Saturday 23rd March
Grosseto 1 – 2 Cesena
Padova 0 – 1 Modena
Spezia 1 – 3 Pro Vercelli
Sunday 24th March
Brescia 2 – 2 Cittadella
Empoli 0 – 1 Bari
Livorno 2 – 0 Virtus Lanciano
Novara 1 – 0 Ascoli
Reggina 2 – 1 Juve Stabia
Sassuolo 0 – 0 Ternana
Verona 3 – 2 Crotone
Vicenza 1 – 1 Varese
It couldn’t happen, could it? Having looked certainties for promotion since virtually the opening weekend of the season, two consecutive draws for Sassuolo, coupled with two consecutive wins for Verona, has threatened to derail the Neroverdi’s previously unstoppable march towards a fairy tale first ever season amongst the elite of Italian football.
Against Ternana, Sassuolo endured one of the more frustrating afternoons of their season, with Domenico Berardi seeing a first half free kick rebound off the post, while Richmond Boakye was denied a late headed winner thanks to Alberto Brignoli’s stunning point blank save. The goalless draw allowed the Gialloblu to close the gap on the league leaders to just nine points after they recovered from two goals down at home to Crotone to record a stunning 3-2 win.
A lacklustre first half performance from Verona was punished ten minutes from half time when Mirko Eramo planted a header beyond the reach of Rafael, and they fell further behind in the 58th minute when Pietro De Giorgio cut into the box before curling a wonderful strike into the top corner. Verona were level within four minutes after Daniele Cacia headed in from six yards out before turning in an Alessandro Agostini cross from similar range. The winner arrived just three minutes later, with Alessandro Sgrigna steering home from the edge of the box.
Three consecutive draws had seen Livorno drop out of the automatic promotion places for the first time since November, but a 2-0 win over Virtus Lanciano showed that the Amaranto are not going to disappear without a fight. The result was no more than they deserved after a completely dominant performance saw Luca Belingheri fire in the opener ten minutes from the break, before the ever impressive Paulinho made sure of the points in the 67th minute by rounding Vincenzo Aridita and dispatching the ball into an empty net. Crucially, the win opened up a ten point gap over fourth place Empoli, after a second half winner from Marco Augusto Romizi gave in-form Bari all three points.
It was another poor weekend for a number of the sides hoping to secure a play-off place come the season’s end, with Varese requiring an injury time volley from Raffaele Pucino to cancel out Dominique Malonga’s first half header and secure a point. Brescia were also held to a frustrating point following a frantic end to their encounter with Cittadella. A glancing header from Andrea Caracciolo saw Brescia take the lead shortly before half time, and though they were pegged back by Antonio Di Nardo’s neat finish moments after the restart, Antonio Giulio Picci looked to have won it for the hosts when bundling the ball home in the 91st minute. Di Nardo had other ideas however, heading home with just seconds remaining to silence the home support.
A solitary strike from Matthias Lepiller saw Novara move to within a point of the play-off places courtesy of a narrow victory over Ascoli. Meanwhile, both Padova and Modena saw fit to dispense with their respective coaches last week having both endured dismal recent form, and a late Andrea Mazzarini header saw to it that new Modena coach Walter Alfredo Novellino came away happier than his opposite number Fulvio Pea.
Further down the table, Spezia slipped into the relegation zone for the first time this season after their abysmal recent form continued with a 3-1 home defeat to Pro Vercelli. Atrocious defending allowed an unmarked Manuel Scavone to open the scoring after 22 minutes, and though Mirco Antenucci brought the hosts level shortly before half time with a close range snapshot, a stunning volley from Andrea Cristiano and an injury time effort from Pietro Iemmello gave Pro Vercelli all three points.
Reggina moved out of the relegation zone after they came from a goal down to record a 2-1 win at home to Juve Stabia. Riccardo Improta had put the Vespe ahead early on with a close range effort following a corner, but a composed finish from David Di Michele had the Calabrians level before half time, while a terrific looping header from Gianmario Comi secured all three points. Finally, Grosseto edged ever close towards an inevitable relegation after they were beaten 2-1 at home in a tempestuous encounter with Cesena. Down to ten men following the second minute dismissal of Federico Barba, the Grifone fell behind to Pablo Mariano Granoche’s scuffed effort, while Marco D’Alessandro bundled home to extend the lead before the break. Henry Damian Giminez pulled one back with four minutes remaining, but the visitors held on for a vital win.
Player of the Week: Daniele Cacia (Verona)
The Verona forward’s two goals are unlikely to be troubling anybody’s ‘Goal of the Season’ list come the end of the campaign, but the impact of his close range header and similarly close range tap in could yet prove to be the defining moment of the Gialloblu’s campaign. Trailing by two goals at home to Crotone, Cacia’s timely intervention paved the way for a dramatic comeback victory, putting him level at the top of the goal scoring charts while underlining the fact that Verona are now arguably favourites for the second automatic promotion slot.
Goal of the Week: Andrea Cristiano (Pro Vercelli)
This wonderful effort saw Massimiliano Scaglia lift the ball into the box, where it was chested by Umberto Eusepi into the path of Andrea Cristiano, who let fly with a stunning volley into the bottom corner that left Spezia keeper Alessandro Iacobucci clutching at thin air. The entire move unfolded in the blink of an eye, and without the ball once touching the floor until it was nestling in the back of the net. It begs the question; how Pro Vercelli can be languishing so far down the table when they are capable of such majestic football?
Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KevertonFC_84
