Serie B Week 16: Review

Saturday 24 November
Bologna 1-0 Albinoleffe
Bologna won this potentially decisive top of the table showdown as the most prolific attack failed to penetrate the best defence. Marazzina got the goal that divided these teams after just 11 minutes of play at the Stadio Dall’Ara. Fava held up the ball and the former Chievo striker pounced for an angled drive. They could have had more, but wasted several chances with the trident attack of Adailton, Fava and Marazzina. ‘Leffe’s four-match winning streak comes to an end, but the Rossoblu have now won three on the trot.

Chievo 2-2 Pisa
Pisa caught Albinoleffe at the top of the table by fighting back for a precious point against their promotion rivals. They had to wait, though, as the game kicked off almost an hour late due to a thunderstorm that struck the Stadio Bentegodi. Castillo converted a penalty to give the visitors an early lead, but Italiano’s long-range effort and an Obinna tap-in turned it around before half-time. Castillo went to the top of the Capocannoniere charts with his second of the game on 64 minutes.

Lecce 3-1 Ravenna
Lecce had to fight back for the points against new boys Ravenna, as Sciaccaluga almost made the most of a Diamoutene error before Rosati brought down Chianese for a penalty. The Salentini seemed to lose their way completely until suddenly waking up during the half-time break. Ferrario failed to deal with a Valdes cross and Tiribocchi pounced on the loose ball, then Pardini only parried Ariatti’s strike into the path of Diamoutene. In stoppages Fasano accidentally turned a Vives effort into his own net.

Treviso 3-0 Brescia
Brescia are in crisis after this crushing defeat at struggling Treviso and promotion is slipping away. The home side broke through on the counter-attack early on, as Quadrini burst forward and unleashed a rocket from 20 metres that bounce cruelly just in front of the goalkeeper. Calderoni denied Possanzini and Feczesin an equaliser and straight after the restart Beghetto ran on to Barreto’s pass to round Viviano. Beghetto completed his brace late on, again tapping in a Barreto cross. Lima and Russotto both saw red for an unseemly scuffle.

Rimini 5-1 Vicenza
Rimini ran riot with a five-star performance to crush relegation strugglers Vicenza. The crowd got its money’s worth with four goals in the opening half-hour, as Ricchiuti’s half-volley and a Pagano free kick into the top corner were quickly followed by Scardina’s response from close range. Ricchiuti’s splendid footwork set up Jeda’s goal and there could have been more goals with both Schwoch and Vantaggiato clipping the crossbar. Vantaggiato got the benefit of another Ricchiuti assist before Valiani’s stoppage-time angled drive.

Frosinone 4-1 Grosseto
Frosinone put in a fantastic performance to demolish Grosseto 4-1, ending a poor run with just two points from their last four games. Salvatore Bocchetti broke through just before half-time and Paulinho equalised against the run of play with a precise header. However, Lodi sprung into action with two free kicks that skimmed the woodwork in 120 seconds, then smashed in his shot from the edge of the box. Evacuo and Dedic rounded out the scoreline as they hit Grosseto on the counter.

Ascoli 1-3 Mantova
Mantova boss Attilio Tesser marked his return to the Stadio Del Duca with a surprise victory over his old club and leapfrogs them in the standings. Ascoli really should have taken the lead, but Soncin fired his penalty on to the upright – his second missed spot-kick of the campaign. Instead, Corona scored a fine individual effort for the visitors and Godeas pounced on a defensive error to double their tally soon after. Perrulli got Ascoli back into it, but the hope was quickly snuffed out by Godeas’ second with help from Taibi’s howler.

Modena 3-0 Bari
The Canarini made short work of a stuttering Bari side. Okaka Chuka, the teenager on loan from giants Roma, bagged a brace as his pace left the defenders floundering. Pinardi completed the rout with one of his trademark free kicks. The visitors were never really in the game, threatening only with a Bonanni strike from distance. Modena ended the game with 10 men following Perna’s dismissal, but it made little difference.

Piacenza 0-1 Messina
Piacenza go back to the drawing board with a fifth home defeat of the season, but it is a real surprise for the Sicilians, who had not won on their travels for almost two years! Biancolino netted the only goal of the game by taking advantage of a double error from D’Anna and goalkeeper Cassano. That early strike allowed Messina to clam up in defence and only substitute Cacia went close to breaking them down, as he was denied a good penalty shout for Stendardo’s push.

Triestina 2-1 Cesena
Triestina notched up a second consecutive victory. Allegretti opened the scoring with a free kick from the edge of the box, but Cesena came out fighting for the second half and went very close with Ferretti and De Feudis before Turati’s tap-in finally got the deserved equaliser. However, substitute Della Rocca made an immediate impact after an eight-month lay-off for knee surgery by threading through for Sgrigna’s right-foot winner.

Avellino 2-2 Spezia
Gorzegno was inspirational for Spezia as he opened and closed the scoring in this entertaining draw. He put the visitors ahead after 13 minutes when he sprung the offside trap and cheekily lobbed the goalkeeper. Avellino fought back with a vengance, Mengoni nodding in Paonessa’s corner kick and Salgado dribbling round the shot-stopper. The Stadio Partenio was already celebrating victory when Gorzegno smacked in a fierce left-foot strike.

Source: C4 Football Italia