Serie B 2014/15 – Week 9 Round Up: Livorno and Bologna on the heels of Frosinone

Date: 19th October 2014 at 12:57pm
Written by:

Sixteen squads hit the pitch on a goal-filled Saturday afternoon in Serie B and nothing could stop the march of Frosinone who won their third straight match and top the table with 18 points, one ahead of both Livorno and Bologna. Serie-B-300x181

Frosinone made difficult work of it at the Stadio Matusa but finally defeated a 10-man Modena squad 2-0, taking almost 40 minutes to gain the advantage after Stefano Beltrame saw red inside the first 30 minutes.

As evidenced by the six yellow cards, an ejection and a mere two shots on goal, the first half was a slow moving affair characterized primarily by cynical fouls and free kicks.

Frosinone coach Roberto Stellone pushed all the right buttons in the second half as the hosts finally capitalized on their dominance in possession with a pair of second half substitutes getting on the scoresheet.

Massimiliano Carlini scored within minutes of taking the field and Federico Dionisi added a tap-in goal which kept the Gialloazzurri atop a competitive Serie B table.

The debut match for new president Joe Tacopina turned into a joyous festival for the city as 20,000 fans came to the Stadio Dall’Ara to see their Rossoblu crush Varese 3-0.

Roberto Acquafresca put in a man-of-the-match performance and his second half tap in goal may have been the easiest play the veteran striker made all day.

Six first half yellow cards did not seem to bother Tacopina, who sat with the mayor and other local officials who have committed to a series of renovations for the 87-year old venerable Emila-Romagna stadium.

Livorno made themselves unwelcome guests at the Stadio Liberati easily dispatching Ternana 4-0 putting the Amaranto win streak at three, during which the club has poured in 11 goals without conceding.

The visitors completely dominated and the match was a fait accompli in the first half when Aniello Cutolo bagged a brace in a six-minute span, including a right-footed volley on the run. Daniele Vantaggiato added his own brace in the second half.

Livorno’s goal-scoring prowess is all the more impressive as it has been a complete team effort with the club tied for second with Pescara for most goals scored (16) despite Cutolo and Vantaggiato pacing the side with only three goals.

Carpi confirmed their home dominance by extending their winning streak at the Stadio Cabassi to three matches and remain unbeaten in their first four after Saturday’s all-spot kick 2-1 victory over a reeling Latina.

Last year’s charmed season appears light years away for Latina as the club continues to struggle with only three points in their last seven matches, a form which has dropped last year’s third place Serie B finishers near the foot of the table and struggling with already their second coach of the campaign.

Nigerian striker Jerry Mbakogu bagged two penalty kicks for Carpi while Latina’s Ferdinando Sforzini’s first half strike gave some brief hope to the visitors who were ultimately outplayed and deserved their loss.

Lanciano will rue their luck as they put the sword to Perugia and went ahead in the opening minutes at the Stadio Biondi but wasteful finishing doomed the Frentani to a 1-1 draw against Perugia.

Catania are now in free fall as the Sicilians have dropped three straight after Saturday’s 3-0 beat down against a motivated Spezia side who have won four of their five matches the Stadio Picco.

The Etnei face a real uphill battle for survival having only captured a single point in five road matches. The Sicilians are a single point ahead of Entella at the foot of the Serie B table despite having played two more matches.

Rounding out the action were two home winners as Brescia defeated Pro Vercelli 2-1 and Trapani took apart Crotone 3-1.

 

Comments are closed.