Spanish Second Division "A": LaLiga2, 2022-2023

[AlanK]

Jornada 16 begins

Fri. 18 Nov. 2100 Granada 4, Albacete 0 #8 hosts #9, both at 22 points, which total leaves both of these two eight points off the league lead and three points back of the last playoff spot. After a scoreless first half, Granada blows 'em out in the second half: goals by Callejón at 53', Ricard Sánchez at 71', and Bryan Zaragoza at 76'; at 87', Glauder of el Alba scores an own goal--4-0. Granada, for the moment, climbs to sixth place, passing Cartagena on GD.

Sat. 19 Nov.

1615 Ponferradina 1, Oviedo 1 Ponfe is one place and two points above the drop. They trail Oviedo by one place, on GD only. After a scoreless first half in El Toralín, Oviedo's Borja Bastón breaks the ice at 57'--0-1. Oviedo holds on until 93', when Derik ties it for Ponfe--1-1, which is the final score. Each climbs one place for the moment.

1830 Sporting 2, Leganés 2 Sporting is in mid-table, four points back of the last playoff spot and seven points above the drop. Leganés is one point and one place back of Sporting. At 22', Rubén Pardo gives Lega the lead--0-1. At 24', Campuzano ties for Sporting--1-1. At 35', Cristo converts a pk to give Sporting the lead--2-1 at the half in the Molinón. At 69', José Arnaiz ties for Lega, and 2-2 is the final.

1830 Tenerife 2, Huesca 0 Tete is 15th in LaLiga2, three points above the drop and six points back of seventh-place Huesca. Scoreless first half in the Heliodoro. At 52', Waldo scores for Tenerife, and at 81', Teto makes it 2-0--good win for Tenerife in a rough season for them.

2100 Zaragoza 1, Málaga 1 Zaragoza is two points and three places above the drop. Last-place ("farolillo rojo") Málaga is six points back of the lowest teams not in the drop. Scoreless first half in the Romareda. At 79', Haitam gives Málaga the lead--0-1. Giuliano ties for Zaragoza at 88'--1-1 is the final score, with both teams staying where they were in the ranking.

Sun. 20 Nov.

1400 Villarreal "B" 1, Ibiza 0 The "Mini-Sub" is 13th, five points back of the last playoff spot and six points above the drop. Ibiza is nest-to-last, four points back of the lowest teams not in the drop. After a scoreless first half, Collado gives the Mini-Sub the lead at 54'--1-0. That goal holds up for the Mini-Sub, lifting them to ninth place. Ibiza remains next-to-last.

1615 Andorra 4, Lugo 0 Andorra is in mid-table, four points back of the last playoff spot. Lugo is top-of-the-drop, two points back of each of the three teams immediately above them. Scoreless first half. At 69' and 74', Bundu scores for Andorra; at 78', Bakis adds another for the home team--3-0 with a few minutes remaining. At 86', Bakis adds another to the goleada--4-0, which is the final score. Andorra climbs two places to eighth.

1900 Eibar 0, Alavés 0 A Basque derby Eibar is in fifth place, six points back of league-leader Alavés. Scoreless first half in Ipurúa. And scoreless second half. Alavés will end the jornada in first place, thanks to the point they won here. Eibar, at the moment, is fourth.

1900 Racing Santander 0, Burgos 1 Racing is 14th, four points above the drop. Burgos is in third place, three points off the league lead. Scoreless first half in the Sardinero. Breakthrough at 67': Curro scores to give Burgos the lead--0-1. And the goal by Curro holds up. Burgos, at the moment, is in second place.

2100 Levante 1, Las Palmas 1 #4 hosts #2. Levante trails the Canaries by one point. Scoreless first half in the Ciutat de Valencia. 13,436 on hand. At 51', VAR awards a pk to Levante; Roberto Soldado converts at 52'--1-0. If this holds, Levante will pass Las Palmas and sleep in third place, back of Alavés and Burgos. But at 95', the last minute to be played, Marc Cardona ties it with a header off the crossbar and in--1-1 So the Canaries take third place for the moment; Levante is fourth, but could be passed by Cartagena tomorrow.

Mon. 21 Nov. 2100 Mirandés 2, Cartagena 1 Mirandés is 20th, in the drop and three points back of the lowest teams not in the drop. Cartagena is in the last playoff spot, five points off the league lead. Scoreless first half in Anduva. At 57', Roberto López converts a pk to give Mirandés the lead--1-0. If their lead holds up, Mirandés will climb to top of the drop, one point back of the three teams each at 17 points. Cartagena would drop to seventh place, behind Granada only on GD. At 71', Barbu makes it 2-0 for the home team, and Sadiku cuts the margin to 2-1 at 94'. And 2-1 is the final score.

[AlanK]

Jornada 16 is now complete--here are The Top and The Drop

1. Alavés------------31 points; +18-12 Next hosts Villarreal "B".
2. Burgos-----------30 points; +13-4 Hosts Zaragoza.
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3. Las Palmas--------28 points; +18-9 Hosts Tenerife in the Canary Island derby
4. Levante----------27 points; +18-12 At Lugo.
5. Eibar-------------27 points; +18-13 At Cartagena.
6. Granada----------25 points; +19-11 At Leganés.
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7. Cartagena--------25 points; +20-16 Hosts Eibar.
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16. Zaragoza--------17 points; +10-14 At Burgos.
17. Oviedo----------17 points; +10-14 Hosts Mirandés.
18. Ponferradina-----17 points; +17-24 At Málaga.
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19. Mirandés---------16 points; +15-20 At Oviedo.
20. Lugo-------------14 points; +15-23 Hosts Levante.
21. Ibiza-------------12 points; +11-24 Hosts Andorra.
22. Málaga-----------11 points; +12-22 Hosts Ponfe.

Note that Jornada 17 kicks off on Fri. 25 Nov.; Jornada 18 on Wed. 30 Nov. and Jornada 19 on Tues. 6 Dec.

[AlanK]

Jornada 17 kicks off Fri. 25 Nov.

Fri. 25 Nov. 2100 Huesca 0, Sporting 0 Huesca is ninth, two points back of the last playoff spot. Sporting is one point and two places back of Huesca. Tablas, and scoreless at that, in El Alcoraz, which results leave Huesca ninth, and Sporting rises to 10th on GD.

Sat. 26 Nov.

1615 Alavés 2, Villarreal "B" 0 Alavés leads LaLiga2 by one point over Burgos and three points over Las Palmas, now in third place. The Mini-Sub is in mid-table, eight points back of leaders Alavés. At 44', Alavés takes the lead as Salva Sevilla converts a pk--1-0 at the half. At 85', Benavídez pretty much ices it for Alavés--2-0, and it looks as though Alavés will retain the top spot in LaLiga2 for at least a bit longer. And so it comes to pass, 2-0 the final.

1615 Málaga 1, Ponferradina 0. Málaga is dead last, six points back of Ponfe, which is the lowest team not in the drop. Scoreless first half in the Rosaleda. At 58', Erik Morán of Ponfe scores an own goal--"él no quería"--1-0. Málaga climbs out of last place, but not out of the drop. Ponfe could fall into the drop should Mirandés or Lugo win their games.

1830 Albacete 2, Racing Santander 1 El Alba is 12th, three points back of the last playoff spot. El Racing is two points and four places above the drop. El Alba takes the lead at 34' on a goal by Maikel Mesa--1-0. Halftime in the Carlos Belmonte. Iñigo Vicente ties for Racing at 60'--1-1. At 76', Juan María scores what turns out to be the winner for el Alba--2-1 the final. El Alba climbs at least three places to ninth.

1830 Oviedo 1, Mirandés 0 Oviedo is one point and two places ahead of Mirandés, which is the top of the drop. Oviedo takes the lead at 22' as Borja Bostón scores--1-0. Halftime in the Nuevo Carlos Tartiere. Oviedo holds on to win; the Ovetenses climb, for the moment, a couple of places away from the drop.

2200 Las Palmas 3, Tenerife 1 The Canary Island derby Las Palmas is third, three points off the league lead. Tete is in lower mid-table, four points and five places above the drop. Las Palmas climbs--for the moment, anyway--to second place. Goals by Pejiño at 39' and 57' and one by Andone at 89' made it 3-0; Mo Dauda scored the "gol del honor" for Tenerife at 93'--3-1 the final.

Sun. 27 Nov.

1400 Burgos 2, Zaragoza 2 Burgos, the "equipo revelación," is in second place, one point off the pace. Zaragoza is 16th, one point and three places above the drop. Scoreless first half in El Plantío. At 55', Jair gives the visitors the lead--0-1. At 65', Gaspar ties for the home team--1-1. Zaragoza retakes the lead at 90', when Atienza of Burgos scores an own goal--1-2. But at 92', Curro ties for Burgos--2-2. And that's the final. Burgos drops to third place--they now trail Las Palmas only on GD. Zaragoza remains 16th, ahead of Racing but behind Oviedo.

1615 Leganés 1, Granada 0 Lega is in lower mid-table, five points above the drop. Granada is in the last playoff spot, ahead of Cartagena only on GD. Scoreless first half. Dani Raba gives Lega the lead at 53'--1-0. Lega holds on to win and climbs to 11th place for the moment.

1615 Lugo 1, Levante 1 Lugo is 20th, three points and two places below the lowest team not in the drop. Levante is in fourth place, four points off the lead. At 12', Sebas Moyano gives Lugo the lead--1-0. At 34, Campaña converts a pk to tie the score--1-1. Now at the half. And 1-1 is apparently the final score, although Levante was at first reported to have scored at 93'--apparently they didn't.

1800 Cartagena 2, Eibar 1 Cartagena is seventh, one point back of the last playoff spot. Eibar is fifth, four point off the league lead. Yanis gives Eibar the lead with a goal at 10'--0-1. Halftime in Cartagonova. At 68', Sadiku converts a pk to tie it--1-1. At 96', Ortuño scores the winner for Cartagena--2-1. Cartagena passes Eibar and moves into fifth place, back of Levante on GD.

Mon. 28 Nov. 2100 Ibiza 0, Andorra 1 Ibiza is next-to-last, five points back of the lowest team not in the drop. Andorra is eighth, one point back of the last playoff spot. At 11', Bakis converts a pk for Andorra, and that holds up as the game winner--0-1 the final. Ibiza ends the jornada as farolillo rojo, while Andorra moves into the last playoff spot.

[AlanK]

Jornada 17 is complete and in the books; weird schedule coming which kicks off Wed. 30 Nov. Here are the top and the drop after Monday's game

1. Alavés--------------34 points; +20-12 Next at Granada.
2. Las Palmas----------31 points; +21-10 At Sporting.
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3. Burgos-------------31 points; +15-6 At Ponfe.
4. Levante------------28 points; +19-13 Hosts Málaga.
5. Cartagena----------28 points; +22-17 At Andorra.
6. Andorra------------27 points; +20-13 Hosts Cartagena.
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7. Eibar---------------27 points; +19-15 Hosts Huesca.
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18. Ponferradina-------17 points; +17-25 Hosts Burgos.
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19. Mirandés----------16 points; +15-21 Hosts Albacete.
20. Lugo--------------15 points; +16-24 At Racing.
21. Málaga------------14 points; +13-22 At Levante.
22. Ibiza--------------12 points; +11-25 At Zaragoza.

[AlanK]

Jornada 18 shapes up this way

Wed. 30 Nov. 2100 Tenerife 0, Oviedo 1 Tete is 14th, four points above the drop; they're even on points with 15th place Oviedo, whom they lead on GD. After a scoreless first half in the Heliodoro, Oviedo takes the lead on a goal by David Costas at 52'; this proves to be a winner: 0-1 the final. Oviedo only climbs one place in the standings, but they're now seven points above the drop.

Fri. 2 Dec. 2130 Granada 3, Alavés 1 Granada is now 8th, two points back of the last playoff spot and nine point off the lead, which is held by Alavés; the latter's lead over second place is three points. Great result for Granada, coming back from a goal down to win going away; they climb to fourth place on GD ahead of Levante and Cartagena on GD, while Alavés will drop out of first place should Las Palmas or Burgos win Saturday or Monday, respectively. At 11', Alkain gave Alavés the lead, but Granada came back at 23' as Uzini tied it, and took the lead at 31' as Meseguer scored, and iced it at 54' as Molina made it 3-1.

Sat. 3 Dec.

1615 Zaragoza 2, Ibiza 1 in progress. Los maños are 16th, two points above the drop. Ibiza is now the farolillo rojo, five points back of the lowest team not in the drop. At 33', Juan Ibiza (that's his playing name--no, really!) gives Ibiza the lead--0-1 at the half. Jair ties for Zaragoza at 68'. At 91', Bermejo sccores the winner for Zaragoza--2-1. Zaragoza climbs one place to 15th; Ibiza sinks deeper into last place.

1830 Mirandés 4, Albacete 2 Mirandés is now the top of the drop, just one point back of Ponfe. El Alba is ninth, two points back of the last playoff spot. At 5', Riki gives Alba the lead--0-1. At 34', Pinchi ties for Mirandés--1-1; Mirandés has apparently scored another to take the lead--no details yet. Confirmed, as Raúl scores at 37'. And Roberto López adds another at 41', to make it 3-1 for the home team. If Mirandés can win this one, they'll be above the drop, at least for the moment. And it's 3-1 at the half in Anduva. At 62', Pinchi scores another for Mirandés--4-1. At 85', Higinio cuts the margin to 4-2 for el Alba, but that's the final.

1830 Sporting 0, Las Palmas 1 Sporting is in mid-table, four points and six places back of the lowest team in a playoff spot. The Canaries are in second place, three points off the pace; they're ahead of Burgos only on GD. At 26', Roberto Izquierdoz (GREAT name ) of Sporting scores an own goal to give Las Palmas the lead--0-1. And at the moment, this goal has also given Las Palmas the league lead--they are tied at 24 points each and the Canaries are +12 on goals scored, while Alavés is +6 . . . but Las Palmas needs go on to win this game to stay atop LaLiga2. It remains 0-1 at the half in the Molinón. Las Palmas holds on to win and go top, at least for the moment.

2100 Villarreal "B" 0, Leganés 0 The Mini-Sub is 13th, seven points above the drop. Lega is one point and two places ahead of the Mini-Sub. Scoreless first half, and the second half also ends scoreless. For the moment, the Mini-Sub climbs one place to 12th; Lega climbs two places to ninth.

Sun. 4 Dec.

1400 Andorra 0, Cartagena 1 Andorra has risen to the last playoff spot, seven points off the league lead and ahead of seventh-place Eibar only on GD. Cartagena is in fifth place, one point and one place ahead of Andorra. Scoreless first half. At 93', Isak Jansson scores to give Cartagena the win Cartagena climbs to third place, back of Burgos on GD and back of first place by three points.

1615 Racing Santander 0, Lugo 1 Racing is 17th, two points and two places above the drop. Lugo is 20th, two points and two places below the lowest team not in the drop and three points back of Racing. Scoreless at halftime in the Sardinero. At 61', Chris Ramos scores for Lugo--0-1. If this result holds up, Lugo will pass Ponfe and also Racing, the latter on GD only, but that's enough to lift Lugo above the drop for the moment. My mistake--Lugo still trails Racing on GD, so with this win in the books, Lugo is top of the drop.

1830 Eibar 2, Huesca 1 Eibar is in seventh place, back of the last playoff spot only on GD. Huesca is three points and three places back of Eibar. At 34', Dani Escriche gives Huesca the lead--0-1; Huesca is now even on points with Eibar, but trails Eibar on GD. Halftime in Ipurúa. Eibar leaves it late, but they come back to win: Corpas converts a pk at 86" to make it even--1-1; At 92', Rubén Pulido of Huesca scores an own goal--2-1 for Eibar the final. Eibar at the moment is in fifth place; they'll drop one place should Levante win the late game today. Huesca drops one place to 11th.

2100 Levante 1, Málaga 0 Levante is in fourth place, six points off the league lead. Málaga is next-to-last, three points back of the lowest team not in the drop. Scoreless at the half. At 62', what proves to be the winner: Iborrra scores for Levante, and his goal holds up--1-0 the final. Levante remains in fourth place, tied with Burgos on points but trailing them on GD; tied with Cartagena on points, but ahead of them on GD. Málaga remains next-to-last, now four points shy of the lowest teams not in the drop.

Mon. 5 Dec. 2100 Ponferradina 1, Burgos 2 Ponfe is one place and one point above the drop. Burgos is third, three points off the league lead. Burgos needs to win by four goals to take over first place on GD. At 31', Gaspar Campos gives Burgos the lead--0-1. But at 38', Hugo Vallejo ties for Ponfe--1-1. And halftime arrives in the Toralín--1-1. At 69', Mourad scores what proves to be the winner for Burgos--1-2. Burgos climbs to an automatic promotion spot; Ponfe ends the jornada in the drop.

[AlanK]

The top and the drop after jornada 18 is complete in the books

1. Las Palmas--------------34 points; +22-10 Next at Oviedo.
2. Burgos-----------------34 points; +17-7 Hosts Eibar.
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3. Alavés-----------------34 points; +21-15 At Tenerife.
4. Levante----------------31 points; +20-13 Hosts Ponfe.
5. Cartagena--------------31 points; +23-17 Hosts Villarreal "B".
6. Eibar------------------30 points; +21-16 At Burgos.
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7. Granada---------------28 points; +22-13 At Málaga, in what is the equivalent of a derby
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18. Racing--------------18 points; +9-14 At Ibiza.
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19. Lugo----------------18 points; +17-24 Hosts Sporting.
20. Ponferradina----------17 points; +18-27 At Levante.
21. Málaga--------------14 points; +13-23 Hosts Granada.
22. Ibiza----------------12 points; +12-27 Hosts Racing.

[AlanK]

Jornada 19 starts today, Tues. 6 Dec., to wit

1900 Leganés 2, Mirandés 2 Lega is in mid-table; Mirandés is now a point and two places above the drop. At 7', Juan Muñoz gives Lega the lead--1-0. At 38', Roberto López ties for the visitors--1-1, now at the half. At 57', Juanlu gives Mirandés the lead--1-2. At 90', Dani Raba ties it for Leganés--2-2; that's the final score.

1900 Oviedo 0, Las Palmas 0 Oviedo has climbed to lower mid-table, five points above the drop. Las Palmas leads the league Scoreless first half in the Nuevo Carlos Tartiere. Las Palmas goes top alone, one point ahead of both Burgos and Alavés. Burgos can go top with a win on Thurs. over Eibar in El Plantío, while Alavés can pass Las Palmas on Wed. at Tenerife.

2100 Albacete 0, Zaragoza 0 El Alba is in upper mid-table, six points above the drop. Zaragoza is 15th, three points above the drop. Scoreless first half in the Carlos Belmonte. And it ends scoreless. El Alba is in mid-table; Zaragoza is four points above the drop.

[AlanK]

Jornada 19 three games today, to wit

Wed. 7 Dec.

1900 Cartagena 0, Villarreal "B" 1 Cartagena is in sixth place, the last playoff spot. A win would tie them on points for places 2, 3, and 4--at least for a short while. The Mini-Sub is in mid-table, six points above the drop. Pacheco gives the Mini-Sub the lead at 55'--0-1. And that goal proves to be a winner for the Mini-Sub.

1900 Huesca 1, Andorra 0 Huesca is in mid-table. Andorra has dropped to 8th place, three points back of the last playoff spot. Juan Carlos converts a pk at 58' to give Huesca the lead--1-0. And the score holds up; Huesca wins.

2100 Tenerife 2, Alavés 1 Tete tries to put the brakes on their skid toward the relegation zone: they're two points thereabove at the moment. Alavés can recapture the league lead with a win--they're one point back of Las Palmas and back of Burgos only on GD. At 31', penalty--questionable--awarded to Tenerife. Enric Gallego takes the pk at 33'--saved by the goalie. At 38', Teto scores to give Tenerife the lead--1-0. And that's the score at halftime. A loss for Alavés could see them drop to fourth place should Levante win tomorrow. Tenerife could certainly use the win, which would boost them to five points above the drop. 6,749 on hand in the Heliodoro. At 51', Enric Gallego makes no mistake with the rebound off a post, which he puts in to make it 2-0. At 81', Sylla cuts the margin to 2-1, as he scores with a strange lob--did it hit somebody on the way to the goal :?:Tenerife manages to hold on

[AlanK]

Jornada 19 ends today with five games, to wit

Thurs. 8 Dec.

1400 Burgos 1, Eibar 2 Game of the Mid-Week Burgos would take over sole possession of first place with a win. Eibar would climb to fourth place with a win. Pretty even game, with Eibar perhaps a wee bit better until, at 37', Gaspar Campos of Burgos lets fly from beyond the half-moon, and his rocket opens the scoring--1-0, and Burgos leads LaLiga2 if they can hold the lead--1-0. And at the half, Burgos tops LaLiga2. 9,127 on hand in El Plantío. Eibar out strong looking to get back into the game. At 73', the Burgos goalie makes an error in failing to clear, and Stoichkov manages to put the ball into the net for Eibar--1-1. And at 87', Blanco Leschuk puts in a loose ball to give Eibar the lead--1-2. Can Burgos come back No, despite a possible penalty which the ref refused to check out with VAR. Big win for Eibar, now in fourth place, one point back of second-place Burgos and two points back of first-place Las Palmas.

1615 Lugo 0, Sporting 1 Lugo is now top of the drop. Sporting is five points above the drop. Game was decided by a goal by Zarfino at 82'--0-1 the final.

1830 Ibiza 1, Racing 0 Ibiza is dead last, six points back of the lowest team not in the drop--that would be Racing, above the drop only on GD. Still scoreless at 65'. And scoreless until 95', when Cristian Herrera converts a pk to give Ibiza the win. Ibiza remains in the drop, but at the moment they have moved up one place. Racing is now one of three teams at 18 points; Racing is the one above the drop on GD, while Ponfe and Lugo remain in the drop.

1830 Levante 0, Ponferradina 0 Levante would climb to second place with a win. Ponfe would climb out of the drop with a win--depending on how some other games come out. Still scoreless at 68'. Levante misses a huge chance to climb even with the teams at 34 points. Ponfe remains in the drop on GD.

2100 Málaga 1, Granada 1 Huge Derby game for these two teams. Málaga is next-to-last. Granada, seventh at the moment, could tie for fourth, fifth, and sixth with a win. At 37', Rubén Castro gives Málaga the lead--1-0 at halftime in the Rosaleda. A win would leave Málaga within a point of the lowest team not in the drop. Granada ties at 62' as Callejón ties it--1-1 is the final. Granada is seventh at the end of Jornada 19; Málaga is next-to-last, ahead of Ibiza on GD.

Tomorrow is an off day for LaLiga2, but they go back to a full schedule in order to complete Jornada 20 after games Sat., Sun., and Mon.. Dec. 9, 10, and 11.

[AlanK]

Jornada 19 is complete; here are The Top and The Drop

1. Las Palmas------------35 points; +22-10 Next hosts Albacete.
2. Burgos---------------34 points; +18-9 At Granada.
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3. Alavés----------------34 points; +22-17 Hosts Levante.
4. Eibar-----------------33 points; +23-17 Hosts Oviedo.
5. Levante--------------32 points; +20-13 At Alavés.
6. Cartagena------------31 points; +23-18 At Sporting.
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7. Granada--------------29 points; +23-14 Hosts Burgos.
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18. Racing--------------18 points; +9-15 Hosts Mirandés.
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19. Lugo----------------18 points; +17-25 At Ponfe.
20. Ponferradina---------18 points; +18-27 Hosts Lugo.
21. Málaga--------------15 points; +14-24 At Ibiza.
22. Ibiza----------------15 points; +13-27 Hosts Málaga.

[AlanK]

Jornada 20 starts today

Sat. 12 Dec.

1900 Andorra 1, Leganés 1 Andorra is in upper mid-table, four points back of the last playoff spot. Leganés is one point and four places back of Andorra. Scoreless early in the second half. At 74', Iván Gil gives Andorra the lead; Cissé ties for Lega five minutes later. Now in added time. And 1-1 is the final.

1900 Villarreal "B" 2, Tenerife 2 The Mini-Sub is in mid-table, four points back of the last playoff spot. Tenerife is 15th, five points above the drop. At 13', Elady converts a pk to give Tete the lead--0-1. Now early in the second half. Mellot makes it 0-2 for Tenerife at 54', but Villarreal comes back at 61' as Ontiveros converts a pk and ties it as Collado scores at 80'--2-2 the final.

2100 Zaragoza 3, Huesca 0 The maños are 16th, four points above the drop. Huesca is ninth, four points back of the last playoff spot. At 3', Francho gives Zaragoza the lead; at 14', Giuliano makes it 2-0 for the maños. At 93', Vada converts a pk to make the final score 3-0.

The schedule has been tweaked to fit around World Cup action, so on Sunday, with no World Cup matches scheduled, there will be no fewer than SEVEN games

[AlanK]

Jornada 20 continues today with SEVEN games (no World Cup to compete with), to wit

1400 Ibiza 1, Málaga 1 . . . or #22 hosts #21. Both have 15 points; the winner could climb out of the drop on GD should they score enough. At 31', Chavarría gives Málaga the lead--0-1; that's the score at the half. At 71', Cristian Herrera ties it for Ibiza--1-1. And that's the final score, so Málaga remains 21st, and Ibiza remains 22nd.

1615 Ponfe 1, Lugo 0 And here the other two in the drop go head-to-head. Both have 18 points; winner climbs above the drop. A tie would lift Lugo above the drop, at least for awhile. At 34', Naranjo gives Ponfe the lead; at the moment they are three points and two places above the drop. Can they hold on for the win Halftime in the Toralín. And 1-0 is the final. Ponfe is above the drop; Lugo will finish the jornada in the drop.

1615 Sporting 0, Cartagena 0 Sporting is in mid-table, eight points above the drop. A win would lift them three places to eighth place. Cartagena is in the last playoff spot; a win would provisionally tie them on points with the second- and third-place teams. Scoreless first half in the Molinón. And also scoreless second half. Sporting, for the moment, moves up one place to 10th; Cartagena remains sixth, at least for the moment.

1830 Eibar 1, Oviedo 0 Eibar is fourth; they'd go top with a win, at least until those ahead of them play. Oviedo is in lower mid-table, six points above the drop. Scoreless first half in Ipurúa. At 69', Eibar climbs to the top of LaLiga2, thanks to a goal by Nolaskoain--1-0. And the 1-0 holds up as Eibar goes top; can be passed by Las Palmas later today or Alavés tomorrow.

1830 Granada 1, Burgos 0 Game of the Day Granada is seventh at the beginning of today's games; a win could lift them as high as fifth place. Burgos is in second place; a win takes them to the top, at least until the pacesetters play. Granada led the league in scoring at kickoff; Burgos led in defense. Breakthrough comes for the top scorers at 41', as Uzuni gives Granada the lead. If this holds up, Granada climbs to fifth place. And it's 1-0 at the half in the Nuevo Los Cármenes. 12,113 on hand. Granada holds on to win--they climb, for the moment, to fifth place on GD, but can be passed by Levante tomorrow.

2100 Las Palmas 1, Albacete 2 Las Palmas leads the league, but just by one point over Burgos and Alavés; they'll need to win to avoid dropping as many as three places. El Alba is 13th, eight points above the drop. At 14', Manu Fuster gives el Alba the lead--0-1 at the half. At 52', Pejiño ties it for Las Palmas--1-01. But at 84', Hijinio scores what proves to be the winner for el Alba--1-2 the final. Las Palmas fails in their chance to reclaim the league lead. El Alba climbs five places to eighth.

2100 Racing 1, Mirandés 2 Racing Santander is above the drop only on GD. Mirandés is two points and one place ahead of Racing. At 18', Barbu gives Mirandés the lead; Pombo ties for Racing at 22'; 1-1 at the half in the Sardinero. At 53', Roberto López scores what proves to be the winner for Mirandés--1-2 the final. Racing finishes the jornada in the drop; Mirandés is now five points above the drop.

And the last game of the jornada is a good one

Mon. 12 Dec. 2100 Alavés 0, Levante 2 #3 hosts #5. Alavés is two points ahead of Levante going into today's game. A win for Alavés would take them to the top. A win for Levante would take them to a second-place tie on points with Las Palmas. At 18', Bouldini scores with a header to give the visitors the lead and lift them, for the moment, to third place--0-1. At 45'+1', Son scores the second of the night for Levante--0-2. And that takes us to halftime in Mendizorroza. Alavés has yet to lose at home this season, but they're going to have to rev it up to keep the unbeaten streak going. But no joy in Alava, as Levante wins it and climbs to third place; Alavés falls to fifth.

[AlanK]

The Drop is known after Sunday's games; The Top has to wait until after today's Alavés-Levante game

18. Ponferradina------------21 points; +19-27 Next at Mirandés.
--------------------------------------------
19. Racing-----------------18 points; +10-17 At Cartagena.
20. Lugo-------------------18 points; +17-26 Hosts Granada.
21. Málaga-----------------16 points; +15-25 Hosts Alavés.
22. Ibiza-------------------16 points; +14-28 At Albacete.

The next jornada is the halfway point of the season for LaLiga2

[AlanK]

Here's The Top after Jornada 20 is complete and in the books

1. Eibar---------------36 points; +24-17 Next at Levante.
2. Las Palmas----------35 points; +23-12 At Villarreal "B".
---------------------------------------
3. Levante-------------35 points; +22-13 Hosts Las Palmas.
4. Burgos-------------34 points; +18-10 Hosts Huesca.
5. Alavés--------------34 points; +22-19 At Málaga.
6. Granada------------32 points; +24-14 At Lugo.
------------------------------------
7. Cartagena----------32 points; +23-18 Hosts Racing.

The Top is so tight that we have a wild second half of the season coming up--second half starts on 6 Jan. 2023

[AlanK]

Jornada 21 marks the halfway point of the season in LaLiga2; it kicks off on

Fri. 16 Dec. 2100 Tenerife 1, Andorra 1 at the half. Tenerife is 15th, six points above the drop. Andorra is ninth, four points back of the last playoff spot. Carlos Martínez gives Andorra the lead at 13'; Elady ties for Tenerife at 31'--1-1 at the half. And 1-1 at the final whistle. For the moment, Andorra climbs to eighth place; Tenerife remains 15th.

Sat. 17 Dec.

1615 Lugo 1, Granada 0 Lugo is in the drop, three points back of the lowest team not in the drop. Granada has the best home recored in LaLiga2: 8-2-0 . . . but they have one of the worst away records:1-3-6. Still and all, they are in the last playoff spot, four points off the league lead. At 12', Loureiro gives Lugo the lead--1-0. Halftime in the Anxo Carro. Lugo holds on to win and passes both Racing and Ponfe; unless Racing wins their game, Lugo finishes the first half of the season above the drop. Granada gets coal for Christmas--another loss on the road, which is likely to leave them below the last playoff spot.

1615 Mirandés 2, Ponferradina 1 Mirandés is 17th, five points above the drop. Ponfe is 18th, three points above the drop. Raúl scores for Mirandés at 16' and at 20'--2-0. Halftime in Anduva. At 48', Yuri cuts the margin to 2-1. Ponfe goes into the drop on GD; Mirandés is now five points above the drop.

1830 Cartagena 0, Racing 3 Cartagena is seventh, back of the last playoff spot on GD. Racing has a new coach--they've descended to the top of the drop, three points back of the lowest team not in the drop. But they take the lead in this game as Iñigo Vicente scores at 16', and they'll be (barely) above the drop if they can win this game. And at 37', that becomes more likely, as Mboula makes it 0-2. Halftime in Cartagonova. At 68', Aldasoro makes it 0-3 for the visitors. Well, there is a refrán that says that if you have a new coach, victory is certain . . . Racing is ahead of both Lugo and Ponfe on GD; the three are equal in points.

1830 Villarreal "B" 0, Las Palmas 1 The Mini-Sub is in mid-table, 10 points above the drop. The Canaries are in second place, just one point off the league lead. At 15', Mfulu of Las Palmas sees a red card, and it's uphill for the Canaries But it's the Canaries that take the lead on a goal by Marc Cardona at 29''; at the moment, Las Palmas leads LaLiga2. Halftime. 1,565 on hand in the Ciudad Deportiva del Villarreal. Easy it wasn't, but Las Palmas holds on to win and take over first place. They won't get to keep it if Eibar beats Levante tomorrow or if Levante beats Eibar by a bunch of goals.

2100 Oviedo 1, Sporting 0 Another "no love lost" derby. Oviedo is 16th, six points above the drop and three points back of 11th place Sporting. At 74', Borja Bastón converts a pk to give Oviedo what proves to be the winning goal. Oviedo climbs a couple of places, and is one of four teams at 27 points. Sporting is one of those four teams. The win keeps Oviedo six points above the drop.

Sun. 18 Dec.

1400 Albacete 4, Ibiza 0 El Alba is eighth, three points back of the last playoff spot. Ibiza is the "farolillo rojo"--in last place, five points back of the lowest team not in the drop. At 11', Maikel Mesa makes it 1-0; at 28', Hijinio maks it 2-0 as he converts a pk. At 45'+2', Manu Fuster scores for 3-0 at the half. At 81', Alvaro makes it 4-0; just enough to take el Alba past Cartagena on GD into seventh place. Ibiza will stay in last place.

1900 Burgos 1, Huesca 1 Burgos is in fourth place after back to back one-goal losses. Huesca is 13th, nine points above the drop. At 45'+3', Joaquín Muñoz scores to give Huesca the lead at the half--0-1 in El Plantío. Grego ties for Burgos at 47'--1-1. And that turns out to be the final score. Burgos is in fourth place at the moment; they would drop to fifth should Alavés win in Málaga.

1900 Levante 0, Eibar 0 Game of the Jornada. Levante has climbed to third place, one point back of the league lead; the team at the top is Eibar, which has climbed to the top with three straight wins--but they're just a point ahead of Las Palmas and Levante. Scoreless first half in the Ciutat de Valencia. And scoreless second half This result means that Las Palmas leads LaLiga2 at the halfway point

2100 Málaga 1, Alavés 0 Málaga is next-to-last, ahead of last-place Ibiza only on GD. Alavés has lost three in a row and thus dropped to fifth place, but they're still just two points back of the pacesetters. Scoreless first half in the Rosaleda. At 51', Chavarría gives Málaga the lead--1-0. And the single goal holds up for Málaga, now just two points back of the lowest teams not in the drop. Alavés has fallen to fifth place.

Mon. 19 Dec. 2100 Leganés 2, Zaragoza 1 Lega is in mid-table, nine points above the drop. Zaragoza is two points and two places back of Lega; los maños are a relatively comfortable seven points above the drop. Giuliano gives Zaragoza the lead at 17', but Lega comes back to win with goals by Juan Muñoz at 33' and 75', the second of these on a pk--2-1 the final.

. . . and then Vacation time until 6 Jan., el Día de los Reyes Magos in Spain.