Serie B - Week 24: Weekend Review

Friday 6 February
Ancona 2-0 Parma
In a week when Parma froze Cristiano Lucarelli out of the squad, their promotion hopes were hit by a crushing defeat at Ancona. It was a shaky few days for the home side too, who were put on the market and infuriated the fans by selling hitman Nassi. Mastronunzio took up the slack and scored both goals, ending his three-month drought. Just before the break he ran on to Soddimo's through ball to skip past Troest and then pounced on a defensive error for his brace.


Saturday 7 February
Livorno 3-0 Piacenza
Livorno crushed Piacenza to leapfrog Bari and top the table once more. Tavano took four minutes to hit the back of the net by meeting Diamanti's cross at the back post, then Diamanti turned scorer by curling in directly from the corner flag in a bizarre goal. Moments later Rossini finished off the match by side-footing in Candreva's cutback. Piacenza had the chance to at least get a consolation goal, but De Lucia saved Moscardelli's penalty. It was a boon for the goalkeeper, who had given away the spot-kick after a fumble. Diamanti could've made it 4-0 for the Amaranto, but hit the post.

Brescia 0-0 Bari
Bari were unable to make it seven consecutive victories and see the leadership taken by Livorno. This is a result that does little for either side in the promotion race, as Brescia slide down to fourth, and despite the scoreline there were chances. Caracciolo's free kick cracked against the upright, as did a Rivas effort at the other end of the field. New signing Nassi almost scored on his debut, but once again the woodwork was decisive as the former Ancona hitman came sliding in.

Grosseto 1-2 Sassuolo
Sassuolo caused the shock of the day with a potentially crucial victory away to another promotion candidate, sending them into third place. Poli just received his debut Under-21 call for Italy and marked the occasion with a brace, making the most of two Zampagna assists. In between them, Bonanni had equalised with the aid of a deflection off Piccioni.

Albinoleffe 0-0 Empoli
Empoli continue to slide down the standings after another disappointing performance. There were precious few opportunities for either side in Bergamo, as Albinoleffe seemed content with the point in front of their own fans.

Vicenza 1-0 Mantova
Mantova's crisis drags on, as they lost to a Vicenza team that was playing with 10 men for 50 minutes. Raimondi made the most of a Handanovic howler, turning in the rebound from a spilled Sgrigna shot. Forestieri was sent off, but Vicenza still held out fairly comfortably.

Modena 3-3 Pisa
The fans were certainly kept on the edge of their seats in this remarkable six-goal thriller. It was already 3-1 to Pisa after just 20 minutes thanks to Greco's brace, Alvarez and Longo. Just before the break Catellani mounted the comeback as he went on a mazy run through the Pisa defence. Bruno had the chance to equalise straight after the restart, but Morello parried his penalty and Biabiany hit the follow-up on to the post. Bruno got his goal eventually by pouncing on a defensive error. It still wasn't over, as Radovanovic thumped the frame of the goal for Pisa. It's a well-earned point, but won't keep the Canarini off the foot of the table.

Rimini 2-2 Treviso
This was a thrilling encounter in which Rimini completed a last-gasp comeback from 2-0 down to earn a point. Treviso had a spectacular start with Pedrelli hitting the back of the net in the opening 60 seconds and Fonjock celebrating his first goal for the club. Rimini woke up after the half-time team talk as Milone got them back into it, but in stoppages Ricchiuti equalised with the aid of a deflection off Mezzano.

Triestina 1-2 Ascoli
Ascoli bagged two goals in the opening 12 minutes to stun the Trieste crowd. Belingheri's header was quickly followed by a Bellusci volley to lift the Ducali out of the relegation zone despite their four-point penalty. Allegretti only got one back late on because his right-foot shot squirmed beneath goalkeeper Guarna.

Frosinone 0-2 Salernitana
Salernitana fought hard to conquer Frosinone in dire conditions due to heavy rainfall. It all happened in the final 20 minutes, as Giubilato was sent off and within minutes Fava had punished 10-man Frosinone. Di Napoli's dismissal evened out the teams, but Ciaramitaro ensured the same could not be said of the scores.

Monday 9 February
Cittadella 4-0 Avellino
It was all about Riccardo Meggiorini as his four goals helped Cittadella to an emphatic win over relegation-haunted Avellino. Avellino were the better side in the opening exchanges, but Cittadella took the lead just after the half-hour mark when Meggiorini headed home a perfectly-weighted Teoldi cross. Things went from bad to worse for Avellino as defender Cosenza was sent off for striking Oliveira, who made a lot of it. Meggiorini netted his second when Bonvissuto beat the offisde trap and pulled the ball back for the hitman to stroke home. Avellino missed a chance to get back into the game as De Zerbi's penalty was saved and Meggiorini soon completed his hat-trick with another header. Amazingly, it was 4-0 minutes later and four for Meggiorini who stole a yard and lashed home.

Source: C4 Football Italia