side had their best efforts when down to ten men, Rubio bringing a good save out of Armando and Asier firing over the top when free in front of goal. This was Cádiz's third goal-less draw in a row in the Carranza stadium.

Valladolid move two point clear of Xerez and four above local rivals Salamanca, who stay in third place despite a 2-1 defeat at Real Madrid Castilla later in the evening. Quique Martín gave the visitors the lead from the penalty spot before the break after Martín himself had been fouled by Santacruz, but youth international Mata equalised just a few minutes after the restart, picking up a pass from Granero and beating two defenders before shooting past Felip. And Mata struck again ten minutes from the end after collecting Palencia's cross to hand the three points to Michel's team.

Real Murcia are level with Salamanca on points though after drawing 1-1 with Ponferradina. Lucas Alcaraz's side have yet to win in their new stadium, and although they dominated the first half, they fell behind when Rubén Vega beat Notario with a low shot on the stroke of half time. Alcaraz had to substitute Antoñito and then Aranda due to injury, but Pedro León came on to level the scores after an otherwise excellent Rubio could only push out an effort from Jofre ealry in the second half.

Albacete and Las Palmas also drew 1-1, a result which maintains the gap of two points between the two sides, albeit that the locals are now eighth and the visitors eighteenth. It was a cold night, and there was little action until midway through the second half, when the sending off of Darino for a foul on David Sánchez left the Canary Islanders with ten men. Buades headed in Parri's corner to put the Manchegans ahead a few minutes later, but David García saved a point for his side with a spectacular strike three minutes from the end.

Tenerife's new coach Casuco started with a 2-0 win over fellow strugglers Elche, a result which takes the Canary Islanders out of the bottom four. Raúl Sánchez got the first from the penalty spot after Juanfran handled in the area in the fifth minute, and Frankowski went close before the home side were awarded a second penalty when Pere Martí brought down Ayoze. This time Caballero saved Sánchez's kick, but the striker made up for it with a second goal later in the second half after Suso set him up. (10.12.06)