| Serie B: Napoli join Juventus at the top (English/Italian) |
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| Sunday, 11 February 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Play in Italy's second division Serie B resumed peacefully on Saturday, with spectators allowed into just five of the 11 matches.
The rest took place behind closed doors - the result of a tough anti-hooligan plan approved by the government in response to the death of policeman Filippo Raciti during rioting at a Serie A match last week. Italy's Serie A resumes on Sunday with 10 matches. Fans will be admitted to at least five games with workers racing against the clock to get other grounds, including Milan's San Siro stadium, ready in line with new regulations. Serie B leaders Juventus hung on to the top spot on Saturday despite conceding two late goals to draw 2-2 with Vicenza, whose Menti stadium was one of grounds open to the public. The result gave them 40 points - the same as Napoli who drew level by beating Piacenza 1-0 at a deserted San Paolo stadium. The day's fixtures passed off without a repeat of the violence that has ravaged the country's leagues in recent weeks. All games began with a minute's silence in memory of Raciti and the official who was beaten to death while trying to stop a fight at an amateur league match a fortnight ago. The visitors' stand in Vicenza was empty after the ban on the block sale of tickets to away fans, but gone too were lines of police usually required to separate rivals set of supporters. About 100 Juventus fans gathered outside the ground to chant, wave flags, set up banners, and have an impromptu kick-about in a good-natured show of support for their team. Juventus took a 2-0 lead with goals by Raffaele Palladino and Alessandro Del Piero, only for the home side to hit back through Evangelos Nastos and Gabriele Paonessa. The only sign of tension came outside the San Paolo stadium, where Napoli were hosting Piacenza. Several hundred of the club's hard-core ultra fans protested against the closure of the stadium which failed to meet safety regulations. The city council said it would take two months to carry out necessary works to get the venue in line with the regulations. Napoli had something to cheer about, however, when Argentine striker Roberto Carlos Sosa headed an 80th-minute winner. In Milan, workers continued to race to get the San Siro stadium in line with security regulations in time to admit AC Milan season ticket-holders to their team's Serie A match against Livorno on Sunday. Italian media reported that 28 new electronic turnstiles had been installed overnight. The government will make a final decision later on Saturday about whether to open the stadium for the match, in which Brazilian striker Ronaldo is expected to make his return to Serie A following his transfer from Real Madrid last month. ESPN NAPOLI-PIACENZA 1-0 (primo tempo 0-0) MARCATORI: Sosa al 36' s.t. NAPOLI (3-5-2): Iezzo; P. Cannavaro, Maldonado, Domizzi; Grava, Dalla Bona (29' s.t. Trotta), Gatti (1' s.t. Sosa), Bogliacino, Savini; De Zerbi, Calaiò (39' s.t. Montervino). (Gianello, Giubilato, Rullo). All.: Reja. PIACENZA (4-3-2-1): Coppola; Nef, Campagnaro, Anaclerio, Iorio; Riccio, Patrascu, Nocerino; Stamilla (38' s.t. Degano), Rantier 33' s.t. Lazzari); Simon (20' s.t. Cacia). (Cassano, Olivi, Gemiti, Gobatto). All.: Iachini. In Italian: Sosa trascina il Napoli in vettaUna rete dell'attaccante risolve la gara contro il Piacenza nel San Paolo a porte chiuse. La squadra di Reja affianca la Juve in testa alla classifica. Un errore da oratorio regala al Napoli vittoria, primato, entusiasmo e un po’ di serenità, nonostante un San Paolo spettrale. Succede tutto nell’intervallo. Reja aveva deciso di far entrare Bucchi per l’opaco Gatti, ma l’addetto alla consegna della distinta dei nomi all’arbitro sbaglia e non inserisce Cristian Bucchi nella lista. L’attaccante è costretto con una faccia scura a cedere il posto a Sosa. E l’abbraccio tra i due suggella una “staffetta” fortunata, perché sarà proprio il Pampa a decidere la sfida con un gol dei suoi, di testa, ad anticipare tutti. Il primo gol stagionale dell'argentino è pesantissimo. SERIE B
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