The silver category of our football is as competitive as ever, and it’s getting even more thrilling as we approach the final stretch of the competition, which many are already calling the “Hypertension League” – a nod to its official name, Liga Hypermotion. The Second Division is as exciting as it’s ever been, and it’s time to review the standings after the Mirandés-Tenerife match that closed out the 29th round.
We’re now in the final third of the calendar, and everything is still up for grabs. The only team that seems to have its fate sealed is Cartagena, which has been adrift for weeks and is heading straight for the Primera RFEF with 15 points, 18 points away from safety. The situation is almost as dire for Tenerife, which, with 19 points after its defeat in Anduva, is seeing its horizon darken.
It’s worth remembering that two of the teams embroiled in this agonizing fight for survival have a pending match from the 24th round. The Racing Ferrol-Burgos match, which was suspended due to bad weather in January, will be played this Wednesday, March 5th, at 20:00 hours, and its outcome will help define the always-cruel struggle for survival.
The Multitudinous Fight for Promotion
The battle at the top of the table is much more evenly matched. As is typical in the silver category, the dance of teams entering and exiting the promotion and playoff zones is constant. With the 29th round just finished, Racing de Santander leads the standings with 52 points. Huesca is just one point behind, occupying the second spot. If the league were to end today, both teams would have a chance to join the elite of Spanish football, but they still have to fight to achieve that coveted goal.
Mirandés, Levante, Elche, and Oviedo are not far behind and are the teams that would currently be vying for the promotion playoff. All of them are separated by just one point. The team from Miranda de Ebro, with 51 points, leads this guerrilla, one of many fronts open in this crazy league, and the other three contenders are just one point behind.
In any case, they shouldn’t get too comfortable, as Almería is lurking in the shadows of seventh place with 47 points. The Andalusian team has only added 5 points from the last 24 (5 draws and 3 defeats), a streak that has distanced them from the top of the standings, but they still have options to get back into the fight. Granada and Córdoba, with 43 and 42 points respectively, are also trying to get into the battle for promotion.
Below them lies a vast territory that could be called no-man’s land, but that would be too bold for this category. Deportivo, Sporting, Castellón, and Málaga have 39 points and see the promotion as just as distant as the relegation. Their situation invites you to think that “if you win two, you’re already above, but those two wins are hard to come by.” The next team in line is Cádiz, with 38 points, followed by Eibar and Albacete (37 points), and Zaragoza (36 points), which still has to suffer to distance itself from the shadow of relegation, just five points away.
After these teams, compressed into a small space, a three-point gap opens up, and we reach the limit zone, where Burgos is found, a team that, let’s not forget, has one game less and 33 points. Only two points behind is Eldense, the only one of the four currently relegated teams for which permanence doesn’t seem like an unattainable dream. It also won’t be for Racing Ferrol if they manage to win at home against Burgos this week, which will slightly tighten a fight that seems much more decided than the one at the top. But the Hypertension League always has surprises in store.
Second Division Standings: The Current Landscape After Round 29
Here are the current standings:
- Racing de Santander (52 points)
- SD Huesca (51 points)
- Mirandés (51 points)
- Levante (50 points)
- Elche CF (50 points)
- Real Oviedo (50 points)
- Almería (47 points)
- Granada (43 points)
- Córdoba (42 points)
- Deportivo de la Coruña (39 points)
- Sporting Gijón (39 points)
- Castellón (39 points)
- Málaga (39 points)
- Cádiz (38 points)
- Eibar (37 points)
- Albacete (37 points)
- Real Zaragoza (36 points)
- Burgos* (33 points)
- CD Eldense (31 points)
- Racing Ferrol* (22 points)
- Tenerife (19 points)
- Cartagena (15 points)
*The teams marked with an asterisk have one game less.