Friday 14th December
Livorno 2 – 1 Ternana
Saturday 15th December
Bari 1 – 3 Novara
Empoli 2 – 0 Vicenza
Juve Stabia 2 – 2 Cesena
Modena 3 – 0 Crotone
Padova 1 – 3 Sassuolo
Pro Vercelli 0 – 0 Verona
Varese 3 – 0 Grosseto (Postponed after 82 minutes)
Virtus Lanciano 1 – 1 Spezia
Monday 17th December
Ascoli – Brescia
Reggina – Cittadella
League leaders Sassuolo strolled to a comfortable victory against Padova on Saturday afternoon, restoring the three point advantage temporarily lost after Livorno had come from behind to beat Ternana on Friday.
It took the Neroverdi just 12 minutes to find the net, with Emanuele Terranova planting home a header from six yards out having met Francesco Magnanelli’s in-swinging corner. The lead was doubled just four minutes later, with Thiago Cionek turning Tomasso Bianchi’s wayward shot into his own net. Padova rallied and went close shortly before half time when Andrea Raimondi headed against the post, but more woeful defending on the hour mark allowed Simone Missiroli to pick out an unmarked Richmond Boakye in the box, who slammed the ball home to put the result beyond doubt. The hosts pulled one back through a fine strike from Diego Farias, before a miserable afternoon was compounded by the dismissal of Francesco Renzetti.
It was a miserable week for Verona though. After failing to salvage anything from the rearranged final eight minutes of their trip to Cittadella on Wednesday, the Gialoblu were held to a hugely damaging goalless draw by Pro Vercelli, leaving them six points adrift of the top two. It was not for the want of trying however. Emil Hallfredsson saw a volley from the edge of the area tipped around the post by Alex Valentini, while Alessandro Carrozza should have done better with a free header from close range. The result could have been worse had Rafael failed to get fingertips to a blistering effort from Pietro Iemmello, but coach Andrea Mandorlini would surely have expected better from his side, whose form is dipping at just the wrong time.
Rapidly closing the gap on Verona are fourth place Varese, who were well on course for a fourth straight win before their clash with Grosseto was suspended due to fog with eight minutes remaining. Two close range headers from Loris Damonte underlined the home side’s dominance in the first half, while Daniele Martinetti added a third shortly after the restart to put the result beyond doubt. With visibility worsening, the decision was made to suspend play with eight minutes left on the clock, much to the frustration of the Varese players. A date has yet to be set for the resumption of the tie, but barring an extraordinary collapse, the result will take Fabrizio Castori’s men to within four points of Verona.
Meanwhile, Juve Stabia’s play-off aspirations were dealt a blow by Cesena, who twice came from behind to secure a valuable point in their own quest to beat the drop. A half-volley from Adriano Mezavilla put the Vespe ahead four minutes into the second half, with Davide Succi levelling from the penalty spot 15 minutes later. Mezavilla headed his and Juve Stabia’s second of the match 14 minutes from time, only for Succi to secure his own brace two minutes later. It finished all square too between newly promoted sides Virtus Lanciano and Spezia, with a second half strike from Spezia’s Stefano Okaka cancelling out Nadir Minotti’s earlier effort.
Finally, Novara secured back to back wins for the first time this season thanks to a 3-1 away win over Bari. The Piedmont outfit’s performances have improved dramatically in recent weeks, and having created the lion’s share of the chances in the first half, they deservedly went ahead early in the second when Daniele Buzzegoli whipped a stunning free kick into the top corner. Agon Mehmeti doubled the advantage on the hour mark with a fine strike from inside the area, and though Bari soon pulled one back through Francesco Fedato, Pablo Andres Gonzalez made sure of the points with a composed penalty 15 minutes from time.
Player of the Week: Matteo Ardemagni (Modena)
Goal of the Week: Luca Siligardi (Livorno)
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