Reggina reignited their hopes of securing Serie A safety with a crucial victory at relegation rivals Bologna on Saturday. Bologna dominated for most of the game but were felled by two goals on the counter-attack by Franco Brienza and Edgar Barreto either side of half-time. Vaggelis Moras reduced the deficit three minutes from full time to set up a tense finale but Reggina clung on to take all three points. It was Reggina's second victory in 21 games and their third without defeat and sees them move level on points with Lecce who travel to Juventus on Sunday knowing that defeat would see them drop to the bottom of the standings. Bologna have two points more and remain a point off safety ahead of the rest of the Serie A fixtures on Sunday. The hosts started the brighter and could have been ahead in the fifth minute as Marco Di Vaio's effort from a difficult position flew just wide of the post. Di Vaio almost set up the opener five minutes later when he flicked Cristian Zenoni's cross out to the onrushing Bolzan Adailton who blazed over the bar. Bologna were playing well and pressing forward and again went close to taking the lead in the 18th minute with another good link-up between Di Vaio and Adailton but the Brazilian's swerving shot from just outside the area narrowly missed the target. The hosts should have broken the deadlock seven minutes from half-time as Francesco Valiani stole the ball off a Reggina defender and lobbed it towards Di Vaio who headed over the bar from a great position. They were to rue their missed opportunities as just two minutes later a swift counter-attack by Reggina led to the opening goal. Barreto sent a long pass down field to Brienza who, having beaten the offside trap, found himself one-on-one with Roberto Colombo and he sent a lovely shot into the far corner giving the Bologna goalkeeper no chance. Reggina could have doubled their lead in stoppage time as Brienza set up Barreto in a great position in the area but the unmarked midfielder inexplicably chose to pass it to Fabio Ceravolo who was quickly closed down by the Bologna defence. The visitors' second goal did not take long to come, however, and the killer blow arrived in the opening minute of the second half when Barreto latched onto a terrible pass out from the Bologna defence and the Paraguay international beat Colombo with a wonderful shot which the goalkeeper, who was too far out from his area, could do nothing about. Bologna brought on Pablo Osvaldo minutes later and the striker almost had an immediate effect as he first fired inches wide before seeing his header come crashing back off the post shortly afterwards. The hosts hit the woodwork again in the 66th minute when substitute Dyego Coelho smashed a 35-yard thunderbolt onto the crossbar. Reggina could have got a third eight minutes from time as Brienza raced onto a terrible backpass by Massimo Mutarelli and found himself one-on-one with Colombo but he hit his effort off the Bologna goalkeeper. And it was to be a nailbiting finale for the visitors after they failed to deal with Coelho's corner and Moras tapped it in from close range to grab one back for Bologna, but it was to prove little more than a consolation.
15 years ago