Unaffected by the International break, Lega Pro returned with gusto. In previous weeks teams have seemed to throw caution to the wind and slog it out as goals have gone in from all angles.
Not this week however, this week saw a more cautious and measured approach as teams seemed to be aware of their plight, this was reflected in the number of goals as they were few and far between.
Lecce provided the story of the week as they finally managed to get their first point, a sad tale for a team so well known in Italy. Venezia also continued to creep up the table making them an interesting prospect for any betting man.
Lecce travelled to Paganese in an attempt to stop the rot and pick up their first points of the season and to be fair to them they did this is style. The home crowd tried hard to lift their team but it was in vein as Lecce were in control from the off. They bombarded the opposition goal from the opening minute and only good goalkeeping and desperate defending (including a miraculous clearance off the line) kept the visitors out.
It is a mystery as to where this Lecce team have been hiding as they played controlled and free flowing football on a very poor pitch. They had to wait until the 81st minute however to get their reward when Frenchman Abdou Doumbia rattled a volley off the crossbar, this was met with a poor clearance and when Doumbia got his chance again, he made sure with another well hit half volley.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wptfiwe4KIg[/youtube]
In the rest of Girone B the biggest result as Catanzaro’s away thrashing of Nocerina by four goals to nil, whilst an ever improving Pisa side beat Peurgia by a single goal. L’Aquila’s win against Grosseto takes them up to second in a campaign that is seeing them look like posing a threat to the league leaders. Speaking of the league leaders Pontendera could only manage a disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Prato with two late goals from Juventus youngster Eric Lanini clawing back the draw for the away side.
In Girone A Venezia hosted SudTirol in front over just over 1,000 people in the Stadio Per Giovanni and the game was quick to kick into life. Just six minutes had been played when the opening goal was scored after a fine move was slotted home by Caleb Ekbuna, the celebration that followed was ridiculous to say the least.
Venezia would not lie down and continued to push on to find the equaliser however after a brief attack they invited heavy pressure and it was only some good goalkeeping from both sides that kept the score 0-1. A corner for Venezia in the second half resulted in a push in the box and a penalty for the home side. Sasha Cori stepped up to take the penalty and coolly slotted home, this draw now sees the home side in fifth only four points off the top.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYXc3AVAmsM[/youtube]
The rest of Girone A provided little entertainment as it threw up an unusual five 1-0 victories two 0-0 draws and two 1-1 draws. Much unlike the previous weeks there was few goals but it is still worth noting that Pro Vercelli remain top after another win whilst Virtus Entella remain hot on their heels after beating Albinoleffe. Como produced the surprise of the day beating Cremonese in a result that sees Como move to eighth
It seems as though after weeks of goals the teams tightened up their defences this week with only Cantanzaro bucking the trend. Both divisions are taking shape however and in the next few weeks the serious title contenders and relegation candidates will start to make themselves known
