Serie B - Week 1: Weekend Review

Friday 21 August
Grosseto 0-3 Torino
Torino could not have asked for a better start to life in Serie B, thrashing Grosseto on their own home turf. David Di Michele marked his return from West Ham United with the opener on the counter-attack, set up by Rolando Bianchi. 'Rolandinho' took control in the second half, as his shot came off the bar and he turned in the rebound for 2-0, then smacked a right-foot strike into the top corner.


Lecce 3-0 Ancona
Recently-relegated Lecce made short work of Ancona and have discovered a star in French player Alain Baclet. He scored the first Serie B goal of 2009-10 by nodding in Edinho's cross, then got another header from Angelo's corner kick. Youth product Franco Lepore rounded out the result late on with a daisy-cutter.

Empoli 2-0 Piacenza
Empoli begin another campaign targeting promotion, but had their fair share of luck in this opener. The deadlock was broken when Francesco Lodi converted a penalty, but replays confirm Denis Tonucci brought down Eder just outside the box. When Pietro Zammuto saw red after 70 minutes, there was no way back for Piacenza and Eder doubled the lead after pouncing on a parried strike.

Brescia 1-0 Cittadella
Brescia scraped a victory over Cittadella in their less than enthusiastic debut at the Rigamonti. Ahmed Barusso hit the woodwork early on, but Francesco Bega got the decisive goal with a fierce right-foot free kick from 25 metres. Roland Varga, Maurizio Nassi and Davide Possanzini were wasteful, so Cittadella almost snatched a point through Matteo Ardemagni.

Albinoleffe 2-2 Vicenza
This was an entertaining way to open the 2009-10 campaign in a topsy-turvy encounter. Alessandro Sgrigna converted a penalty awarded for a foul on Davide Gavazzi, but four minutes later the referee had pointed to the spot again for Marco Cellini to equalise. Albinoleffe turned the game around in the second half through a Andrea Cristiano scorcher that curled into the top corner from the edge of the box. However, Daniele Martinelli got his head to a corner to level the scores.

Sassuolo 2-0 Crotone
Sassuolo swept new boys Crotone aside in comfortable fashion. Riccardo Zampagna should've opened the scoring from the spot after Elia Legati brought down Alessandro Noselli, but was fortunate when his penalty was only parried into the path of teammate Luigi Riccio. Substitute Jonathan Rossini thumped in an angled drive to secure the result.

Salernitana 1-2 Frosinone
Salernitana opened up the season with a shock home defeat, though it confirms Frosinone's status as a dark horse. Vincenzo Santoruvo's diving header made the most of a Gennaro Troianiello cross and just before the break Migjen Basha doubled the advantage with a solo effort. Salernitana's fightback was too little, too late, as Francesco Caputo's angled drive failed to make any real difference.

Mantova 0-0 Triestina
Mantova had a tough opening test against Triestina and it was a balanced encounter. The visitors had the best chance of the game when Alain Nef's header was denied only by the crossbar.

Padova 1-0 Modena
Padova celebrated their return to Serie B with a potentially crucial win over Modena. Antonio Di Nardo ran on to Andrea Rabito's long ball and showed great intelligence to lob the on-rushing goalkeeper. The Canarini wasted the opportunity to pick up a point with poor finishing from Salvatore Bruno and Alex Pinardi.

Ascoli 1-1 Gallipoli
Gallipoli celebrated their first ever Serie B game with a precious point at the Stadio Del Duca. Francesco Di Gennaro sprung the offside trap on Piergiuseppe Maritato's backheel flick and waltzed round the goalkeeper to secure a shock lead. The home team poured forward and were eventually able to equalise through Alessandro Romeo's header. Gallipoli ran out of steam towards the end, but Andrea Luci, Simone Pesce and Christian Amoroso wasted golden opportunities to win it.

Monday 24 August
Cesena 0-1 Reggina
Walter Novellino's Reggina got their promotion push off to a strong start with victoty at the Stadio Manuzzi. Cesena went close in the first half, but Ezequiel Schelotto was denied by the crossbar. Introducing youngster Nicolas Viola was the key, as he rose to nod in Antonio Busce's cross three minutes from time.

Source: Football-Italia