Serie A Week 36 – Stadio San Nicola – Ref: Tommasi
Bari 3-0 Genoa – Meggiorini 57 (B), Castillo 85 (B), Barreto 89 (B)
Bari needed three late goals to get the better of Genoa, although they thoroughly deserved the victory.
The season was basically already over for these sides, who were comfortably ensconced mid-table. Bari have taken their foot off the gas since securing safety, losing four on the trot, partly thanks to an injury crisis that ruled out Mariano Donda, Riccardo Allegretti, Andrea Ranocchia and Antonio Langella. Genoa had Rodrigo Palacio and Salvatore Bocchetti suspended, joining Emiliano Moretti, Dario Dainelli, David Suazo and Bosko Jankovic on the sidelines.
Vladimir Koman went close from an early corner, volleying over from 10 yards. Sergio Almiron somehow failed to score after 10 minutes. He was sent totally clear in the final third by an intelligent Paulo Barreto through ball and got Alessio Scarpi on the ground, but incredibly ballooned the lob over an empty net!
A towering Robert Acquafresca header landed on the roof of the net, but Bari had more of the ball and skimmed the woodwork with both Riccardo Meggiorini and Almiron from distance.
Acquafresca again nodded an Ivan Juric cross off target, but Meggiorini threatened with a right-foot volley from the edge of the box that whizzed past the upright.
After the restart Koman drilled wide, then Meggiorini volleyed over.
Meggiorini had been threatening and finally found a way through on 57 minutes. He ran on to a Koman slide-rule pass and left Tomovic behind to smash a powerful left-foot finish in to the near top corner. Gian Piero Gasperini complained, as he felt Tomovic had been pushed, and earned a red card.
Raffaele Palladino tested Jean-Francois Gillet at the near post, but Bari doubled their lead.
Substitute Jose ‘Nacho’ Castillo had only been on the field for three minutes when he ran on to a through ball and coolly placed an angled drive across the goalkeeper into the far bottom corner.
Barreto made it 3-0 soon after, as he sprung the offside trap to fire low from just inside the area.
Bari: Gillet; Belmonte, A Masiello, Bonucci, S Masiello; Alvarez, Gazzi, Almiron (Donati 77), Koman (Parisi 79); Barreto, Meggiorini (Castillo 82)
Genoa: Scarpi; Tomovic, Papastathopoulos, Criscito; Mesto, Zapater (Cofie 65), Milanetto, Juric; Sculli (Boakye 71), Acquafresca, Palladino (El Shaarawi 71)
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