Spanish Second Division "A": LaLiga2, 2019-2020

[AlanK]

And here are the games that will kick off LaLiga2 on the weekend of 18 August

Almería-Albacete
Cádiz-Ponferradina
Dépor-Oviedo
Elche-Fuenlabrada (Fuenlabrada: "Nuevo in Esta Plaza')
Girona-Sporting
Las Palmas-Huesca
Lugo-Extremadura
Numancia-Alcorcón
Racing-Málaga
Rayo-Mirandés
Zaragoza-Tenerife

[subway14]

a bit weird group division for Segunda B, group 1 is really split up

[EarlofBug]

a bit weird group division for Segunda B, group 1 is really split up

Yes, the Azul group has pretty long trips inside it.

[mspm89]

What's the logic behind that? That the Comunidad de Madrid clubs are financially stronger so they can compensate the Baleares and Canarias ones for their long travels (in ticket sales and the like)?

[Club-Mate]

or maybe the Baleares and so on have now great opportunities to buy good jamon on the central mainland.

[AlanK]

or maybe the Baleares and so on have now great opportunities to buy good jamon on the central mainland.

The long-travel "opportunities" are usually passed around, making Canary Island teams or others which require special travel arrangements belong to different groups of Second Division "B" from year to year.

[mspm89]

or maybe the Baleares and so on have now great opportunities to buy good jamon on the central mainland.

The long-travel "opportunities" are usually passed around, making Canary Island teams or others which require special travel arrangements belong to different groups of Second Division "B" from year to year.

Man, you're the expert, but are you sure that is the case for the Baleares? Canarias, sure, I've seen that they're not always paired with Andalucía (the logical choice in terms of geographical proximity). But Baleares with Cataluña/Valencia and Melilla with Andalucía I thought were pretty much automatic.

[Forza AZ]

Isn't it because it is easier to fly to Madrid from the islands and Melilla then to other parts of Spain?

[AlanK]

or maybe the Baleares and so on have now great opportunities to buy good jamon on the central mainland.

The long-travel "opportunities" are usually passed around, making Canary Island teams or others which require special travel arrangements belong to different groups of Second Division "B" from year to year.

Man, you're the expert, but are you sure that is the case for the Baleares? Canarias, sure, I've seen that they're not always paired with Andalucía (the logical choice in terms of geographical proximity). But Baleares with Cataluña/Valencia and Melilla with Andalucía I thought were pretty much automatic.

You're correct inre Mallorca and the enclaves of North Africa. Probably somebody with clout complained and this is the result. It is difficult to keep a close eye on Second Division "B" from afar, so my assumption is that the RFEF is "spreading the wealth."

Afterthought: clubs at Second Division "B" level are, in many cases, struggling to survive economically. The added travel costs of trips that pretty much have to be taken by plane are not inconsequential.

[subway14]

probably someone from the yellow group just paid off the officials so they wouldn't have to travel to the islands

[AlanK]

Note that no games will be played on Mondays nor on Fridays as per the court decision handed down today.

[EarlofBug]

Note that no games will be played on Mondays nor on Fridays as per the court decision handed down today.

What is the reason for this desicion?

[AlanK]

Note that no games will be played on Mondays nor on Fridays as per the court decision handed down today.

What is the reason for this desicion?

Probably has to do with the fact that "some teams are more equal than others" ( ) when it comes to deciding which teams will play on Fridays and Mondays. Crummy playing times are not anybody's cup of tea

[AlanK]

At the moment, the final word is that there can be fútbol on Fridays but not on Mondays. And as far as Jornada 1 goes, there won't be fútbol in LaLiga2 on Friday either, but that'll change very soon . . .

Jornada 1 begins on

Sat. 17 Aug.

18:00 Lugo 0, Extremadura 0 Lugo stayed in LaLiga2 with a two-point margin over the top of the drop last season. Extremadura ended up with an eight-point margin of safety. Both will hope to stay up again. Scoreless tie in the Anxo Carro.

18:00 Racing Santander 0, Málaga 1 Racing won promotion in the Second Division "B" playoffs. Málaga finished third last season, but lost to Dépor in the first round of the promotion playoffs. Racing will try to avoid the drop; Málaga will be shooting for promotion to LaLiga. Adrián González wins it for Málaga with a goal at 85'--0-1.

19:00 Almería 3, Albacete 0 Almería finished last season a comfortable 10th, "sin pena ni gloria." El Alba flirted with direct promotion until the very end, losing in the promotion playoffs to Mallorca. Sergio Aguza scores at 67' (pk) and 90'; Aristote Nkaka scores at 82' to give Almería a great start to the season.

20:00 Elche 0, Fuenlabrada 2 Elche finished last season in mid-table. Fuenlabrada is "nuevo en esta plaza": it's their first season ever in national category. Avoiding the drop is the goal. Fuenlabrada wins their first time out in LaLiga2 Hugo Fraile gives them the lead with a pk at 31'; David Prieto adds the second at 40'--0-2 the final.

21:00 Rayo Vallecano 2, Mirandés 2 Rayo dropped after one season in Primera, in keeping with their recent history as an "equipo ascensor". Mirandés returns after winning promotion via the playoffs. Martín Pascual of Rayo sees red at 8'. Alvaro Rey gives Mirandés the lead at 11'--0-1.Adrián Embarba converts pk's at 16' and 26' to make it 2-1 for Rayo. At 45', Carlos Martínez of Mirandés sees a second yellow. At 71', Andrés Mahedano ties for Mirandés--2-2 the final.

21:00 Zaragoza 2, Tenerife 0 They finished last season in 15th and 16th place respectively--way too close to the drop for comfort. Can they put together the kind of campaign needed to challenge for promotion Alberto Soro gives Zaragoza the lead at 41'; Javi Ros makes it 2-0 with a pk at 88'.

Sun. 18 Aug.

18:00 Dépor 3, Oviedo 2 Full time. Dépor ended last season as the lowest team to make the playoffs; they eliminated Málaga but then lost the last playoff matchup to Mallorca. Oviedo missed the promotion playoffs by five points. Their last season in First Division was 2000-2001--can they make the breakthrough this time around 20,474 in Riazor. Mamadou Koné gives Dépor the lead at 18'--1-0. Ager Aketxe makes it 2-0 at 56'. Oviedo comes back to tie on an own goal by Michele Somma at 69' and on a goal by Samuel Obeng at 78'--2-2. Christian Santos gets the winner for Dépor at 89'--3-2.

18:00 Numancia 0, Alcorcón 1 Full time. Gone are the days in Soria when Numancia was the first team to meet Guardiola's Barça in First Division--and beat them Numancia finished last season four points above the drop. Alcor came on at the beginning of last season like gangbusters, but they faded badly and only finished seven points above the drop. Dani Romera wins it for Alcor with a goal at 65'.

18:30 Girona 1,Sporting 1 Full time. Girona dropped from First Division last season. Sporting finished seven points back of the last promotion playoff spot. Sporting plays with 10 men from 57' on. At 87', Aitor gives Sporting the lead--0-1; however, Borja García ties for Girona at 90'--1-1.

20:00 Cádiz 3, Ponferradina 1 Full time. Cádiz missed the promotion playoffs by four points and one place last season. Ponfe won promotion to LaLiga2 in the playoffs. Ponfe plays with 10 men from 17' on, but still takes the lead at 45' as Pablo Trigueros scores--0-1. Javier Navarro ties for Cádiz at 55'--1-1. Alberto Perea makes it 2-1 for the home team at 76', and Nano ices it at 86'--3-1.

20:00 Las Palmas 0, Huesca 1 Full time. The Canaries finished last season in mid-table. Huesca played last season in First Division for the first time ever. They finished next-to-last. Alex Gallar hits the winner for Huesca at 77'--0-1 the final.

[AlanK]

The top and the drop after Jornada 1, with tie breakers

Each team in "the top" has three points

1. Almería-------------+3-0 At Racing.
2. Cádiz---------------+3-1 At Mirandés.
3/4. Zaragoza---------+2-0 At Ponferradina.
3/4. Fuenlabrada------+2-0 At Extremadura.
5. Dépor--------------+3-2 At Huesca.
6/8. Alcorcón---------+1-0 Hosts Elche.
6/8. Huesca-----------+1-0 Hosts Dépor.
6/8. Málaga-----------+1-0 Hosts Las Palmas.
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
Each team in "the drop" has zero points

19. Ponferradina------+1-3 Hosts Zaragoza.
20/21. Elche----------+0-2 At Alcor.
20/21. Tenerife-------+0-2 Hosts Numancia.
22. Albacete----------+0-3 Hosts Girona.

Of course, Oviedo, Las Palmas, Racing, and Numancia also have zero points, and are above the drop only on GD.