Serie B Week 26: Review

Saturday 16 February
Chievo 2-0 Frosinone
Chievo held the pace along with joint leaders Bologna, hitting Frosinone’s recent upturn in form. Marcolini went up to turn in a set play during the first half and Pellissier wasted a good chance with only Sicignano to beat. Marcolini proved equally useful at the other end, preventing Margiotta from drawing level, and moments later Obinna secured the victory.


Bologna 2-0 Triestina
Bologna maintained the leadership with a comfortable victory. Marazzina’s towering header opened the scoring and, after Allegretti saw red for dissent, Adailton converted a classic counter-attack. It could have been more goals, but Marazzina hit the post and late on Bucchi fired a penalty on to the woodwork.

Lecce 2-0 Avellino
Lecce kept themselves in the promotion hunt, though it was tougher than expected to get the better of lowly Avellino. Gragnaniello denied Abbruscato before Corvia scored his first goal for the Salentini. The visitors stayed in the match until five minutes from time, when Abbruscato pounced on a defensive error.

Albinoleffe 3-1 Modena
Albinoleffe thanked goalkeeper Coser for staying in the top spots, as his penalty save on Koffi proved decisive for the three points. There had been an early scare with Giampa’s goal mysteriously disallowed before Bonazzi put the home side ahead. Bolano managed the rare feat of scoring for the second week running in a Modena jersey and Ruopolo restored ‘Leffe’s lead. The Canarini thought they’d earned a point when Gilioli was brought down, but Coser parried Koffi’s spot-kick and Ferrari made the win safe late on.

Pisa 1-1 Mantova
Pisa fall off the promotion pace with this stalemate against the eternally inconsistent Mantova. Godeas took just four minutes to make his mark with a sensational strike and temporarily reach Castillo in the Capocannoniere top spot, but the Pisa striker replied to equalise and maintain his position. Morello prevented Tarana from taking full advantage of a Mezavilla error, while Castillo and Tarana had more chances to win it. Mantova threatened a victory in stoppages, but Godeas cracked his shot against the crossbar.

Messina 2-1 Brescia
Brescia’s run of three straight wins came crashing to a halt in Sicily. Cordova curled one of his trademark ballistic free kicks in for the opener and, after De Zerbi had twice been denied by good saves, defender Zoboli drew the Rondinelle level with his foray forward. Lima should have made it 2-1 for Brescia with his header off target and was made to pay for that mistake, as Biancolino took advantage of goalkeeper Viviano’s error. Galeoto also thumped the woodwork four minutes from time.

Rimini 2-0 Grosseto
Rimini hauled themselves up to seventh place with this relatively comfortable win. Defender Vitiello gave his team a half-time lead with a rare foray forward and the game remained in the balance until January signing Greco’s late strike.

Piacenza 0-0 Treviso
Piacenza’s dismal campaign shows no signs of improvement with this dour draw at the Garilli. The 0-0 scoreline was inevitable with two of the weakest strike-forces in Serie B going head-to-head.

Vicenza 1-0 Cesena
Vicenza’s hopes of avoiding relegation received a massive boost with this last-gasp victory over fellow strugglers Cesena. Former Parma striker Matteini picked a great time to score his first goal for the club, netting four minutes from time.

Spezia 0-0 Ascoli
Spezia pushed forward more, but Ascoli had the best chances with Aquilanti hitting the woodwork and Soncin going close. Bianchi protested when his goal for the home side was disallowed for a handling offence.

Ravenna 1-2 Bari
Bari continue their remarkable revival to go mid-table with this six-pointer. Roma youth product Galasso gave Antonio Conte’s men the lead and Succi thought he had snatched a draw, but six minutes later Santoruvo restored the advantage. Toledo threw a spanner in Ravenna’s works with his dismissal on the hour mark and Barilla' followed for a tackle from behind on Donda.

Source: C4 Football Italia