A convincing reaction was needed and it came across the board. Against Juve Stabia, Palermo immediately exploits what the opponents grant by legitimizing the advantage as the minutes pass and showing compactness for the whole match, played for more than a time outnumbered due to the red remedied by Giron. The 3-0 final expresses how much good the rosanero have been able to put on the pitch in terms of play and above all of attitude. One week after the direct clash, Palermo overtook the defeated Turris in Latina and climbed to sixth place, getting back in the wake of a place in the sun for the play-offs.
In spite of Baldini’s expectations, Juve Stabia who took to the pitch at Barbera did not systematically seek out the tip. The wasps immediately try to sting and move in a swarm not worried about a Palermo that also keeps the center of gravity high. The combative attitude of the guests translates into interesting plots, one above all the one that led the former Bentivegna to shoot in the heart of the area after three minutes, but at the price of leaving inviting prairies. The story of the match turns in the space of seven minutes, when on a lost ball on the trocar by Stoppa after a contrast at the edge of Perrotta, Floriano masterfully leads the transition. To finish it the usual Brunori, good at receiving the ball from a tight angle and evading Donati’s marking before hitting a not faultless Dini on his post.
The scoring count for the Italian-Brazilian striker who has quicksilver on him, as the whole team seems to have after the goal, rises to eleven. Juve Stabia needs his time to recover, a time that at Palermo proves to be enough to strike again. The signature is that of Giron, whose punishment is deflected by the barrier taking an anomalous trajectory that mocked Dini. The rosanero after 25 ‘are masters of the pitch and of the result: as often happened in these circumstances, however, the team risks complicating their lives by themselves. In this case it is Giron who makes and undoes his game as Penelope did with the canvas, taking the second yellow for a not particularly hard but avoidable touch on Stoppa in the open field, punished by the referee Collu.
Beyond the episode, the definition that can be compared to the refereeing of the Sardinian whistle, which contributed to the overall tightening of a game that was already quite tense, with a series of quite questionable decisions, is certainly not irreproachable. Despite this, however, Palermo managed to keep up the beat. Baldini, forced to pass to 3-4-2 and found himself without the substitute Odjer, knocked out by a volley in the face, decides to climb Luperini in the middle of the field and put Soleri in place of Odjer. A move that turns out to be spot on also because the cassation sentence on the match arrives just two minutes later. Valente is quick to hit a free-kick from the trocar and feed Brunori who is twelve in the season from a tight angle.
With the result now safe, the rest of the match is the same as in American sports definisce garbage time. Juve Stabia, increasingly nervous and unbalanced, does not take advantage of the Palermo gift in the slightest. There is therefore space in the space of minutes for the reconciliation between the environment and Pelagotti: punctual in the exits, the rosanero goalkeeper showed himself punctual and reactive when called into question, in particular on a close header by Evacue foiled in backlash with a more difficult parry than it may seem to the naked eye. At 92 ‘Juve Stabia scored the goal of the flag with Evacuo on a penalty but it is an episode that is valid only for the statistics. Compared to the matches against Messina and Campobasso, the team’s jump was total. Whether this race could be the turning point or a new confirmation of the bipolarity seen this season is still too early to say: in the end, however, this lap is only applause.
Palermo (4-2-3-1): Pelagotti 6.6; Accardi 6 (75 ‘Sum 6), Lancini 6, Perrotta 6, Giron 5.5; Damiani 6 (41 ‘Odjer sv; 45’ Soleri 6), De Rose 6.5; Valente 6.5, Luperini 6.5, Floriano 6.5 (41 ‘Crivello); Brunori 7.5 (60 ‘Fella 6). All Baldini 7
Juve Stabia (4-2-3-1): Dini; Donati (63 ‘Guarracino), Caldore, Troest, Dell’Orfanello; Scaccabarozzi (68 ‘Schiavi), Altobelli (45’Davì); Bentivegna (63 ‘Evacuo), Stoppa, Ceccarelli (63’ Guarracino); Eusepi. All.Steak
Referee: Collu (Cagliari)
Networks: 7 ‘, 49’ Brunori, 25 ‘Giron; 93 ‘Evacuated (penalty)
Ammonites: 25 ‘Altobelli, 27’ Giron, 48 ‘Caldore, 65’ Baldini, 77 ‘Valente, 90’ Lancini
Expelled: 33 ‘Giron (second yellow)
Spectators: 4.628
