Palermo are now just one point away from securing an immediate return to Serie A following Saturday’s comprehensive 3-1 victory at Latina.
The hosts came into this encounter occupying second place and were looking to further their own prospects of automatic promotion. However they were blown away by a second half performance that leaves the Rosanero 18 points clear of third with the same number to play for.
An uneventful first half saw Latina come closest to opening the scoring, with Jonathas firing over from a good position on the edge of the box. The game sparked into life however shortly after the restart, with a dreadful defensive error from Riccardo Brosco allowed Paulo Dybala to steal in and tuck home the opener.
A stunning point blank save from Alessandro Iacobucci denied Dybala a second moments later, and with a little less than an hour played Latina were level through Michele Paolucci, who steered home from close range following a well worked set-piece.
Palermo continued to pile on the pressure, and despite further heroics from Iacobucci in the Latina goal, a rare mistake from the keeper allowed Eros Pisano to head the Rosanero deservedly back in front.
With Latina’s resolve broken, it was left for Kyle Lafferty to steer home the goal that sealed the match and effectively rubber stamped Palermo’s promotion with six games to spare.
Latina’s loss meanwhile was Empoli’s gain, with the Tuscans managing to reclaim second spot with a 2-0 win over Spezia. A neat first half finish from Daniele Rugani was added to after the break by Francesco Tavano to secure a fourth straight home win, but avoiding a fourth straight away defeat at Brescia this coming weekend is a must.
It was a mixed bag of results for the rest of the chasing pack meanwhile. Crotone missed the chance to go third following a 2-0 defeat at Avellino, while Virtus Lanciano’s recent resurgence continued with a 1-0 win at Varese.
Cesena slipped one place to sixth following a 3-0 home defeat to Brescia, while seventh place Cesena were held to goalless draw by Carpi. Rounding off the play-off places is Trapani, whose 3-0 victory over Juve Stabia finally put the Vespe out of their misery and condemned them to Lega Pro football next season.
Padova look increasingly set to join them following a 2-1 home defeat to Bari, as do Reggina who suffered a 1-0 reversal against fourth bottom Cittadella. That result closed the gap on fifth bottom Novara to just a point after they were held to a goalless draw at Pescara, while Ternana still have work to do to ensure their safety despite a creditable 3-3 draw at Modena.
