Late goals were not uncommon during Week 18 of the Serie B games. League leaders Lecce were held to a surprise home draw against lowly Ascoli after a tense encounter that saw the Salentini coach Gigi De Canio get sent-off. Lecce played the entire second period with 10 players as Giuseppe Vives was given marching orders after 42 minutes.

Ancona stood to benefit the most as the hosts ran out comfortable winners against an inconsistent Brescia side. The Rondinelle are a force to reckon with at the Stadio Mario Rigamonti, but have struggled with six losses in eight matches away from home. The result came as no surprise and the Dorici won 2-0 courtesy of goals by Matias Miramontes and Andrea De Falco – on loan from Chievo – with both strikes coming in the second-half.

The biggest winners of this weekend were perhaps Sassuolo, whose players came on top in Turin thanks to an Alessandro Noselli strike inside the last 15 minutes of the match. This was Torino’s fourth home defeat of the season, causing visible anger amongst the Tifosi, who protested by invading the VIP section at the Stadio Olimpico.

Fourth placed Empoli emerged victorious against visitors Vicenza but the win came after a tough encounter, and was due to a penalty converted by Brazilian striker Eder inside the last 10 minutes. Eder has been drawing comparisons with former Milan icon Kaka. The Azzurri have the best home record in the Serie B with eight wins in nine matches at the Stadio Carlo Castellani.

Cesena surprisingly lost away to Padova by a solitary late goal scored through Andrea Soncin. The visitors dropped from third to fifth in the standings while the hosts achieved their first win following four consecutive defeats.

At the bottom of the table Salernitana failed to take advantage of playing at home to Albinoleffe and managed a 1-1 draw. Gabriele Perico opened the scoreing, before Mariano Stendardo put the game back on par. Salernitana remained bottom of the standings following the result.

Another match ending in a 1-1 tie took place in Modena, where the hosts could only manage a point from their clash with visiting Mantova. Andrea Catellani scored first for Modena before Simone Malatesta snatched a point for the visitors.

Grosseto returned with all three points from their trip to Piacenza thanks to substitute Mauricio Pinilla’s goal on 81 minutes, as he took advantage from a corner to nod home the winner.

Frosinone continued their survival after a tough stretch and secured a late 2-1 victory over Cittadella. Simone Basso scored first from the penalty-spot but the hosts led for no more than a minute, as Antimo Lunco drew his team level. Vincenzo Santoruvo scored deep into injury time to secure all three points for Frosinone.

In perhaps the round’s most entertaining match Crotone welcomed Gallipoli and came on top in a match that witnessed six goals, including three penalties, and one player receiving his marching orders. The first-half finished 3-1 with Brazilian Gabionetta converting a penalty-kick, with Nicola Beati and Elia Legati scoring for Crotone while Ciro Ginestra struck for the visitors. The second period saw Archimede Morleo score from the spot for the hosts, before Francesco Galeoto was sent-off for them and Francesco Di Gennaro converted a penalty for Gallipoli.

Here are the results:

Padova 1 – 0 Cesena
Torino 0 – 1 Sassuolo
Crotone 4 – 2 Gallipoli
Frosinone 2 – 1 Cittadella
Salernitana 1 – 1 Albinoleffe
Lecce 0 – 0 Ascoli
Empoli 1 – 0 Vicenza
Ancona 2 – 0 Brescia
Piacenza 0 – 1 Grosseto
Modena 1 – 1 Mantova

Rami Soufi, Football Italiano