Only Padua smiles, in Empoli and Pescara a draw is not enough
Only Padova smiles on a Serie B Sunday that revives the biancoscudati’s salvation prospects, does not solve Empoli’s worries and leaves Pescara in trouble. If in fact the Veneti beat Reggiana 1-0, bringing themselves to +4 on the playout zone, the Tuscans do not go beyond a 1-1 home draw with Virtus Entella: a draw that leaves both teams straddling the fateful sixteenth place, now occupied by the Ligurians, with the Azzurri at +1. It helps little the 2-2 draw by the Abruzzesi on the field of Carrarese: the Delfino remains third-last.
For Padova, Seghetti is decisive, who in the 80th minute folds the resistance of last-place Reggiana and signs the winning goal for the hosts. Empoli, down in the 13′ for Guiu’s goal, tied the score with Virtus Entella in the 50′ thanks to Magnino. Final match without the contribution from the bench of coach Fabio Caserta, who was ejected at 64′. In Carrara, on the other hand, all the possible outcomes alternated: the hosts’ advantage at 19′ with Di Stefano, Letizia’s equalizer at 35′, overtaking signed by Acampora at 61′ and Bouah fixing the final draw for Carrarese at 84′.
At the Euganeo, Padova’s victory came in front of a crowd of great occasions: more than 11 thousand spectators in the stands, with about a thousand granata fans in tow despite Reggiana’s standings situation. Roberto Breda, who had to give up several injured players including Barreca and Lasagna, was able to count on an orderly and concrete team, deployed with a 3-5-2 with Crisetig at the helm. On the other side, Pierpaolo Bisoli had to cope with the absences of Paz, Rozzio and Sampirisi, confirming the 4-3-3 with Gondo and Lambourde in attack.
For Reggiana, this is a very hard blow in terms of salvation: the Emilians remain last in the standings with 33 points, in the week in which they had arrived at the challenge with renewed confidence after the success over Carrarese in the previous round. That positive result was not enough to turn things around, and now the situation is becoming increasingly critical with the final days of the championship just around the corner.
At the Castellani, Fabio Caserta’s Empoli needed a win to move away from the playout zone, but the draw with Virtus Entella complicates the Azzurri’s plans. Gennaro Chiappella’s team, deprived of the disqualified Squizzato and with De Frate between the posts in place of the injured Colombi, was able to make itself dangerous with Guiu, author of the lead in the first half, and held its opponents until the triple whistle. For Empoli, the expulsion of Caserta, who will not be able to be on the bench in the next round, also weighed heavily.
The Carrara draw instead keeps alive the playoff hopes of Carrarese, which with 42 points remains in the running for eighth place. Calabro’s men, coming off a defeat against Reggiana that had broken a streak of three consecutive victories, showed character by twice coming back in the match. For Pescara, on the other hand, the 2-2 draw away from home was not enough: the Delfino remains third-last with 33 points, still embroiled in the fight not to be relegated and with very little room to maneuver in the remaining days.
The snapshot of the standings, updated with this Sunday’s results, sees Venezia firmly in the lead with 75 points, followed by Frosinone and Monza at 72. At the tail end, the situation remains dramatically open: Spezia, Pescara and Reggiana are paired at 33, with the playout, however, remaining within reach for all three teams: fourth-last-place Bari is in fact at 34.
