Serie B - Week 20: Weekend Review

Saturday 10 January
Bari 1-0 Salernitana
Bari go second on their own, having beaten Salernitana despite playing with 10 men for the last half-hour. Barreto was once again the hero, curling in a free kick at the near post, while Kamata threatened to double the advantage. Salvatore Masiello saw red on the hour mark for headbutting Fusco, but Bari clung on to the victory.


Albinoleffe 0-1 Livorno
Livorno break away at the top of the table after conquering Bergamo and once again damaging Albinoleffe's slender promotion ambitions. The home side went close through Carobbio's free kick, but Pulzetti grabbed the goal from a Danilevicius knock-down.

Triestina 2-0 Empoli
Empoli lose sight of the Serie B leadership with this disappointing defeat. It had started well with Lodi's screamer thumping the crossbar, but Antonelli's left-foot drive was more accurate and gave Triestina the advantage. The Tuscans have struggled to impress on their travels this season and again failed to muster much of a fightback, falling to a goal from long-term injury absentee Granoche.

Vicenza 1-1 Parma
Parma fall off the top spot with this unfortunate draw at the Stadio Menti. They dominated the first half with a series of saves on Leon, Cristiano Lucarelli's header and Paloschi's follow-up. Just as Vicenza were taking control, Reginaldo found Leon's assist for a right-foot finish to put the Gialloblu in front. The fightback was immediate, although Sgrigna seemed to be in an offside position.

Grosseto 2-1 Ancona
Grosseto fought back with two goals in less than 300 seconds to stay in the promotion zone. Turati had given Ancona the lead with a stunning right-foot volley, but after a poor first half the home side woke up. They hit the woodwork first, then equalised with Pellicori heading in Bonanni's cross and three minutes later Roma youth product Freddi bagged another header.

Avellino 4-3 Modena
It has been quite a week for Avellino, who were docked four points for financial irregularities on Friday evening, sending them to the foot of the table. They didn't let it phase them, though, and got straight back up in this thrilling dogfight. Koman has just joined from Sampdoria and scored within six minutes of his debut, then De Zerbi doubled the advantage. Catellani pounced on a defensive error to get Modena back into it, but De Zerbi struck again with one of his trademark free kicks. Biabiany's spectacular volley and a Longo tap-in made it 3-3, but Sforzini restored Avellino's lead three minutes later.

Mantova 0-0 Piacenza
This tie ended in a stalemate, but Mantova can feel happier with the result. Rantier and Aspas had gone close to an opener before Cristante saw red for a second bookable offence. Moscardelli and Marchesetti failed to break the deadlock and Piacenza also ended up with 10 men following Aspas' dismissal.

Ascoli 1-0 Treviso
A red card proved the turning point in this relegation dogfight, as there were precious few scoring opportunities before Scurto's dismissal. Moments later Gaeta's header took full advantage of the situation and notched up another crucial victory under Coach Franco Colomba's reign.

Cittadella 0-0 Frosinone
Cittadella continue their tendency to scrape goalless draws and held off mid-table Frosinone in a dour encounter.

Sassuolo P-P Brescia
The match was due to be played on Friday 9 January but was postponed for a frozen pitch. Another pitch inspection took place on Saturday 10 January, but again the Stadio Braglia was frozen. It was rescheduled by the Lega Calcio for Tuesday 27 January. [Match Review]

Monday 12 January
Pisa 1-3 Rimini
Rimini eased past Pisa in Monday night's mid-table battle at the Arena Garibaldi. The visitors went ahead with a stylish goal as Vitiello met a Regonesi cross perfectly to head home. The second came from the penalty spot when Alvarez hacked down Joelson and Vantaggiato stepped up to convert. After the break, Rimini continued to dominate and went 3-0 up with a superb Vantaggiato free-kick. Joelson went close twice before Pisa struck back with an excellent Greco strike. Pisa pushed but Rimini took the points after a feisty finish.

Source: C4 Football Italia