Villarreal B will play Castellón next season

The big news, and big disappointment, was the failure of Villarreal’s B team to gain promotion—a 2-1 win over Elche but 3-2 loss on aggregate, with the missed penalty in the first leg being crucial.

Assuming no upheavals due to economic issues or the like, the teams moving from the Segunda to the Primera are Rayo Vallecano, Huesca and Valladolid; the clubs moving from the Segunda B to the Segunda A are Mallorca, Rayo Majadahonda, Elche and Extremadura UD. This will be the first time in the second tier for Rayo and Extremadura (there was a previous team, CF Extremadura, which made it to the Primera a couple of times but folded in 2010).

Villarreal B were within a few minutes of promotion if Elche had lost to Sporting Gijon’s B team in the previous round. Cartagena were within a minute of going up in the champions’ round—Rayo Majadahonda scored a goal in extra time to win that tie. And Cartagena lost today to Extramadura and had two of their players sent off for deliberately injuring their opponents in extra time. Not going to shed any tears for their failure.

In the Tercera playoffs, Levante B, Espanyol B and Teruel all won through, so they are likely to slot into our group, as are Castellón, who defeated Portugalete 1-0 before a sellout crowd at the Nou Castalia.