Saturday 22 November 2008

Serie B - Week 15: Weekend Review

Grosseto 1-0 TriestinaFriday 21 November
Piacenza 1-2 Avellino
Avellino caused quite a stir when conquering the Garilli in a rare result, as thus far they had only one away win and Piacenza just a single home defeat. Vasko gave the visitors the lead against the run of play by nodding in a corner kick and Ciotola wasted the chance to double it when he fired wide of an open goal. Anaclerio made the miss look even worse, as he equalised three minutes later from close range. The turning point came on the hour mark, when Eramo hit his clearance on to teammate Abbate and the ball comically ricocheted into their own net. Piace tried to stage a fightback, but it only culminated in Iorio’s dismissal and leaves them one point clear of Avellino in the table.


Saturday 22 November
Grosseto 1-0 Triestina
Grosseto are now clear at the top of the table after this slender victory over form side Triestina and Empoli's stumble. Allegretti saw red and that proved the turning point, as soon after Sforzini thumped in the winning goal for the Tuscans.

Treviso 2-0 Empoli
Empoli lost the leadership of Serie B with another surprise defeat, as they seem to have real problems finding consistency. Treviso are propping up the table, but comfortably got the points when Scaglia was left unmarked to meet Guigou's free kick, then the same player had plenty of time to tap in Piovaccari's assist.

Rimini 1-1 Bari
Rimini had mixed feelings at the final whistle, as they came so close to beating leadership candidates Bari despite playing the second half a man down. Ricchiuti had the best chances of the first half and even after Catacchini's dismissal, they took control through former Bari star Vantaggiato's blockbuster. However, in the final minutes Caputo caught Sottil napping for the equaliser.

Parma 0-0 Livorno
Cristiano Lucarelli and brother Alessandro faced their beloved hometown club at the Tardini, but there was little room for sentiment, as this was a battle to get back into the promotion places. Parma had the best start with former Gialloblu goalkeeper De Lucia doing well on Paponi and Lucarelli, but Loviso sprung to life for Livorno as first his volley skimmed the target, then he cracked a right-foot screamer against the upright. Both teams performed goalline clearances on Alessandro Lucarelli and Pulzetti, plus a tough save to deny substitute Volpe.

Pisa 0-3 Cittadella
The shock scoreline of the round saw promotion contenders Pisa thrashed on home turf by a Cittadella side battling relegation. The hero of the hour was Bonvissuto, who netted a hat-trick. Pesoli's goalline clearance denied Gasparetto's header and it proved decisive, as soon after Bonvissuto nodded in Volpe's cross. Bonvissuto again showed his strength in the air just before the break to double the lead and then took advantage of a defensive error to complete his treble.

Brescia 2-1 Vicenza
Brescia fought back to secure a win that leapfrogs Vicenza in the standings. Volta had given the visitors the advantage, but nine minutes later Caracciolo set up Zambrella's equaliser. Possanzini came off the bench to net the decisive goal, pouncing on Volta's comical howler.

Ancona 2-1 Mantova
Billy Costacurta suffered his first defeat on the Mantova bench. His men were in front thanks to Rincon's deflection on a Spinale effort, but Siqueira and a Nassi screamer turned it around. It could have been worse, but Handanovic saved Mastronunzio's spot-kick.

Albinoleffe 1-0 Salernitana
Salernitana's crisis knows no bounds and now Coach Castori can feel the axe on the back of his neck. Gabionetta decided the match early on with a left-foot strike from distance and Albinoleffe held on to that slender advantage despite having Conteh sent off on the hour mark.

Frosinone 2-0 Ascoli
Ascoli's crisis continues, although they were not helped by playing half the match with 10 men. Scarlato got his head to a corner kick and Luci's dismissal made a comeback unlikely. It took until the 86th minute for Biso to put the result beyond doubt with Frosinone's second set up by Lorini.

Monday 24 November
Sassuolo 3-0 Modena
Sassuolo secured a resounding victory over rock-bottom Modena in the Emilia-Romagna derby and move within a point of leaders Grosseto. It took the hosts just two minutes to go ahead as Pagani made a superb run and fed Noselli to tuck away a simple chance. Modena's Inter-owned striker Biabiany thought he had a penalty when he fell under contact from Rea, but nothing was given. Just after the half-hour mark, Sassuolo were 2-0 up. Pagani received the ball from Salvetti and crossed for Noselli to nod home. Modena pushed forward but Noselli came close to his hat-trick after a horrible defensive error and Zampagna rounded off the score-line with a header in the last minute.

Source: C4 Football Italia

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