Novara Calcio 0 : 2 AS Roma - Roma move into top half

Two second-half goals earned Roma all the points in a 2-0 win at Novara, as the Giallorossi surged into the top half of the Serie A table.

Bojan Krkic and Pablo Osvaldo were both on target in the space of three minutes to earn Luis Enrique's side the win against their plucky hosts, who remain inside the bottom three as a result of their fifth defeat of the season.

Novara managed to hold their own against their illustrious rivals for almost an hour before caving in, and they were unable to find a route back into the game.

Novara have won just one game since returning to their top flight - a 3-1 triumph over Inter Milan in September - and they could slip to 19th on Sunday if results go against them.

A repeat of that historic victory over Inter seemed a possibility early on as the hosts more than matched their guests.

Francesco Marianini thought he had headed the home team in front in the 19th minute but his goal was rightly ruled out for offside.

Takayuki Morimoto was causing problems in the Novara attack but his shot in the 33rd minute was straight at Maarten Stekelenburg.

The best chance of the first half arrived when the Novara defence was beaten for the first time and Rodrigo Taddei sent a volley wide of the far post.

Stekelenburg denied Riccardo Meggiorini in the 69th minute as the Novara striker broke through but failed to beat the last line of the Roma defence.

Just four minutes later, Roma went ahead through Krkic. The former Barcelona forward slid in to meet Miralem Pjanic's low cross and beat Alberto Fontana.

A minute later, Filippo Porcari's shot struck the outside of the post as Novara responded immediately.

But Osvaldo's header from a corner moments later ended the home side's hope of a fightback.