Serie B Week 21: Review

Saturday 19 January
Bari 2-3 Chievo
Chievo flew to the top of the table to accompany Bologna as the winter champions after they fought back from 2-0 down to send Bari to a third straight defeat. Santoruvo’s header and a Di Dio tap-in seemed to put the game firmly in Antonio Conte’s hands, but just before the break Iunco took advantage of Gillet’s howler. Bari totally lost concentration during half-time and Carozza allowed Pellissier to run towards the goal and smash his shot under the bar. Their best chance of getting back into it was a Cavalli volley cleared off the line by Cesar, but Luciano’s run down the left created Pellissier’s winner.


Pisa 0-0 Bologna
Bologna are crowned winter champions on level terms with Chievo, but the big top of the table showdown ended goalless. Marazzina and Bucchi wasted golden opportunities for the Rossoblu, while Pisa should have done better with Castillo firing straight at the goalkeeper. Lavecchia’s angled drive was turned round the post, but the best chance came late on when Cerci skimmed the upright.

Vicenza 1-3 Lecce
Lecce closed to within a point of the leaders, but had to fight back to get the result. Vicenza had taken the lead with a magnificent Masiello solo effort, as he ran from the centre circle to lob the goalkeeper. The Biancorossi had more chances, and a good penalty shout, but once Lecce equalised with Tiribocchi’s volley there was little to be done. Tiribocchi slammed an angle drive in for his second and late on Vives scored with a low strike. Lecce have now won seven of their 11 away games in Serie B.

Albinoleffe 2-0 Frosinone
Albinoleffe kept themselves in the promotion race with this hard-fought victory, but only managed to break down Frosinone after Amerini’s red card for a second bookable offence. Peluso opened the scoring 120 seconds later and Carobbio made sure the points were safe late on with his solo effort. Even playing with 10 men, Frosinone threatened a goal with Marchetti saving Lodi’s trademark free kick.

Mantova 1-0 Piacenza
Mantova squeezed past sorry Piacenza with a less than spectacular performance, but the visitors are kicking themselves after missing a host of chances and seeing two goals disallowed for offside. The home side finally broke through with Doga’s winner. The fog made play difficult in the closing half-hour.

Brescia 3-0 Avellino
Brescia got back on track with this victory, but they left it pretty late to round out the scoreline against 10-man Avellino. Possanzini opened the scoring just seven minutes in from close range and Viviano parried Pellicori’s attempted equaliser. Salgado saw red for dissent, a second bookable offence, and that spelled the end for the visitors’ hopes. Bazzani and Dallamano secured the spoils late on.

Messina 1-0 Rimini
Degano’s first half tap-in proved enough to give Messina full points from this battle for a play-off place, but there were chances for both sides. Degano rattled the crossbar, Vantaggiato missed a sitter and Parisi’s goalline clearance denied Ricchiuti an equaliser. Deep into stoppages Rimini goalkeeper Consigli almost bagged a goal as he went up for a corner kick and nodded inches wide. The result allows the Sicilians to leapfrog Rimini in the standings.

Modena 1-1 Treviso
Modena had the upper hand at the Stadio Braglia and broke through after just 10 minutes with Bruno, but Treviso did well to fight back and snatch a point through Piovaccari. It could be an important result for the relegation-threatened visitors.

Triestina 1-1 Ascoli
Taibi was the hero for Ascoli as he saved a spot-kick from Capocannoniere candidate Granoche to earn this point. Triestina had the better of the first half and took the lead when Kyriazis pounced on a defensive error from Allegretti’s free kick. Taibi gave away a penalty by bringing down Granoche 19 seconds after the restart, but made up for the mistake by saving the spot-kick. This gave Ascoli more confidence and they equalised through Soncin’s 10th goal of the season. Melucci saw red for a shocking challenge on Granoche, but neither side could find a winner. There was bad news for Job, who was stretchered off with head trauma and a fractured nose after an accidental clash with Pesaresi.

Grosseto 3-0 Spezia
Grosseto maintained their mid-table status by thrashing a Spezia side in crisis. Lazzari opened the scoring, then after the restart Graffiedi and Moro rounded out the scoreline. This could prove a crucial result come the end of the season, as both these teams are expected to be in the relegation battle.

Cesena 1-1 Ravenna
The Romagna derby ended in a draw between the two relegation-threatened sides. Neither team was prepared to run many risks, so there were few chances other than Sforzini’s opener and a Moscardelli penalty.

Source: C4 Football Italia