Serie B 2012/13 Review: Week 41

Friday 10^th May

Livorno 3 – 0 Brescia

Saturday 11^th May

Ascoli 1 – 1 Ternana
Bari 2 – 1 Cesena
Empoli 1 – 0 Cittadella
Juve Stabia 0 – 3 Verona
Modena 0 – 1 Vicenza
Padova 1 – 1 Spezia
Pro Vercelli 1 – 2 Novara
Reggina 1 – 0 Grosseto
Virtus Lanciano 2 – 2 Sassuolo

Monday 13^th May

Varese – Crotone

Against all the odds and against all reasonable expectations, the three way race for promotion into Serie A will go to the final weekend of the season after league leaders Sassuolo were held to a 2-2 draw by Virtus Lanciano.

The Neroverdi were up against it as early as the fourth minute when Gaetano Vastola rose highest to nod home Antonio Piccolo’s looping cross from the left, but they drew level soon after through Domenico Berardi’s pin-point accurate free kick.  With half an hour played, Yussif Chibsah gave Sassuolo one foot in Serie A with a close range tap in, but and Antonio Piccolo snapshot from 20 yards had the home side level shortly before the break.

A second half winner would have taken Sassuolo up, but with Richmond Boakye steering an effort agonisingly wide before again being denied by Nicola Leali, the writing was one the wall when a stinging strike from Berardi was tipped over by the Virtus Lanciano custodian.

A comfortable 3-0 win over Juve Stabia saw Verona close to within one point of Sassuolo, and will surely see the Gialloblu go into the final weekend confident that they can snatch the Serie B title at the very last. The visitors were dealt an early scare when Salvatore Bruno struck the post with a terrific effort, but an instant break up-field saw Daniele Cacia steer in the opener. A second yellow for Stefano Dicuonzo further boosted Verona’s hopes early in the second half, and they were soon two goals up when Cacia grabbed his 24^th goal of a prolific campaign. A neat finish from Raphael Martinho added a touch of gloss to the scoreline, and Verona will go into the final day knowing that a win over Empoli will be enough to clinch a return to the top flight.

Interestingly, if Verona were to defeat Empoli, then a defeat for Sassuolo against final day opponents Livorno would see all three sides automatically promoted by virtue of the Neroverdi’s ten point lead and superior head to head record over the Tuscan side.  For their part, Livorno kept alive their own title hopes with a comfortable 3-0 win over Brescia on Friday, with Luca Belingheri bagging a brace early on before Federico Dionisi made sure of the points on the hour mark. Empoli meanwhile continued to fight the cause of the play-off chasing sides with a narrow yet thoroughly deserved win over Cittadella, with Daniele Croce heading in the winner shortly before the hour. Varese meanwhile could all but secure sixth place with victory over Crotone on Monday evening.

Novara made sure of their play-off place – should the play-offs take place of course – with a 2-1 win over near neighbours Pro Vercelli. The home side took the lead against the run of play when Massimiliano Scaglia’s mishit cross somehow found the back of the net, only for Novara to level almost instantly through a Flavio Lazzari snapshot, before a close range finish from Alberto Libertazzi deservedly bagged the points with ten minutes remaining. Spezia meanwhile salvaged a point away to Padova, with Davide Di Gennaro’s second half penalty cancelling out a Ze Eduardo opener on the stroke of half time.

Towards the bottom of the table, Vicenza’s hopes of securing survival through the relegation play-out were boosted by a 1-0 victory over Modena, with Mattia Mustachio steering home a 55^th minute winner. Ascoli however dropped to third bottom following a 1-1 draw with Ternana, despite taking a first minute lead through Luca Ricci’s header. Luigi Vitale drew the visitors level from the spot with an hour played, while a superb penalty save from Alberto Brignoli to deny Marco Ezio Fossati means that Ascoli’s Serie B future is now hanging by a thread.

Bari secured safety for another season with a stunning late turnaround against Cesena. The visitors had taken the lead through Santiago Morero’s header with just over 20 minutes left, but after Alexandru Pena had denied them a second by keeping out a Davide Succi penalty ten minutes from time, goals from Francesco Caputo and Luca Ceppitelli won it for the southerners in injury time. Reggina meanwhile made sure safety was within their own hands with a 1-0 win over Grosseto, with David Di Michele’s terrific free kick snatching the points four minutes from time.

Player of the Week: Daniele Cacia (Verona)

The Verona forward’s two goals against Juve Stabia both set the Gialloblu on course for a victory that put promotion to Serie A within their own grasp, but also saw the 29-year-old go clear at the top of this season’s goal scoring charts with 24 for the campaign. The striker has his critics, and there is no doubt that there are a number of player with greater ability throughout the division, but his contribution to the Verona cause this season cannot be called into question.

Goal of the Week: Francesco Caputo (Bari)

The striker’s 16^th goal of the season was an absolute stunner, and set Bari on course for the three points that would guarantee their Serie B safety for another season. With just two minutes left on the clock and with Cesena leading by a goal to nil, Caputo smashed a stunning close range volley into the top corner and left Andrea Campagnolo rooted to the spot.

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