Serie B - Week 8: Weekend Review

Friday 2 October
Ascoli 1-5 Sassuolo
Leadership challengers Ascoli lost their unbeaten record in spectacular fashion, as they were thumped 5-1 in front of their home fans on Friday night. It took just over 60 seconds to break the deadlock with Tiziano Polenghi's free header. The home side equalised through an goal from Marco Piccioni, but Sassuolo then took control. Alessandro Noselli sprung the offside trap to make it 2-1, then lobbed the goalkeeper and completed his hat-trick on the counter. Daniele Martinetti concluded the rout with a similar move, as Ascoli were repeatedly caught out at the back.


Saturday 3 October
Cesena 3-0 Salernitana
Ezequiel Schelotto was the star of the show to send Cesena into second place. Guilherme Do Prado created both goals for Schelotto to tap in comfortably, then Kelvin Matute sealed the scoreline with a splendid angled drive from 20 yards. Salernitana are rock bottom, but also unlucky, as they hit the woodwork twice.

Piacenza 0-2 Frosinone
Frosinone break away at the top of the table after conquering the Stadio Garilli and hearing of helpful results from elsewhere. Piacenza were unlucky, as they dominated the first half and peppered the box with efforts, but paid the price for failing to take advantage of that pressure. After the restart Calil Caetano's splendid chip opened the scoring and Simone Basso was brought down for Fabio Mazzeo to convert the penalty.

Brescia 0-1 Vicenza
Brescia were stunned at the Stadio Rigamonti to fall four points off the leadership pace. Alessandro Sgrigna scored the decider with a classic counter-attack and Andrea Caracciolo had the chance to equalise when he was brought down for a penalty. However, Marco Fortin did very well to save the spot-kick and Vicenza held on to the end for a shock victory.

Cittadella 3-0 Lecce
Lecce's crisis continues with this humiliating demolition job at little Cittadella, a result that allows the home side to leapfrog their more illustrious opponents. Diego Oliveira used his strength to nod in the opener, then Matteo Ardemagni's angled drive slipped in for a second. Antimo Iunco created the stoppage-time strike for Leonardo Pettinari, before the visitors had Marino Defendi sent off.

Modena 1-0 Reggina
Reggina's crisis gets even deeper with this surprise defeat in dramatic circumstances, as Salvatore Bruno netted with the last kick of the game. The Amaranto had a strong start with Biagio Pagano's free kick and Emiliano Bonazzoli's goal was ruled offside, but Modena also threatened when Cesare Rickler's header thumped the crossbar. Bruno also hit the frame of the goal in the second half, but got his winner deep into stoppages, redirecting Roberto Cortellini's free kick.

Crotone 2-1 Padova
Padova hit the brakes and slide down the standings, as they were punished deep into stoppages. Antonio Di Nardo's looping header had given them the lead, fairly quickly cancelled out by Antonino Bonvissuto finalising a well-worked team move. The game looked set to end with a share of the spoils before Bonvissuto completed his brace at the last gasp.

Triestina 2-3 Albinoleffe
Albinoleffe pipped Triestina to a five-goal thriller in which Luigi Sala had the curious experience of scoring for both teams. He accidentally deflected a cross into his own net, but made up for it 10 minutes later by tapping into the correct goalmouth. Simon Laner turned the game around completely at full stretch on a cross from the left, but Denis Godeas equalised by meeting a smart ball over the top. Just two minutes later, Marco Cellini won it thanks to a crucial through ball by Francesco Ruopolo. The home team finished with 10-men as Emiliano Testini was sent off late on.

Mantova 2-0 Grosseto
Mantova picked up a much-needed victory after biding their time. Grosseto had the better of the first half, but were denied by the woodwork and some poor finishing. When Maurizio Nassi was hauled back in the box, Gaetano Caridi converted the penalty and 10 minutes later Nassi sealed it with a wonderful solo effort. He controlled the ball on the edge of the area with his thigh and spun round to smash the half-volley in at the far post.

Gallipoli 0-0 Empoli
Empoli waste the opportunity to catch up on the top spots, faltering to a goalless draw at Giuseppe Giannini's Gallipoli. There were precious few chances for either side.

Monday 5 October
Torino 1-1 Ancona
Torino salvaged a point with the very last touch of the ball – just as it seemed that an Ancona wonder goal had consigned them to defeat. The Granata were looking for a victory which would see them move into second, a point behind leaders Frosinone. However, Ancona frustrated the home side in the first half where Matteo Sereni was forced to make three fine saves. But the latter was left embarrassed after 88 minutes as a volley from 45 metres out by Pasquale Schiattarella temporarily saw Ancona leapfrog them in the table. Yet with the clock ticking down, Serie B top scorer Rolando Bianchi headed in an Andrea Gasbarroni cross to avoid a second successive home defeat.

Source: Football-Italia