Four For Two

With the first promotion ticket almost booked for Xerez, we can safely say that the race to the Primera Division will now see just four teams battling for two spots. The efforts of Real Sociedad and Salamanca are probably going to go by the wayside. It now boils down to Hercules, Tenerife, Zaragoza and Rayo Vallecano who are separated by just four points. There are five weeks left in the season and there is no reason to think that any of the four will be out of contention by that last Sunday.

Tenerife lost to Hercules over the weekend making it their first defeat in 18'jornadas', a truly astounding statistic. Despite their 'puntuando' ways, their pormotion is not secure.

Rayo got a boost from the previously mentioned Teresa Rivero and ripped off two straight wins since the BBQ held at the presidenta's home. Apparently all they needed was a little home cookin.

Hercules to me look the most solid of the bunch and I think they will secure promotion. Yes they have their setbacks and occasional defeats, but from a consistency standpoint, they have been the most solid.

Zaragoza has their hands full this weekend against an Alicante team that has completely defied the odds and are now just 6 points away from safety. Back around the Christmas holiday, people, including myself, were making a mockery of their coaching carousel. Evidently Carlos Granero ended up being the right guy and I'm gonna pick an Alicante upset over Zaragoza this weekend which may very well leave the Aragoneses out of the promotion spots for the rest of the season.

Alicante also faces off against Hercules and could hurt their hopes. A week later they could seal Alaves' fate into releghation to the Segunda B. The Alaves fans showed their displeasure with their team's recent play by spraypainting the team's painting ground. Classy! Sad to see the former UEFA Cup finalists have fallen.

In any event, a meeting with already relegated Sevilla Atletico in the last week of the season just may push Alicante to safety. It'll be worth watching.

Jornada 37 - Resultados

Rayo - Cordoba 5-0
R. Sociedad - Albacete 1-0
Zaragoza - Celta 3-0
Hércules - Tenerife 3-1
Alavés - Eibar 1-1
Las Palmas - Alicante 0-1
Levante - Salamanca 1-2
Elche - Girona 2-1
Murcia - Huesca 0-0
Xerez - Castellon 1-0
Sevilla At - Gimnastic 1-3

Clasificacion

1. Xerez - 75
2. Tenerife - 69
3. Zaragoza - 68
4. Hércules - 67
5. Rayo - 65
6. R. Sociedad - 60
7. Salamanca - 59
8. Levante - 56
9. Castellón - 53
10. Gimnástic - 51
11. Elche - 50
12. Huesca - 46
13. Las Palmas - 44
14. Albacete - 44
15. Murcia - 44
16. Girona - 42
17. Celta - 41
18. Córdoba - 41
19. Alavés - 37
20. Alicante - 34
21. Eibar - 30
22. Sevilla At - 16