Girona, Getafe and Tenerife bolster promotion prospects

R. Oviedo 0-1 AD Alcorcon

A close-range 69th-minute strike from Alvaro Gimenez saw Alcorcon emerge victorious at the Carlos Tartiere to put a major dent in the Asturians' promotion aspirations. This reverse leaves Fernando Hierro's side on the fringe of the playoffs in seventh spot, whilst victory for Julio Velazquez's relegation battlers serves to make things all the more congested at the foot of the table.

RCD Mallorca 1-0 Elche CF

Mallorca struck a last-gasp 93rd-minute winner at the Iberostar Stadium to see off Elche and breathe new life into their survival bid. Lago Junior turned the ball home following a corner to hand the islanders a priceless win against Vicente Parras's strugglers, who are themselves teetering perilously just above the drop zone and in dire need of putting some points on the board.

Rayo Vallecano 2-1 Levante UD

Rayo claimed a hard-fought victory over the LaLiga 1l2l3 runaway leaders at Vallecas to pull themselves further away from the relegation mire. Adrian Embarba set the Madrilenians on their way when he broke the offside trap before slipping the ball under the visitors' custodian in the 17th minute. However, parity was restored on 41' after the division's leading marksman, Roger Marti, fired home a pinpoint strike from inside the area to haul the recently promoted Valencians level. Michel's men weren't quite done just yet though and on 67' Lass Bangoura nodded home what turned out to be the winner to send the home faithful into raptures.

CD Numancia 1-0 UCAM Murcia CF

Dani Calvo's glancing header on the brink of half-time proved enough for Numancia to edge past UCAM at Los Pajaritos, a result which sees the hosts put further distance between themselves and the dreaded drop zone. After having got their noses in front, Jagoba Arrasate's troops went on to utterly dominate proceedings, forcing the Murcians to resort to counter-attacks in their bid to conjure up an equaliser, which ultimately failed to materialise.

Girona FC 3 -1 SD Huesca

Pablo Machin's automatic promotion hopefuls show no signs of letting up as they tightened their grip on second spot by overcoming Huesca at Montilivi. Portu opened the scoring on 39' when he burst into the area and prodded home, and just two minutes later, the hosts doubled their advantage when Fran Sandaza dusted himself down and converted from the spot to put the Catalans firmly into the driving seat. Samu Saiz reduced the arrears for the playoff pretenders right on the stroke of half-time when he unleashed a long-distance screamer which whistled into the top corner. However, there was to be no comeback from the in-form visitors as Sandaza claimed his second of the night deep into injury time to edge the hosts a step closer to promotion.

CD Tenerife 2-1 CD Lugo

The Canary Islanders ended their four-game winless run by prevailing in this high-octane encounter. Aitor Sanz stooped to head the hosts in front from Samuel Camille's curling cross in the first period. Although Jorge Saenz's own goal brought Lugo level after the restart, Anthony Lozano's tap-in nine minutes from time ensured all three points stayed in Tenerife.

CD Mirandes 0-1 Sevilla Atletico

Marc Gual added another goal to his burgeoning tally, clipping home from close range to hand Sevilla At. a hard-fought win that takes them up to ninth. Mirandes, meanwhile, remain adrift at the bottom of the standings and really have their work cut out to avoid dropping down to the third division.

UD Almeria 0-3 R. Valladolid CF

Valladolid revitalised their playoff hopes with this deceptively heavy victory away to Almeria, who paid the price for failing to take their chances. Raul de Tomas opened the scoring on 34', slotting past Casto after seizing on a loose back pass. It was not until the dying stages that the contest was settled, however, with Jaime Mata drilling home an 89th-minute penalty before Joan Jordan made it 3-0 deep into stoppage time. The loss leaves the Andalusians level with three other clubs on 42 points and still perilously perched above the relegation mire.

Getafe CF 2-0 Cordoba CF

Jose Bordalas's side continued their march towards sealing a top-three finish thanks to two left-footed stunners in either half, the first an Alejandro Faurlin free-kick and the second a sumptuous strike from Chuli from the edge of the box. Cordoba, for their part, stay 17th, the vortex of doom still looming behind them.

Cadiz CF 0-0 Nastic

An entertaining affair at the Manuel de Carranza ended with a potentially valuable point apiece, although both teams could have gone away with more. Playoff hopefuls Cadiz, who were presented with the 12th Man Award from the fan group Aficiones Unidas before kick-off, went close on several occasions and missed a penalty. For their part, the Catalans, who continue to occupy the final relegation berth, spurned a late opportunity to snatch victory on the break.

CF Reus 1-0 R. Zaragoza

Reus leapfrogged Zaragoza and rose into the top half of the table courtesy of this narrow win at the Estadi Municipal. David Querol scored the only goal of the game after 27 minutes, firing home from an angle after being picked out by Mayor's cut-back.