Novara 0 – 1 Livorno
Saturday 24th November
Ascoli 0 – 0 Vicenza
Cesena 1 – 1 Spezia
Cittadella 2 – 1 Verona (Postponed after 82 minutes)
Crotone 0 – 1 Padova
Grosseto 2 – 2 Brescia
Juve Stabia 1 – 2 Empoli
Sassuolo 3 – 1 Reggina
Ternana 2 – 2 Virtus Lanciano
Varese 2 – 0 Pro Vercelli
Sunday 25th November
Bari 2 – 0 Modena
Another weekend of high drama in Italy’s second tier saw Sassuolo and Livorno each secure victory, while Verona’s trip to Cittadella was suspended with eight minutes remaining due to thick fog, with the Gialloblu trailing 2-1.
Whether or not that will prove to be a blessing remains to be seen, with second half goals from Eros Schiavon and Robert Maah cancelling out Simon Laner’s headed opener and setting Verona on course for a rare defeat. The two sides will need to reconvene to play out the final eight minutes, and the visitors will be hoping they can catch Cittadella cold and salvage at least a point.
It was a far less comfortable weekend for Livorno though, who needed an injury time strike from Paulinho to see off a stubborn Novara on Friday evening. It looked as though a routine win would be on the cards when Francesco Bardi was forced into a fine save by Emerson’s free kick, but in truth this was one of Novara’s better performances of the season. Pablo Andres Gonzalez was a constant menace and forced a fine first half save from Vincenzo Fiorillo, while Ahmed Apimah Barusso almost broke the deadlock with an acrobatic overhead kick that sailed just wide. Matthias Lepiller saw an effort hit the base of the post as Novara sensed an unlikely victory was on the cards, but they were broken with virtually the last kick of the game as Paulinho steered in Simone Salviato’s cross.
Elsewhere, Padova moved into fourth with a hard fought 1-0 win over Crotone, Diego Farias firing the only goal of the game into the bottom corner from 25 yards out in the first half. Dropping a place into fifth were Juve Stabia, who despite taking an early lead through Fabio Caserta’s terrific half volley were deservedly beaten by a superior Empoli side, with Francesco Tavano and Riccardo Saponara grabbing the late goals that gave the Tuscans a sixth win in seven.
Sixth place Brescia endured a frustrating afternoon having twice been pegged back away to bottom club Grosseto. Andrea Caracciolo slammed the visitors in front from the penalty spot inside the opening two minutes, with Ferdinando Sforzini’s excellent header restoring parity ten minutes later. Alberto Scaglia rifled home from close range in the 18th minute to restore Brescia’s lead, before a Pompeu Ronaldo free kick into the area found an unmarked Samuele Olivi at the back post, who headed in with ease. Grosseto almost claimed all three points in the second half, with Daniele Quadrini’s ferocious free kick from distance rebounding off the crossbar.
An entertaining encounter between Ternana and Virtus Lanciano finished all square, Gianluca Litteri heading the hosts in front before Domenico Di Cecco levelled shortly before half time. Luigi Vitale looked to have secured victory for the hosts with a 73rd minute penalty, but a stunning late equaliser from Luigi Falcone saw the points shared. Elsewhere, Ascoli were unlucky not to take all three points from their goalless draw with Vicenza, with both Marco Fossati and Maurizio Peccarisi hitting the woodwork in the second half.
A late equaliser from Davide Succi saw Cesena claim a point at home to Spezia, who took an early lead through Marco Sansovini before dominating proceedings, only to be punished for their profligacy in front of goal. Finally, two second half penalties from Francesco Caputo gave Bari victory over Modena, who were hampered by the dismissal of goalkeeper Simone Colombi.
Player of the Week: Richmond Boakye (Sassuolo)
Goal of the Week: Luigi Falcone (Virtus Lanciano)
Save of the Week: Alberto Pomini (Sassuolo)
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