It is fair to say that this season’s promotion race is not as clear cut as in recent seasons, when a small cartel of sides have pulled away early on leaving the rest of the division feeding on scraps.
That being said, Palermo and Empoli can perhaps lay the greatest claim to the tag of promotion favourites, with Monday evening’s stalemate offering no clues as to which side will be laying their hands on the Ali della Vittoria trophy come the end of May.
The Tuscan side looked the brighter of the two sides during the opening exchanges, with both Massimo Maccarone and Francesco Tavano firing warning shots from distance, albeit without troubling Samir Ujkani in the Rosanero net.
A tough assignment for the visitors was made even more troubling meanwhile 20 minutes in when Abel Hernandez was forced off with an arm injury sustained during a fairly innocuous clash with Daniele Rugani, and Empoli continued to pile on the pressure with both Simone Verdi and Tavano testing the reflexes of Ujkani.
The theme continued into the second half with Mirko Eramo forcing Ujkani into a save low to his right, however the Rosanero came agonisingly close to taking the lead against the run of play when Eros Pisano powered a header against the crossbar.
Having gone so close, Giuseppe Iachini’s side finally broke the deadlock with 20 minutes remaining. After Davide Bassi had unconvincingly punched clear Michele Morganella’s looping close, new signing Enzo Maresca stabbed the ball back towards goal where it fortuitously deflected onto the head of Kyle Lafferty, who steered the ball over Bassi and into the top corner.
Tavano – Empoli
As is so often the case though, Tavano was on hand to dig his side out of a hole with 10 minutes remaining, latching onto Claudio Terzi’s hacked attempt at a clearance before steering into the bottom corner.
There was still time for Gennaro Troianiello to crash an effort against the underside of the bar as both sides pushed for a winner, but the honours were ultimately shared. On the balance of play it was perhaps the fairest outcome, and both sides can now approach the remainder of the season safe in the knowledge that barring a disaster and a descent into the play-off places, they will not have to cross paths again.
With the top two having to wait until Monday to lock horns, there was an opportunity for the chasing pack to pile on the pressure by picking up maximum points during the weekend. Some managed it. Others, for one reason or another, failed to seize the moment.
Victory would have seen Avellino move into the top two for the first time since week three, however they were held to a 1-1 home draw by fellow newly promoted side Latina, who themselves are enjoying an unexpected promotion push.
A game of numerous chances for both sides saw the visitors edge in front with an hour played, Marcello Cottafava guiding a looping header into the top corner having met a Stefan Ristovski corner. However, after Luigi Castaldo had earlier seen an effort cleared off the line, the hosts finally bagged a deserved equaliser in the 91st minute, with Camillo Ciano steering home from close range.
A second half Alejandro Rodriguez effort proved enough to give Cesena victory over Crotone to move up to fourth, while Trapani are now fifth having survived a Pescara onslaught to claim victory thanks to Salvatore Gambino’s composed second half strike.
That defeat saw the Delfini miss the chance to climb above near neighbours Virtus Lanciano, who also slipped to a surprising defeat at relegation threatened Reggina, Antonino Barilla with the game’s only goal midway through the second half.
Spezia meanwhile continue to sit just outside the play-off places having been held at home by bottom side Juve Stabia, with Nicola Ferrari’s second half penalty cancelling out Filippo Falco’s 13th minute opener to spare the home side’s blushes.
Brescia continue to improve having come from behind to secure a 2-1 win over Bari, while Carpi’s hopes of claiming a play-off spot remain a firm possibility following a 4-1 rout of a hapless Padova. Siena meanwhile brought Novara’s recent resurgence to a halt with a 1-0 win.
Modena eased their growing relegation fears slightly with a 4-1 annihilation of Varese, while Ternana picked up a timely 2-1 victory over fellow strugglers Cittadella
