Serie B Wk 12: Review

Friday 17 November
Triestina 2-1 Pescara
Triestina closed in on the play-off places with this victory, but Pescara are deeper embroiled in the relegation battle. Pesaresi broke through on the half-hour mark with a left-foot strike from distance, but Rossi only parried Antonelli’s free kick into the path of Martini for the equaliser. Piovaccari eventually sealed the points when he sprung the offside trap and took two attempts to beat Spadavecchia. Yet the visitors could’ve come away with a draw when Ferrante clipped the crossbar.

Saturday 18 November
Albinoleffe 1-1 Juventus
Gianluigi Buffon was sent off as Juve's march on the top spots took an unexpected turn in Bergamo. Buffon’s week went from bad to worse, as he saw Fabio Cannavaro pip him to the Ballon d’Or before giving away a penalty and earning a red card just 24 minutes into this game. Ferrari had gone past Jean-Alain Boumsong and Buffon had no choice but to haul down Garlini inside the area. Antonio Mirante replaced the shot-stopper and his first action was taking Joelson’s penalty out of the net.

With Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet injured, things were looking bleak for the Bianconeri. Still they went close with Raffaele Palladino and a save on Pavel Nedved, though Belingheri’s fierce free kick threatened to increase Albinoleffe’s lead. They managed to equalise straight after the break with Palladino pushing in a Federico Balzaretti cross that had gone straight past a distracted Acerbis. It was an even match as Gori’s header skimmed the upright from close range, but neither side could find another goal.

Arezzo 0-2 Brescia
Brescia picked up their second away win of the season, but Arezzo are increasingly rock bottom and still one point away from eliminating their Calciopoli penalty. Mannini’s header thumped the upright and Possanzini also went close before the turning point just before the break. Galeoto brought down Mannini, possibly outside the area, so the Arezzo player was sent off and Hamsik converted the debatable penalty. Stankevicius secured the victory with a right-foot strike.

Frosinone 1-0 Bari
This is the third victory in the last four games for Serie B newcomers Frosinone, while Bari have to surrender once again after last week’s home defeat against Napoli. It took only 14 minutes for Di Venanzio to score the winning goal, nodding Fialdini’s cross past Gillet. Former Bari midfielder Anaclerio was sent off soon after and, although the Pugliesi attacked for the rest of the match, they didn’t manage to score an equaliser. The greatest opportunity came at the 92nd minute with Ganci, whose penalty was brilliantly saved by Zoppino.

Genoa 1-2 Spezia
Genoa lost the leadership last week and their form shows no sign of improvement in this fiery local derby defeat against hated rivals Spezia. Adailton had nearly latched on to a Greco assist and Sculli failed to take advantage of a defensive error, but it was the visitors who broke through when Sculli’s controversial handling offence allowed Saverino to convert a penalty. The Rossoblu poured forward, but a woeful Biasi mistake left Guidoni with a motorway to run straight at Barasso and beat the ‘keeper. Genoa got back into it in the closing stages, as another debatable penalty for Scarlato’s challenge on Longo was scored by Adailton and Giuliano saw red immediately afterwards for a crunching foul on the ex-Verona striker. Marassi held its breath at the 92nd minute with Stellini clear on goal, but Santoni performed a match-winning save for Spezia.

Lecce 0-1 Crotone
A second defeat in a row for Lecce and the playoff positions now seem very far away, so Coach Zdenek Zeman risks the axe. This, however was a great result for Crotone, as the Rossoblu are starting to move away from the bottom of the table. At the 24th minute Crotone had the chance to go ahead, but Sedivec’s penalty was saved by Benussi. Three minutes later Lecce responded with a short-distance header from Juliano, which was deflected by Soviero. At the 58th minute Carriello netted the winning goal after Dante Lopez’s short-cross. Lecce really tried to get back in the game, but Babù’s left-foot shot hit the post. The 80th minute was the last great chance for the Salentini, but once again a penalty failed to be converted. Valdes’ spot-kick was too high, throwing away what would’ve been a deserved point.

Modena 0-1 Cesena
Cesena conquered the Stadio Braglia as the Canarini continue to slide down the standings. Papa Waigo, Bentivoglio and Pelle had good scoring opportunities and the visitors had penalty appeals rejected for an apparent Campedelli foul on Piccoli. The winner finally arrived on 68 minutes when Pelle got his header on to a Salvetti cross to finalise a counter-attack.

Napoli 1-0 Bologna
This was a head to head battle for Serie A places played out in the heated atmosphere of the Stadio San Paolo. Bologna were more aggressive to begin with, as Iezzo closed down Marazzina when he sprung the offside trap, while at the other end Pia’s left-foot strike was comfortably smothered. The turning point came just before half-time, when the referee awarded a dubious spot-kick for Costa’s challenge on Calaio, who got back up to convert into the bottom corner. There was a fine save on Bellucci and the Capocannoniere then thumped the upright with a splendid effort from 25 metres. Napoli also struck the woodwork in stoppages with a Bucchi free kick, as Edy Reja’s men emerged with the points.

Rimini 3-0 Verona
Rimini needed only four minutes to beat Verona at the Stadio Neri. After 20 minutes of supremacy by the visitors, Cascione’s header from a corner kick put the home side in front. Just 60 seconds later, while Verona was still recovering from that blow, a counter attack from Jeda made it 2-0. At that point Ficcadenti’s men lost their minds and were subsequently knocked out. Perticone was sent off for a last man foul and Porchia showed off all his abilities scoring a wonderful free kick to the right of goalkeeper Pegolo.

Vicenza 2-2 Treviso
It was an entertaining and controversial derby between Vicenza and Treviso. The Biancorossi had a great start with Padoin, who was quick to put a good assist from Schwoch into the net. Treviso didn’t give up and Russotto found the equaliser with a powerful right-foot shot. The game then slowed down, but Schwoch’s effort slotted under the bar to restore Vicenza’s lead. In the second half Treviso attacked constantly looking for the equaliser and deep into stoppages there was the decisive moment. Fissore touched the ball with his hand outside the box, the referee at first didn’t do anything but then changed his mind and awarded a penalty to Treviso. A thankful Beghetto converted, and the game was over surrounded by the Biancorossi’s protests.

Monday 20 November
Mantova 1-0 Piacenza
Piacenza missed out on the chance to move clear at the top of the Serie B table after falling to a 1-0 loss at Mantova in the Monday night game. Piacenza were hoping to move three points ahead of Napoli with a victory, but fell to their third defeat in six away games this term. A goal from Sommese on the stroke of half-time settled the match as Mantova themselves are now just two points shy of top spot. The home side arguably deserved the win and went close on six minutes through Noselli, before Piacenza wasted a golden opportunity in minute 44. Padalino, assisted by Cacia, found himself in front of the ‘keeper but fired over. It was a costly error as Sommese volley home soon after. The away men instantly threatened after the break through Nef, before Bernacci wasted a host of chances for Mantova to make the game safe.

Source: C4 Football Italia