Serie B - Week 34: Weekend Review

Friday 3 April
Empoli 1-1 Frosinone
Empoli snatched a late but deserved draw against Frosinone after finally getting past Vincenzo Sicignano's heroics. Sicignano had kept the Tuscans out a couple of times in the early stages with saves on Saudati and Valdifiori, but the visitors took the lead against the run of play thanks to a fantastic curler from Tavares. Sicignano came to the rescue again to close down Valdifiori while in the second half he performed desperate saves to deny Lodi and a Saudati angled drive. However with just three minutes left on the clock Empoli got their deserved equaliser, as Busce sprung the offside trap on Flachi's pass.


Mantova 1-0 Albinoleffe
Mantova scraped victory against Albinoleffe, denting the visitors’ play-off ambitions. Ruopolo skimmed the woodwork for Leffe in the first half and Renzetti missed a sitter before the decisive strike. The defence did not adequately clear the ball, so D’Aversa thumped a right-foot effort in from the D.

Saturday 4 April
Bari 0-2 Parma
Parma conquered Bari in the top of the table showdown and are now just one point adrift of the leaders! The Galletti had won five and drawn one going into this game, but it was former Bari star Vantaggiato who opened the scoring at the end of a bizarre move. Gillet parried Vantaggiato’s shot, then Stellini’s goalline clearance denied Mariga and eventually Vantaggiato thumped under the crossbar from a tight angle. De Vezze and Guberti had chances to equalise, but Paloschi rose to nod in Zenoni’s cross from the right and double Parma’s advantage. Barreto’s slalom was cut short at the last moment and Lanzafame skimmed the woodwork going into the break. The Gialloblu would’ve gone 3-0 up had Gillet not batted away a Paloschi tap-in and Paci hit the bar. Parisi and Mariga went close, but Paloschi could’ve had a hat-trick in the closing stages.

Livorno 1-1 Vicenza
Livorno wasted another important chance to close in on the leaders by conceding deep into stoppages. Diamanti was the focal figure for the Amaranto, sending a couple of early chances just off target, though goalkeeper De Lucia needed to be alert on Botta, Sgrigna and Magallanes following defensive errors. Vicenza shot-stopper Fortin was also called into action on 50 minutes to tip Rossini’s header on to the crossbar. Diamanti eventually broke through with a trademark left-footed free kick into the top corner, but in the final moments Rosi brought down Bjelanovic and Margiotta kept his cool to convert the penalty.

Triestina 4-0 Rimini
There was little hope for nine-man Rimini, who were humiliated by a Triestina side surging towards the play-off places. Catacchini brought down Testini when clear on goal and saw red as Granoche converted the resulting penalty. Antonelli’s long-range strike doubled the advantage, but Granoche’s second spot-kick didn’t go to plan. Pugliesi was sent off for hacking down Granoche and substitute goalkeeper Agliardi saved the spot-kick with his first touch of the game. It wasn’t enough, though, as in the second half Granoche’s diving header and another penalty – this time by Della Rocca – completed the rout.

Piacenza 2-2 Brescia
Brescia twice threw away a lead in this ill-tempered encounter that saw four goals, three red cards and a missed penalty. Straight away it got off to a terrible start for the visitors, as Mareco was sent off for hauling down Graffiedi clear on goal, but Guzman hit the spot-kick on to the bar. Despite playing with 10 men, the Rondinelle went in front when Possanzini threaded through for Tognozzi. Viviano denied Moscardelli, but the goal arrived soon after with a left-foot curler. Piacenza also went down to 10 for Graffiedi’s dreadful tackle on Bega, though Bega himself followed for bringing down Moscardelli. It looked as if the nine men were going to snatch a shock victory when Caracciolo struck on the counter, but three minutes later substitute Ferraro got his head to Guzman’s free kick.

Cittadella 1-1 Sassuolo
Sassuolo missed an opportunity to climb up the standings with this stalemate. Zampagna broke the deadlock in a dull encounter with his right-foot strike from the edge of the box, aided by a deflection off Manucci. However, five minutes later Pesoli was allowed a free header from a corner to earn Cittadella a point.

Modena 1-1 Grosseto
Grosseto were caught at the Stadio Braglia by a late fightback and risked defeat. Federici rose to nod in a free kick for a first half lead, but when Fantini set up Troiano’s header and Consonni received a second booking soon after, the wind was in Modena’s sails. Grosseto hung on for the point under pressure.

Ascoli 1-0 Pisa
Ascoli notched up a second consecutive victory against nine-man Pisa. Sommese’s strike proved enough to decide the match, taking advantage of Zavagno’s error on a goal kick. Gasparetto saw red for using his elbow in midfield and Viviani followed late on, while Cejas kept the scoreline down in the Pisa goal.

Avellino 3-0 Ancona
Avellino hammered Ancona to stay in the race for safety, albeit still propping up the table. They rode their luck in the opening minutes when Mastronunzio’s volley thumped the woodwork. De Zerbi was the star of the show with his brace in quick succession from close range and assist for Sforzini.

Salernitana 2-2 Treviso
Salernitana got back into the game twice to earn a point that does precious little for either side. Foti’s header was almost immediately cancelled out by a Scarpa angled drive, while Piovaccari wasted a good chance for the visitors. Treviso thought they’d won it in the final minutes when Fatic dragged back Piovaccari for a second bookable offence and Quadrini converted, but 10-man Salernitana snatched a draw in stoppages through Di Napoli.

Source: C4 Football Italia