The first round belongs to Venezia. A goal from Pierini ruins the party at Palermo in a sold-out Barbera: it ends 0-1. The winger born in 1998 gave his team the lead in the second half after a first half without opportunities. Mignani’s team doesn’t find the right spaces and surrenders to Vanoli’s men in the first leg of the playoff semi-finals. The return match at Penzo is scheduled for Friday 24th. In case of equal results in the two matches, extra time and penalties will not be foreseen. The best placed team at the end of the season will go through: Venezia. Pohjanpalo and his teammates finished in third place behind Como, with Palermo only sixth. Balance – Seasonal record of spectators at the Barbera: over 32 thousand Rosanero fans present.
the match
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The teams start at a slow pace, study each other and don’t increase the pressure. Mignani’s team tries to manage the ball, but doesn’t find the right spaces. Lucioni had the first chance of the match with a header in the 26th minute, when he sent the ball just wide following Ranocchia’s cross. Two minutes later Diakité, protagonist with a brace in the match against Sampdoria, tries a shot from outside which is deflected into a corner by Joronen. In the first half the guests’ only chance was that of Candela just before the break: central shot, saved by Desplanches. Venezia passes – At the beginning of the second half Ranocchia explodes his left foot: nothing happens. The response comes from Pierini in the 52nd minute, rebounded by Marconi. Then the Rosanero fans start throwing objects onto the pitch and tension rises among the players too. In the 62nd minute it was a flash from Pierini that ruined Barbera’s enthusiasm. Served by Pohjanpalo, Venezia’s number 10 punctures the opponent’s goal with his left foot. Sixth goal of the season for the class of ’98. Mignani changes everything in attack: Traorè, Di Mariano and Insigne come in instead of Soleri, Lund and Gomes. But the guests managed the advantage and did not let their opponents get closer to Joronen’s goal. In the final minutes Desplanches gets hurt, but is forced to stay on the pitch because Mignani has run out of substitutions. In full injury time Dembélé doubles the lead, but is offside. At Barbera it ends 0-1: Venezia wins. On Friday the return match at Penzo, Palermo will need to beat their opponents with a two-goal difference to continue to hope.
