Spanish Second Division "A": LaLiga2, 2021-2022

[AlanK]

With LaLiga2 at the halfway point, the second half of the season kicks off

Fri. 31 Dec.

1400 Oviedo 2, Ponferradino 0 Oviedo is ninth, two points back of the last playoff spot. Ponfe is fourth, two points back of an automatic promotion spot. Oviedo climbs into the last playoff spot by one point over Girona and Las Palmas.

1600 Burgos 2, Amorebieta 2 Burgos is eight points above the drop and three points shy of the last playoff spot. Burgos fails to hold a 2-0 advantage at home.

1615 Eibar 3, Real Sociedad "B" 2 A mini-derby in Ipurúa. Eibar is in an automatic promotion spot, six points shy of the league lead and one point above third place. Eibar led 2-0; la Real came back to tie, but Edu Expósito won it for Eibar at 89', lifting Eibar to within three points of first-place Almería--at the moment.

No games on New Year's day

Sun. 2 Jan.

1400 Valladolid 1, Leganés 0 Valladolid is fifth, in a playoff spot. Lega is now five points above the drop. At 43', Weissman gives Valladolid the lead--1-0. If this holds, Valladolid will be in third place. Halftime in Pucela. Scoreless second half; Valladolid holds on to win.

1600 Sporting 1, Lugo 1 Can Sporting put their broken season back together again They are 12th, just four points back of the last playoff spot. Lugo, with a game in hand, is three points and two places above the drop. At about 45', José Angel Carrillo gives Lugo the lead--0-1, now at the half. At 61', Aitor García ties for Sporting--1-1. Lugo is reduced to 10 men at about 63' as Gerard Valentín sees red. But Sporting is unable to find a winner--not as bad as losing, but this result was definitely what they wanted.

1815 Huesca 0, Girona 1 Huesca is in mid-table, seven points above the drop and four points back of the last playoff spot. Girona occupies that last playoff spot; they are ahead of seventh place Las Palmas on GD. At 47', Samu Sáiz scores to give Girona the lead--0-1. Girona would recapture sixth place with a win. And so it comes to be.

1815 Mirandés 2, Zaragoza 0 Mirandés is three points and one place above the drop. Zaragoza is currently six points and five places above the drop. Marqués scores for Mirandés at 14'. At 37', Valentín Vada of Zaragoza sees a red card. Halftime in Anduva. At 78', Alejandro Marqués scores his second of the evening for Mirandés--2-0. The win takes Mirandés above Zaragoza on H2H.

2100 Fuenlabrada 1, Ibiza 2 Fuenla is the top of the drop, three points back of Mirandés. Ibiza, with new coach Paco Jémez, is three places and five points above the drop. And Ibiza looks to be off to a good start under Jémez--David Goldar scores at 26' to give them the lead--0-1. At 45'+6', Pedro León ties the score with a pk for Fuenlabrada--1-1 at the half. At 73', Davo gives Ibiza the advantage once more--1-2. If ibiza wins, they'll be eight points above the drop. And they do and they are.

2130 Tenerife 0, Las Palmas 1 The Canary Island Derby Tete is in third place, one point back of automatic promotion and seven points ahead of seventh-place Las Palmas; the latter is back of the last playoff spot on GD. Scoreless first half in the Heliodoro. At 72', Kirian scores what proves to be the winner for Las Palmas--0-1 the final. Huge win for Las Palmas, which was about to fall away from the leaders atop LaLiga2--now they're back of the last playoff spot only on GD; they'd have fallen to ninth place with a loss.

Mon. 3 Jan.

CHANGED TO 1400 SUNDAY 2 JAN. Almería 0, Cartagena 1 Almería, runaway leader with a game in hand, is seven points above the highest team not in an automatic promo spot. Cartagena is eighth, one point and two places back of the last playoff spot. Cartagena takes the lead at 39'--0-1; Gastón Silva the scorer. Halftime in the Juegos Mediterráneos. Cartagena wins it; climbs into the last playoff spot.

2100 Alcorcón 0, Málaga 1 Never say die, but Alcor is all but moribund: in last place, 12 points back of the lowest team not in the drop. Málaga is in lower mid-table, seven points above the drop and four points shy of the last playoff spot. Málaga climbs to 10th place with their first road win of the season.

[AlanK]

Jornada 22 is almost complete; The Top is locked in after the game in the Canary Islands, to wit

1. Almería----------------45 points; +37-14 Next at Las Palmas. Has a game in hand.
2. Eibar------------------42 points; +34-26 At Oviedo.
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3. Valladolid-------------40 points; +34-24 Hosts Burgos.
4. Tenerife---------------38 points; +28-17 At Amorebieta.
5. Ponferradina-----------37 points; +28-20 Hosts Zaragoza.
6. Girona----------------34 points; +30-25 Hosts Fuenla.
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7. Las Palmas-------------34 points; +29-26 Hosts Almería--Game of the Week.
8. Cartagena-------------33 points; +28-28 Hosts Huesca.
9. Oviedo----------------32 points; +25-19 Hosts Eibar. Huge game for Oviedo.

[AlanK]

And here's The Drop after all games from Jornada 22 have been completed

18. Lugo-----------------24 points; +25-25 Next hosts Mirandés; has a game in hand.
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19. Amorebieta------------20 points; +26-33 Hosts Tenerife.
20. Fuenlabrada-----------20 points; +16-24 At Girona.
21. Real Sociedad 'B'--------17 points; +18-30 At Leganés.
22. Alcorcón--------------11 points; +16-40 At Ibiza.

[AlanK]

Jornada 23 coming right up; only game not yet played is the Lugo-Almería from Jornada 21

Fri. 7 Jan. 2100 Amorebieta 1, Tenerife 1 Amorebieta is the top of the drop, four points back of the lowest team not in the drop. Tete is in fourth place, four points back of automatic promotion and four points above the highest team not in a playoff position. A tie is NOT what either team wanted, but there it is Guruzeta put Amorebieta on the board at 14'; Enric Gallego tied with a pk at 27'. Amorebieta remains "top of the drop; Tete stays in fourth place for the moment.

Sat. 8 Jan.

1600 Cartagena 0, Huesca 3 Cartagena is now within one point and two places of the last playoff spot. Huesca is 14th, seven points back of the last playoff spot and seven points above the drop. At 41', Huesca takes the lead as Dani Escriche scores--0-1. Cartagena fails to score with a pk and it's 0-1 at the half. Marc Mateu makes it 0-2 at 58'; Escriche scores the 0-3 at 72'. Cartagena misses a great chance to climb into9 a playoff spot.

1600 Ibiza 6, Alcorcón 2 Ibiza is 13th, six points back of the last playoff spot and eight points above the drop. Alcor is the "farolillo rojo"--they're 13 points back of the lowest team not in the drop. Sergio Castel gives Ibiza the lead at 15'--1-0. At 24', Xisco Jiménez ties for Alcor--1-1. And at 27', Xisco Jiménez scores again and gives Alcor the lead--1-2. At 45'+1', Ibiza ties on a goal by Cristian Herrera--2-2 at the half. Ibiza turns it into a blowout in the second half--Cristian Herrera at 52', Juan Ibiza at 56', and Bogusz at 68' make it 5-2. At 86', Castel scores his second of the evening--6-2. The blowout lifts Ibiza to 10th place.

1815 Valladolid 1, Burgos 0 Valladolid has won three in a row to climb to third place, two points back of automatic promotion. Burgos is in mid-table, five points back of the last playoff spot. Scoreless first half in Pucela. At 81', Cristo González gives Valladolid the lead--1-0; Valladolid is provisionally in an automatic promo spot. And Valladolid will occupy that spot at least until Monday, when Eibar plays in Oviedo; Eibar must win that game to reclaim second place.

2100 Leganés 1, Real Sociedad "B" 1 Lega is two places and five points above the drop. La Real is next-to-last, seven points back of the lowest team not in the drop. At 32', Jon Bautista gives Lega the lead--1-0--NOT . . . the goal is disallowed. Scoreless first half in Butarque. Olasagasti gives la Real the lead at 49'; Randelovic ties for Lega at 60'--1-1. That's the final. Lega is five points above the drop; la Real is six points back of the lowest team not in the drop.

Sun. 9 Jan.

1400 Girona 2, Fuenlabrada 1 Girona is in the last playoff spot--ahead of Las Palmas on GD. Fuenla is in the drop, four points back of the lowest team not in the drop. Alex Baena gives Girona the lead at 12'--1-0. At 35', Stuani makes it 2-0. Halftime in Montilivi. Game on at 66', as Anderson cuts the margin to 2-1. Girona holds on to win; they stay sixth for the moment.

1600 Lugo 2, Mirandés 1 Lugo is the lowest team not in the drop--they're four points above the drop and they have a game in hand. Mirandés is now 15th, six points above the drop. Juanpe Jiménez gives Lugo the advantage at 43'--1-0 at halftime in the Anxo Carro. Chris Ramos makes it 2-0 at 49'. Hassan cuts the margin to 2-1 at 84'; that's the final.

1815 Málaga 2, Sporting 2 Málaga finally won on the road and is now 10th, just four points shy of the last playoff spot. Sporting continues to disappoint: they're six points and six places back of the last playoff spot. At 16', Uros Djurdjevic converts a pk to give Sporting the lead--0-1. One good pk deserves another , and Brandon Thomas converts one for Málaga to tie the score--1-1. At 41', Sporting is back ahead on a goal by Vasyl Kravets--1-2. Halftime in the Rosaleda. Ramón Enríquez ties for Málaga at 87'. Looks like Sporting is gonna let another win get away . . . And so it comes to pass. Sporting is now 14th in LaLiga2.

2030 Ponferradina 0, Zaragoza 0 Ponfe has fallen to fifth place, five points back of automatic promotion. Zaragoza is now 16th, six points and three places above the drop. A win would lift Ponfe to fourth place; a loss would drop Zaragoza go the lowest spot not in the drop, although they are five points above the drop. Scoreless first half in El Toralín. And scoreless second half. Ponfe stays in fifth place; Zaragoza remains 16th.

2130 Las Palmas 1, Almería 1 The Canaries are back of the last playoff spot on GD. Is Almería starting to slip They lost at home last weekend and lead third-place Valladolid by only five points--but Almería does have a game in hand. No team is better on the road than Almería, with 19 points out of a possible 30 away from home. At about 38', Jonathan Viera gives Las Palmas the lead--1-0. Halftime in the Estadio Gran Canaria. At 51', Appiah ties for Almería--1-1. And that's how it ends.

Mon. 10 Jan. 2100 Oviedo 1, Eibar 0 in progress. Oviedo makes a bid for a playoff spot: they are now just two points back of sixth place. Eibar is just three points off the league lead; they're two points ahead of third place in the battle for automatic promotion. Eibar would climb within a point of first place with a win. At about 19'', David Costas gives Oviedo the lead--1-0. And that's the score at halftime. I won't be able to stay until the end.

[AlanK]

"The Drop" is known after Sunday's games from Jornada 23; "The Top" will not be complete until after today's Oviedo-Eibar game. "The Drop"

17. Leganés--------------26 points; +25-26 Next at Burgos.
18. Mirandés-------------26 points; +31-36 At Alcor.
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19. Amorebieta-----------21 points; +27-34 At Sporting.
20. Fuenlabrada----------20 points; +17-26 Hosts Las Palmas.
21. Real Sociedad "B"------18 points; +19-31 Hosts Cartagena.
22. Alcorcón-------------11 points; +18-46 Hosts Mirandés.

[AlanK]

"The Top" going into Jornada 24, which starts Friday

1. Almería-------------46 points; +38-15 . . . with a game in hand.
2. Valladolid-----------43 points; +35-24
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3. Eibar---------------43 points; +35-27
4. Tenerife------------39 points; +29-18
5. Ponferradina--------38 points; +28-20
6. Girona--------------37 points; +32-26
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7. Las Palmas----------35 points; +30-27

[AlanK]

And here is Jornada 24

Fri. 21 Jan. 2100 Tenerife 4, Oviedo 0 Tete is in fourth place, four points back of automatic promotion. Oviedo is eighth, four points back of the last playoff spot. At 6', Mollejo gives Tete the lead; at 14', Elady makes it 2-0. A win will pull Tete back within a point of both third and second places. Halftime in the Heliodoro. At 79', Míchel Herrero pretty much ices it for Tete--3-0. At 80', Rubén Díez makes it 4-0; that's the final.

Sat. 22 Jan.

1600 Zaragoza 0, Valladolid 0 Bit of a regional rivalry here. Zaragoza is 16th, six points and three places above the drop. Valladolid is in the second automatic promotion spot, ahead of Eibar on GD. At about 30', monumental pañolada by Zaragoza fans protesting lack of progress . . . And the first half in the Romareda ends scoreless. It ends scoreless.

1815 Fuenlabrada 3, Las Palmas 2 Fuenla is in the drop, six points and two places back of the lowest team not in the drop. The Canaries are seventh, two points back of the last playoff spot. At 12', Pedro León converts a pk for Fuenla--1-0. Clemente ties for Las Palmas at 21'--1-1. Tablas at the half in the Fernando Torres. Brahim Konaté gives Fuenla the lead at 60'--2-1. At 77', Jesé converts a pk to tie it 2-2. At about 87', an own goal by Raúl Navas of Las Palmas gives Fuenla the lead--3-2. And Fuenla wins for the first time in almost forever They are now Top of the Drop, three points back of the two teams immediately ahead of them. The Canaries remain two points back of the last playoff spot . . .

2100 Málaga 0, Ibiza 5 Málaga is in mid-table, ten points above the drop and six points back of the last playoff spot, even on points with Ibiza, trailing the islanders on GD. Ibiza goes for their third straight win under new coach Paco Jémez, and they start well, taking the lead at 10' on a goal by Sergio Castel--0-1. Halftime in the Rosaleda. At about 50', Cristian Herrera makes it 0-2 in favor of Ibiza, a team which continues to fly under their new coach. And about three minutes later, Gonzalo Escobar makes it 0-3 for Ibiza. And about five minutes later, Cristian Herrera scores his second of the evening to make it 0-4. Ibiza has now scored a total of 10 goals in their last two games At 80', David Goldar scores yet another for Ibiza--0-5 on the night. That's the final. Next up for Ibiza is a home game against Zaragoza--should be "interesting."

Sun. 23 Jan.

1400 Burgos 4, Leganés 0 Burgos is 13th, eight points back of the last playoff spot and eight points above the drop. Lega is four places and three points back of Burgos. At 12', Juanma gives Burgos the lead--1-0. At 21', an own goal by Iván Villar of Lega makes it 2-0 for Burgos. Futbolme gives the goal to Pablo Valcarce. At 32', Juanma scores his second of the afternoon--3-0. Halftime in El Plantío. It gets even worse for Lega, as they're down to 10 men at about 62'. At about 77', Juanma completes a hat trick--4-0 for Burgos. And 4-0 is the final score.

1600 Sporting 2, Amorebieta 1 Sporting's season has seemingly gone down the drain: they are 14th, eight points back of the last playoff spot. Amorebieta is the top of the drop, five points back of the lowest team not in the drop. More inre for Sporting--Guruzeta gives Amorebieta the lead at 25'--0-1. Halftime in the Molinón. Sporting comes back to take the lead--Aitor García scores at 66' to tie and Fran Villalba scores at 79' to make it 2-1. That's the final--is Sporting back on track

1815 Girona 1, Lugo 1 Girona is in the last playoff spot. Lugo is 15th, six points above the drop with a game in hand. Scoreless first half in Montilivi. Nahuel Bustos scores at 55' to give Girona the lead--1-0. At 80', Manu Barreiro ties it for Lugo--1-1. And that's the final--Girona can't pull the game out.

1815 Huesca 1, Ponferradina 2 Huesca is in mid-table, nine points above the drop and seven points back of the last playoff spot. Ponfe is in fifth place, five points back of automatic promotion. At 8', Dani Ojeda gives Ponfe the lead--0-1. A win would keep Ponfe in fifth place. Halftime in El Alcoraz. At 80', Pablo Martínez ties for Huesca--1-1. At 94', Dani Ojeda wins it for Ponfe--1-2 the final.

2100 Alcorcón 0, Mirandés 0 Alcor is buried in last place, fifteen points shy of Mirandés, which is the lowest team not in the drop. Mirandés with 10 men from about 42' on. Scoreless first half in Santo Domingo. And the game ends scoreless. Mirandés is now four points above the drop.

Mon. 24 Jan.

2100 Almería 0, Eibar 2 Game of the Week, in which #1 hosts #3. Eibar would catch Almería with a win. Eibar won 1-0 vs Almería earlier this season. At 9', Edu Expósito scores to lift Eibar into first place in LaLiga2--Eibar is even on points with Almería, but Eibar has H2H. Still 0-1 at halftime in the Juegos Mediterráneos. At 82', Quique González makes it 0-2 for Eibar. The league lead passes to Eibar; Almería is second, still in an automatic promotion spot . . . But how long can they stay there

2100 Real Sociedad "B" 1, Cartagena 2 La Real is next-to-last, eight points back of the lowest team not in the drop. Cartagena is ninth, four points back of the last playoff spot. Scoreless first half in Anoeta. At about 48', Rubén Castro gives Cartagena the lead--0-1. But just four minutes later, la Real ties--goal by Roberto López; 1-1. Mohanned Dauda gives Cartagena the lead at 83'--1-2. That's the final; Cartagena climbs to seventh place, one back of the last playoff position.

[AlanK]

The game postponed due to Covid on 20 Dec. will be played today, Jan. 19, 2022

2100 Lugo 2, Almería 1 A win for Almería would lift them six points ahead of Valladolid and Eibar, thus padding their first-place position. Lugo would climb nine points above the drop with a win. Lugo takes an early lead--1-0 at 4'; goal by Manu Barreiro. Almería comes right back and puthTts the ball in the net--disallowed; still 1-0. Chris Ramos makes it 2-0 for Lugo at 23' . . . can Almería shake it off and get something out of this game Thus far, it would seem not Lugo still leads 2-0 at halftime in the Anxo Carro. At 88', Carlos Pita of Lugo puts one into his own net--2-1 is Lugo's lead with minutes to go . . . Lugo holds on; climbs to 13th place. Almería could fall out of the lead should they lose to Eibar on Monday.

[AlanK]

Standings after Jornada 24 in LaLiga2--each and every team has played exactly 24 games, to wit

1. Eibar---------------46 points; +37-27 Next hosts Huesca. Eibar is the leader, displacing Almería on H2H.
2. Almería-------------46 points; +39-19 At Oviedo. Will they continue to slide
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3. Valladolid-----------44 points; +35-24 Hosts Sporting. Promotion is within sight
4. Tenerife------------42 points; +33-18 At Ponfe--#4 hosts #5.
5. Ponferradina--------41 points; +30-21 Hosts Tete.
6. Girona-------------38 points; +33-27 At Amorebieta--chance to gain on those immediately ahead.
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7. Cartagena----------36 points; +30-32 Hosts Fuenla.
8. Las Palmas----------35 points; +32-30 Hosts la Real "B".
9. Ibiza---------------34 points; +32-26 Hosts Zaragoza. A whirlwind under Paco Jémez
10. Oviedo------------33 points; +26-24 Hosts Almería. Have they got the stuff to reach the playoffs
11. Burgos------------32 points; +27-24 At Lugo.
12. Sporting-----------32 points; +26-28 At Valladolid. Can they rescue a season gone awry
13. Lugo--------------31 points; +30-28 Hosts Burgos.
14. Málaga------------31 points; +23-35 At Mirandés.
15. Huesca------------30 points; +26-23 At Eibar.
16. Zaragoza----------28 points; +17-23 At Ibiza. Last in LaLiga2 in goals scored
17. Mirandés----------27 points; +31-36 Hosts Málaga.
18. Leganés-----------26 points; +25-30 Hosts Alcor. Can they do away with the threat of the drop
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19. Fuenlabrada--------23 points; +20-28 At Cartagena.
20. Amorebieta---------21 points; +28-36 Hosts Girona. Is there hope
21. Real Soc. "B"--------18 points; +20-33 At Las Palmas. Seems doomed.
22. Alcorcón-----------12 points; +18-46 At Leganés. Seems doomed.

[AlanK]

LaLiga sleeps this weekend, but not LaLiga2, "The League that Never Sleeps" Kickoff will be

Fri. 28 Jan. 2100 Valladolid 1, Sporting 0 Valladolid is in third place, just two points back of both first and second places. Sporting is 12th, six points shy of the last playoff spot. Scoreless in Pucela at about 67'. Is Valladolid going to blow their chance to climb to the top of LaLiga2 No, indeed At 73', Roque Mesa scores what proves to be the winner for Valladolid, lifting his team one point ahead of now second-place Eibar and now third-place Almería. Sporting will probably drop a few places with the loss.

Sat. 29 Jan.

1600 Amorebieta 1, Girona 0 Amorebieta is in the drop, five points back of the lowest team not in the drop. Girona is in the last playoff spot. At 6', Guruzeta gives Amorebieta the lead--1-0, now in the second half. Amorebieta holds on to win. Girona could drop out of the last playoff spot.

1815 Eibar 2, Huesca 1 Eibar leads LaLiga2 after their big win in Almería, although their lead over Almería is only on H2H. Huesca is 15th, seven points above the drop and eight points shy of the last playoff spot. Eibar must win to take first place back from Valladolid. Scoreless at the half in Ipurúa. And it looks very difficult for Eibar to recover the top spot, as Seoane gives Huesca the lead at 52'--0-1. Now at about 65'. Shows what I know Stoichkov scores for Eibar at 75' and again at 85'--2-1, and Eibar is back on top Alvaro Tejero assisted on both of Stoichkov's goals. Eibar wins it; they'll be atop LaLiga2 at the end of the jornada, whether Almería wins, ties, or loses.

1815 Lugo 1, Burgos 0 Lugo is now 13th, eight points above the drop and one point back of 11th place Burgos. Scoreless first half in the Anxo Carro. At 71', Cuéllar gives Lugo the advantage--1-0. That proves to be the winner. For the moment, Lugo rises to 10th place.

2100 Oviedo 2, Almería 0 Oviedo comes off a crushing 4-0 defeat in Tenerife; they are five points shy of the last playoff spot. Almería . . . well, one point in their last four games pretty much sums it up; they've lost a huge lead in the quest for automatic promotion, although they're still two points ahead of third-place Valladolid. Oviedo puts themselves back together after that loss in Tenerife; a goal by Borja Bastón at 24' and an own goal by Almería's Babic at 67' have given Oviedo a 2-0 win, lifting Oviedo to within two points of the last playoff spot. Almería drops out of the automatic promo spots and will finish this jornada in third place.

Sun. 30 Jan.

1400 Leganés 1, Alcorcón 0 Lega is three points and one place above the drop. Alcor is buried 14 points back of Lega. After a scoreless first half, Juan Muñoz converts a pk at 65' to give Lega the lead in a very important game for the home team--1-0. And the 1-0 holds up; Lega passes, for the moment, Mirandés and Zaragoza, and is now 16th; more important, they're five points above the drop.

1600 Cartagena 3, Fuenlabrada 0 Cartagena is two points and one place shy of the last playoff spot. Fuenla is the top of the drop, three points back of Leganés. Because of other results, Cartagena is now assured to rise to the last playoff spot if they can win this game. And at 37', Rubén Castro gives Cartagena the lead--1-0. And they're at the half in Cartagonova. At 69', Rubén Castro does it again--2-0 and Cartagena would really have to blow it to fail to rise into the last playoff spot At 90', Richard Boateng ices it for Cartagena--3-0. And that's the final.

All seven home teams that have played to this point this weekend have won A sweep, perhaps 3-0 with 20 minutes to go--Mirandés would appear to be a winner. Can Las Palmas break the draw with 20 minutes left No, the Canaries are the first team of the nine that have played this weekend that hasn't won.

1815 Las Palmas 0, Real Sociedad "B" 0 The Canaries are three points and two places back of the last playoff spot. La Real is next-to-last, eight points back of the lowest team not in the drop. Scoreless first half in the Estadio Gran Canaria. And the second half also ends scoreless.

1815 Mirandés 3, Málaga 0 Mirandés is four points and two places above the drop. Málaga is eight points above the drop and seven points back of the last playoff spot. At 3', Brugué gives Mirandés the lead--1-0. This would be an important win for Mirandés. At 39', Sergio Camello makes it 2-0 for Mirandés, and it's halftime in Anduva. At 49', Hassan makes it 3-0 for Mirandés. Mirandés climbs six points above the drop.

2100 Ponferradina 1, Tenerife 2 Ponfe is fifth, five points back of automatic promotion and five points ahead of the highest team not in the playoffs. Tete is in fourth place, four points shy of automatic promotion. At 42', Yuri de Souza gives Ponfe the lead--1-0. If Ponfe goes on to win, they'll be in fourth place; if not, Tete will be fourth and Ponfe will be fifth. Halftime in El Toralín. At 71', Elady ties for Tete with a pk--1-1; at 78', Enric Gallego scores what proves to be the winner for Tenerife. Tete is in fourth place; Ponfe is fifth.

Mon. 31 Jan. 2100 Ibiza 2, Zaragoza 2 Under new coach Paco Jémez, Ibiza has won their last three games, scoring 13 goals and conceding three; they've climbed to ninth place, four points shy of a playoff spot. Zaragoza is five points and three places above the drop. Zaragoza takes a lead of 0-2 on goals by Francho at 15' and Petrovic at 24'. In the second half, Ibiza comes to the party on goals by Sergio Castel at 61' and 65'--2-2. Now at 80'--can Ibiza complete the comeback No, they couldn't. Ibiza drops to 10th place and Zaragoza to 18th--at least they're five points above the drop.

[AlanK]

The Top and The Drop with Jornada 25 complete and no team having even one game in hand ( )

1. Eibar--------------49 points; +39-28 Next at Sporting. Eibar looks pretty solid . . .
2. Valladolid----------47 points; +36-24 At Fuenla.
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3. Almería-----------46 points; +39-21 Hosts Ibiza. How to . . . make a hash of your season . . .
4. Tenerife-----------45 points; +35-19 Hosts Lega. Hanging tough
5. Ponferradina-------41 points; +31-23 At Girona.
6. Cartagena---------39 points; +33-32 Hosts Las Palmas. Can Rubén Castro lift them into the playoffs
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7. Girona------------38 points; +33-28 Hosts Ponfe. Can they get back on track
8. Oviedo------------36 points; +28-24 At Amorebieta. Can they make the playoffs
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18. Zaragoza---------29 points; +19-25 Hosts Málaga.
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19. Amorebieta-------24 points; +29-36 Hosts Oviedo. Gonna be hard to rise above the drop . . .
20. Fuenlabrada-------23 points; +20-31 Hosts Valladolid.
21. Real Soc. "B"-------19 points; +20-33 Hosts Lugo.
22. Alcorcón----------12 points; +18-47 At Burgos. Is there hope

[AlanK]

Jornada 26 starts tomorrow, Fri. 4 Feb., to wit

Fri. 4 Feb.

2100 Burgos 3, Alcorcón 1--goals by Xisco to give Alcor the lead at 4'--0-1; Mumo at 25' and Pablo Valcarce at 28' give Burgos the lead at the half--2-1. At 61', Aitor Córdoba makes it 3-1 for Burgos. And 3-1 is the final. Burgos passes Lugo and climbs to 11th place.

2100 Almería 2, Ibiza 0 Scoreless first half in the Juegos Mediterráneos. Can Almería get back on track after going 0-1-4 in their last five games Yes, there is life in Almería--Ramazani converts a pk at 57', and Almería leads 1-0. If they win, they'll be back in second place, at least until Valladolid plays on Sunday. At 74', Ramazani gets to take another pk . . . but he misses But Almería looks to win anyway--Umar Sadiq would seem to have iced it with a goal at 93'. So Almería is back in an automatic promotion spot, at least for the moment.

Sat. 5 Feb.

1600 Real Sociedad "B" 1, Lugo 1 La Real, even with a win, would still be seven points shy of the lowest team not in the drop. Lugo is in mid-table and would climb to eighth place with a win. At 30', Manu Barreiro converts a pk to give Lugo the lead--0-1. Halftime in Anoeta. At 72', Karrikaburu ties for la Real--1-1. And that's the final.

1815 Zaragoza 1, Málaga 1 Zaragoza is five points above the drop and two points back of Málaga; the latter is one of the worst teams in LaLiga2 away from home with a record of 1-4-7. Antoñín gives Málaga the lead at 26'--0-1. Halftime in the Romareda. At 63', Eugeni Valderrama ties for the maños as he converts a pk--1-1. That's the final. Zaragoza is now six points above the drop and remains just two points back of Málaga.

2030 Girona 3, Ponferradina 0 Girona goes into this game in seventh place, three points back of fifth-place Ponfe. The latter won 2-1 when they first met this season, so Girona needs a two-goal win to pass Ponfe on H2H. Girona take the lead . . . well, I have two scorers at two slightly different times--Stuani at 19' or Samu Saiz at 20'. These both from marca.com Futbolme gives the second of these. Halftime in Montilivi. At 75', Juanpe makes it 2-0; Girona is now ahead of Ponfe in fifth place. And David Juncà makes it 3-0 at 80', pretty much locking in Girona in fifth place . . . at least unless Cartagena wins tomorrow. And 3-0 is the final.

2030 Sporting 0, Eibar 1 Sporting is 13th in LaLiga2 coming into this game; their season has rapidly gone down the drain. Can they recover a bit of pride by beating the league leaders Doesn't look good for Sporting, as José Corpas gives Eibar the lead at 20'--0-1. Halftime in the Molinón. And Eibar wins, thus locking in first place at the jornada's end.

Sun. 6 Feb.

1400 Amorebieta 1, Oviedo 1 Can Oviedo make a bid for the playoffs Great start for Oviedo, as Borja Bastón gives them the lead at 5'--0-1. But Amorebieta ties it at 10', as Guruzeta scores--1-1. Halftime. Scoreless second half in Lezama. Not what either team wanted or needed.

1400 Fuenlabrada 0, Valladolid 0 Can Valladolid win to recapture second place Scoreless first half in the Fernando Torres. Scoreless second half--not what either team wanted or needed here either.

1815 Cartagena 0, Las Palmas 2 Huge game for these two, as a chance to end up in the playoffs is to some extent in the balance. Cartagena comes in three points above the Canaries, but it's the latter that has scored twice in the first half hour--goals by Viera with a pk at 17' and Jesé at 28' make it 0-2 and give Las Palmas H2H over Cartagena, both at this moment at 39 points and tied for seventh place. Halftime in Cartagonova. No goals in the second half; Las Palmas is one place from the last playoff spot.

1815 Huesca 4, Mirandés 0 Each is at 30 points coming in; the winner climbs to 13th place. Scoreless first half in El Alcoraz. Daniel Escriche gives Huesca the lead at 60'--1-0. Gerard Valentín makes it 2-0 at 70'. Seoane makes it 3-0 at about 78', pretty much icing the win. Huesca pours it on--now 4-0 as Poveda converts a pk at about 84'. And 4-0 is the final.

2100 Tenerife 0, Leganés 0 A win for Tete would leave them even on points with third-place Valladolid and one point back of second-place Almería. Scoreless in the Heliodoro at the half. Can Tete break through to win it No, they couldn't; they remain in fourth place, three points back of automatic promotion. Lega rises to 16th place on GD; they're still five points above the drop.

[AlanK]

The Top and The Drop after Jornada 26 is complete

1. Eibar--------------52 points; +40-28 Next hosts Fuenla.
2. Almería------------49 points; +41-21 At Málaga.
-----------------------------------
3. Valladolid----------48 points; +36-24 Hosts Girona.
4. Tenerife-----------46 points; +35-19 At Alcorcón.
5. Girona-------------41 points; +36-28 At Valladolid.
6. Ponferradina-------41 points; +31-26 Hosts Real Sociedad "B".
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19. Amorebieta--------25 points; +30-37 At Lugo.
20. Fuenlabrada-------24 points; +20-31 At Eibar.
21. Real Soc. "B"-------20 points; +21-34 At Ponfe.
22. Alcorcón----------12 points; +19-50 Hosts Tenerife.

[AlanK]

Jornada 27 starts tomorrow

Fri. 11 Feb. 2100 Leganés 2, Zaragoza 1 Scoreless first half in Butarque. Cissé scores to give Lega the lead at about 52'--1-0. At 75', José Arnaiz scores another for Lega--2-0. At 89', Iván Azón scores for Zaragoza--2-1. And Lega, with the win, climbs eight points above the drop. Zaragoza remains five points above the drop.

Sat. 12 Feb.

1600 Mirandés 0, Sporting 3 Will Sporting awaken from their nightmare At 33', Uros Djurdjevic converts a pk to give Sporting the lead--0-1, and so far, so good Halftime in Anduva. At about 68', Aitor García makes it 0-2 . . . and the 0-3 comes almost immediately: at 72', Christian Rivera the scorer. Sporting's win leaves Mirandés as the lowest team not in the drop, although they still have a five-point cushion.

1815 Ibiza 2, Cartagena 1 Guerrero converts a pk at 23' to give Ibiza the lead--1-0. At 45'+3', Mo Dauda ties for Cartagena--1-1 at the half. Another pk is converted for Ibiza at 75', this one by Cristian Herrera--2-1. And that proves to be the winner, Can Ibiza aspire to bigger things than "permanencia" this season

1815 Valladolid 2, Girona 2 At 45', Bernardo Espinosa gives Girona the lead--0-1 at the half. At about 60', Sergio León ties for Valladolid--1-1. At 81', Jon Morcillo gives Valladolid the lead--2-1; this would be a big win for Valladolid. But Samu Saiz converts a pk for Girona at 88' to tie it at 2-2. Huge point for Girona in a VERY tough venue.

2030 Málaga 0, Almería 1 Almería would catch Eibar at 52 points with a win, although they'd trail the leaders on H2H. Scoreless first half in the Rosaleda. Umar Sadiq gives Almería the lead at 53'--0-1. And that score holds up; Almería locks in second place at the jornada's end.

Sun. 13 Feb.

1400 Eibar 0, Fuenlabrada 0 Eibar would remain atop LaLiga2 even should they lose this game. Fuenla would climb to the top of the drop with a win. Scoreless first half in Ipurúa. And scoreless game. Eibar stays atop LaLiga2 by a point over Almería. Fuenla is tied on points for "Top of the Drop."

1600 Oviedo 3, Huesca 3 Oviedo would climb to within a point of the last playoff spot with a win. And Borja Bastón gets Oviedo off to a great start with a goal at about 5'--1-0. At 22', Samuel Obeng makes it 2-0 for Oviedo. At 28', el Real Oviedo rolls on--Carlos Isaac makes it 3-0. At about 37', Darío Poveda gets Huesca on the board--3-1. Halftime in the Nuevo Carlos Tartiere. One of Oviedo's worst traits rears its ugly head--they have trouble holding a lead; they were up by three, and now they have given up the same number--Seoane at 57' and Ignacio Miquel at 72' are the second-half scorers for Huesca. And 3-3 is the final, as Oviedo lets precious points escape once again.

1815 Alcorcón 0, Tenerife 2 Tete has a chance to gain ground on Eibar and Valladolid if they can win at the "farolillo rojo." Alex Muñoz scores at 37' to give Tete the lead and lift them past Valladolid on GD--0-1. Halftime in Santo Domingo. At 51', David Fernández of Alcor puts one into his own net--0-2. Tete is now third, passing Valladolid on GD.

1815 Lugo 1, Amorebieta 1 Lugo could rise to mid-table with a win against top of the drop Amorebieta. Lugo scores at about 39'--1-0; goal by Carlos Pita. Halftime in the Anxo Carro. Lugo holds on until the last gasp, when Javi Ros ties for Amorebieta. The latter is now top of the drop by one point above Fuenlabrada and four points back of the lowest teams not in the drop--Mirandés and Zaragoza.

2100 Las Palmas 0, Burgos 2 Las Palmas would climb into the last playoff spot with a win . . . at least until tomorrow, when Ponfe plays. Scoreless first half in the Estadio Gran Canaria. Aitor Córdoba gives Burgos the lead at 48'--0-1. At 71', Andy makes it 0-2 for Burgos. At 80', Jonathan Viera takes a pk for Las Palmas . . . and he fails to convert! Still 0-2. And that's the final. Big win for Burgos, now in a logjam at 38 points. Not a game the Canaries could afford to lose.

Mon. 14 Feb.2100 Ponferradina 3, Real Sociedad "B" 2 . . . and a happy Día de San Valentín to you At 30', Erik Morán gives Ponfe the lead; Ponfe is in fifth place at the moment, two points ahead of sixth-place Girona. Halftime in El Toralín. At 61', Jon Karrikaburu converts a pk to tie for la Real--1-1. If this result holds, Ponfe will be sixth, even on points with Girona. But Yuri de Souza converts a pk for Ponfe at 72'--2-1. La Real ties it up again on a goal by Julen Lobete at 79'--2-2. At 92', Edu Espiau gives Ponfe the lead and maybe the win Indeed, Ponfe holds on

[AlanK]

Jornada 27 is complete; 15 games to go in this season The Top and The Drop to date

1. Eibar---------------53 points; +40-28 Next at Girona. Straight back up to LaLiga
2. Almería-------------52 points; +42-21 Hosts Mirandés. Are the bad times over
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3. Tenerife------------49 points; +37-19 Hosts Ibiza.
4. Valladolid----------49 points; +38-26 At Cartagena.
5. Ponferradina--------44 points; +34-28 At Sporting.
6. Girona-------------42 points; +38-30 Hosts Eibar.
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7. Las Palmas----------39 points; +34-32 At Zaragoza.
8. Cartagena----------39 points; +34-36 Hosts Valladolid.
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18. Zaragoza----------30 points; +21-28 Hosts Las Palmas.
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19. Amorebieta--------26 points; +31-38 Hosts Leganés.
20. Fuenlabrada--------25 points; +20-31 Hosts Alcor.
21. Real Soc. "B"--------20 points; +23-37 Hosts Málaga.
22. Alcorcón-----------12 points; +19-52 At Fuenla.