207 days without winning away: this is the burden that will accompany Bari in the match that is worth a season, the one scheduled on the Ternana pitch on Thursday 23 May at 8.30pm for the return of the playouts. There is no other recipe for Di Cesare and his teammates after the 1-1 draw on 16 May at San Nicola: win within regulation time or it will be Serie C, thanks to the better placing of Ternana – fifth from last with 43 points, +2 on red and white – at the end of the regular season. Paradoxical, considering that in three seasonal meetings with the Umbrians Bari has never lost: 0-0 on 3 September in Terni, 3-1 at San Nicola on 13 January and 1-1 last week in the first leg of the salvation play-off .
Away from home this season the red and whites’ progress has been deficient: just 14 points scored, the result of two successes, eight draws and nine knockouts out of 19 attempts in the regular season. The success has not even happened since 29 October 2023, when Pasquale Marino was on the bench, having replaced Michele Mignani for 20 days at the time: Lombardy’s lead in the 11th minute with Moncini on a penalty was responded to by Davide Diaw, who had now disappeared from the radar , in the 58th minute, and a winning strike from Francesco Vicari in the 76th minute. It was the 11th day of the championship and Bari moved into tenth place, reaching 14 points, -2 from the playoff zone and +6 on the playout zone. Since then away from San Nicola in the next 13 matches there have been just five draws with eight knockouts to weigh down the back. In Serie B 2023/24 only Lecco, bottom of the table and relegated weeks ago, did worse away.
A completely different film compared to the previous year, when with 10 external blitzes Bari tied the record of away victories set 14 years earlier under the guidance of Antonio Conte. If the red and whites are slow away from home, it is also true that Ternana is not running at the Liberati: five away victories for the red and greens, with seven draws and as many defeats to complete the internal score, the seventeenth of the entire championship. Numbers and nine months’ history on the field, which Thursday’s match will be able to cancel or confirm. With no possibility of appeal for either challenger. In the meantime, Gos has confirmed the travel ban on residents of Puglia, with 1919 tickets available in the Away sector and on sale but not online until 10pm on Wednesday, and many red and white fans who live outside the region have decided not to attend of solidarity with organized groups. Instead, it’s heading towards a sold out due to the home fans.
