Primera RFEF: Battle for survival goes down to the final day

Malaga province's third-tier football clubs endured a mixed weekend as Antequera CF continued their late-season surge, already-relegated Marbella FC suffered another heavy defeat and Juventud de Torremolinos slipped to a damaging loss that leaves their survival hopes hanging in the balance on the final day.

Torremolinos missed a major opportunity to secure safety after falling to a damaging defeat against relegation rivals Murcia on Saturday. Victory would have guaranteed survival, but instead, they now head into the final weekend with everything still on the line.

They began reasonably well before Joel Jorquera struck twice before half time to put Murcia firmly in control. Bosilij added a third late on, and although Torremolinos pulled one back deep into stoppage time, it came too late to alter the picture.

They still depend on themselves and now know a win away to Antequera in next weekend's Malaga derby will secure their place.

At the same time, Antequera continued their excellent end-of-season form with a fourth win in five matches, defeating promotion-chasing Sabadell away from home despite having little left to play for themselves.

Osama scored the only goal shortly after the restart, converting Siddiki's pass after reacting quickest inside the six-yard area. They could have extended their advantage late on, but Destiny missed a penalty.

The victory lifted Antequera to eighth place on 53 points and underlined a strong finish after already securing their status.

Also on Saturday, Marbella's miserable campaign took another turn for the worse as they were heavily beaten by Alcorcón, who secured their own survival with an emphatic victory.

Already relegated and with attention increasingly shifting towards next season in Segunda RFEF, they again struggled badly.

Alexiel Gonçalves scored twice to reduce the damage, but Marbella were comprehensively outplayed and conceded heavily (three in each half) in another disappointing display.