Serie B Week 40: Review

Saturday 17 May
Chievo 2-1 Vicenza
Chievo are just one point away from securing automatic promotion into the top flight and can taste the air of Serie A. Andreolli accidentally turned an Obinna cross into his own net and Pellissier made the result safe by pouncing on a goalkeeping error, although Capone made it a tense finale with his left-foot daisy-cutter and a great save denied Zampagna an equaliser.


Bologna 3-0 Messina
The Rossoblu resumed their race on Serie A with this comfortable victory to leapfrog Albinoleffe and Lecce. Marazzina converted a penalty as part of his brace - plus he hit the bar - and Fava finally broke his goal drought in the second half with a snooker-cue of a shot that ricocheted in off the inside of the upright.

Lecce 1-2 Bari
Antonio Conte returned to his hometown and wreaked havoc as Lecce's automatic promotion hopes took a battering. Bonanni's spot-kick for a Giuliatto trip on Lanzafame was followed four minutes later by a spectacular Cavalli strike to stun the Stadio Via del Mare in the local derby. Substitute Corvia tried to get them back into it, but Gillet saved a series of other efforts and in stoppages the tension got to the scorer. It was Lecce's first defeat in 14 rounds.

Ascoli 3-2 Albinoleffe
Ascoli notched up a fourth straight victory and further dampened Leffe's automatic promotion hopes. Cellini opened the scoring by perhaps incorrectly springing the offside trap, but the rest of the game was all for the home side. Bernacci and Saverino set plays and a Nastos rocket turned it all around, although Gervasoni netted from a corner in the final minute.

Rimini 2-1 Brescia
Pagano and Rispoli thumped the post before Vantaggiato broke through with a looping effort from distance. Moments later La Camera met Pagano's fine assist from the left, but Brescia got back into it with Taddei's angled drive. A thunderstorm made play difficult in the second half, but despite the victory Rimini's play-off hopes hang in the balance.

Ravenna 1-4 Pisa
Pisa are back on track after a poor run of results and remain five points clear of Rimini in the play-off race. Sforzini had given Ravenna a surprise lead and it could've been 2-0 had Marruocco not parried Gabionetta's penalty. D'Anna's header, a Castillo brace and Colombo finish turned it around completely, even though Marruocco saw red for handling outside the box.

Avellino 2-2 Triestina
Although they fought back from 2-0 down despite playing with 10 men for over an hour, this cannot be viewed as a positive result for Avellino. Maietta saw red just 15 minutes in and it took until the hour mark for Tabbiani to take advantage. Allegretti thought he'd made it safe, but Pellicori completed a remarkable late comeback.

Treviso 2-1 Cesena
Thanks to Treviso's third straight victory, Cesena are doomed to Serie C. It had started well for them with Moscardelli pouncing on a defensive error, but Beghetto and a cheeky Barreto spot-kick turned it around quickly.

Spezia 0-1 Mantova
Spezia will need a miracle to escape relegation after their poor run continued. They actually performed better and had several chances to score, but conceded from Corona's angled drive on the counter-attack.

Piacenza 1-1 Grosseto
Poor 19-year-old defender Blini had a desperately disappointing game, as he accidentally deflected a free kick into his own net to give Grosseto a stoppage-time equaliser. Tulli had handed Piacenza the lead.

Frosinone 2-4 Modena
Modena were without a win in 16 games and earn a precious victory to take them further away from the danger zone. Bruno set a new personal best with a brace before Eder got Frosinone back into it with a spectacular backheel flick. Ungari's header and a Koffi strike rounded out the scoreline around Lucenti's goal.

Source: C4 Football Italia