Two late goals proved decisive in Serie B action on Sunday afternoon as Avellino traveled to the Stadio Armando Picchi defeating Livorno 1-0 while ten-man Pescara downed Catania at the death by the same scoreline at the Stadio Adriatico. 
New signee Marcelo Trotta catapulted the Lupi to sole possession of third place when a corner kick wasn’t deal with by Livorno and the on-loan Fulham 22-year old striker sealed the victory while Marco Sansoveni hit a wonder strike from over 30 meters in the final moments to gift the Delfini a crucial three points.
The first half at the Stadio Adriatico delivered few offensive fireworks except for Matteo Politano’s elegant touch outside the area after 20 minutes which culminated in a left-footed drive ticketed for the near post but was well covered by Jean Gillet. Cristian Pasquato ratcheted up the host’s difficulty after arguing with the referee upon earning a deserved yellow card for a late challenge and the on-loan Juventus striker saw red for his continued protests.
The ejection seemingly spurred on Pescara as they created opportunities directly attacking the Etnei defense including a mad scramble to begin the second half in front of Gillet’s net when both Ledian Memushaj and Birkir Bjarnason’s attempts were thwarted by a frantic Catania defense. The crossbar stymied Bjarnason after some great link up play and Vincenzo Fiorillo came up big when Catania’s Alessandro Rosina played in substitute Lucas Castro on a long cross but Fiorillo bravely threw himself at Castro and smothered the threat.
Catania were made to pay for not pressing their numerical advantage in stoppage time when Sansoveni wasn’t closed down and hit a left-footed laser beam past a diving Gillet to celebrate under a raucous Curva Nord crowd.
The Amaranto had the lion’s share of the opportunities in the first half including two dangerous free kicks. Emerson nearly put Livorno on top in the first minute but was denied by Avellino’s Alredo Gomis and just before the half hour mark Luca Siligardi’s drive from 25 meters sailed just over Gomis’s crossbar.
Siligardi once again threatened to push Livorno on top at the end of the first half but Gomis again rescued Avellino who were having difficulty getting any kind of foothold on a match that seemed destined to slip away from the Biancoverdi.
Outside of a low Trotta drive 20 minutes into the second half, Avellino barely threatened Luca Mazzoni’s net and Gomis saved assaults from multiple Livorno attackers just after the half hour mark.
Against the run of play Avellino found the winner when Livorno failed twice to clear a corner and Trotta controlled the ball at the far post and couldn’t miss from inside the six-yard area to put the Campania side squarely in a playoff spot with 15 matches to play. The loss signals an end to a great run from Livorno who amassed 12 points in their last five matches.
