There is a battle to be won, the decisive one, the one that grants direct salvation, which can in extremis constitute the purifying bath of a championship experienced below expectations. The battle takes place tonight at Del Conero and is fundamental for Ancona who can only win if they want to avoid having to deal with the results of the other fields, reaching the objective of remaining in the category without going through the playouts. Concrete objective, within the reach of the Dorians, reborn thanks to the Boscaglia treatment, fresh from the two victories against Sestri and against Pescara, the first two consecutive successes of the season, and it’s not a detail. A third is needed: today’s against Lucchese. Indispensable piece to be able to archive the season and look towards the future with newfound confidence. In fact, only with the victory in their pocket, at the end of the 90′ plus injury time, will Ancona be guaranteed direct salvation.
While with a different result they will have to deal with the one coming from Fermo, where Fermana faces Pescara. In other words, if Ancona wins they are safe anyway, if they draw or lose, and Fermana wins, the two teams go to the playouts, if Fermana draws or loses, whatever result comes out of Del Conero, Ancona is safe.
This is because the Dorians currently have a 10-point lead over Fermana, and the playout regulations state that they are not played if there is more than 8 points between the fifth-last and penultimate places, therefore at least 9.
All the players are available to Boscaglia, who should confirm the eleven that took to the field in Pescara, but which does not make anything official, as well as the disqualified Gorgone, on the other side, who will have to do without the suspended Tiritiello and Disanto, but also of the unavailable Sabbione and Rizzo Pinna. Ancona, however, will also have the public on their side, who seem to have gathered a boost of enthusiasm from the risk of a match behind closed doors experienced during the week, which was then averted thanks to the decision taken in the prefecture with assistance from Mayor Silvetti.
The tickets sold yesterday afternoon were already almost two thousand (plus 2500 season ticket holders), but the race for the ticket for what could be the last match of the season ends tonight. In the first leg at Porta Elisa, in the pre-Christmas match, the red and whites lost 1-0 with a goal from Yeboah and it was the start of a bad period which then led to Colavitto’s dismissal. The match against Lucchese is a classic now, given that Ancona have faced the Tuscans 55 times, with an absolutely equal balance sheet: 17 victories, 17 defeats and 21 draws. At home, however, the balance is clearly in favor of the red and whites. Last year in the playoffs the Dorians eliminated Lucchese thanks to a 1-1 draw scored at the last minute by Mondonico, but tonight a draw must not be enough.
Giuseppe Poli
