Palermo 3 - 2 Hellas Verona: Palermo scrape win over Hellas Verona to secure Serie A survival

Posted Monday, May 16, 2016 by PA

Palermo squeezed past plucky Hellas Verona with only the odd goal in five securing their status as a Serie A club.

Franco Vazquez lifted the Sicilians, who have employed seven different head coaches this season, before the confusion surrounding the double dismissal of Pawel Wszolek and Michel Morganella allowed basement boys Hellas to respond through Federico Viviani.

At that point Palermo were heading towards Serie B as their 18th-placed rivals Carpi were beating Udinese, but Enzo Maresca and Alberto Gilardino saved the day for Davide Ballardini's men, rendering Eros Pisano's late goal for Verona a mere consolation in a 3-2 defeat.

It was not until the 28th minute that the Sicilians opened the scoring. Increasing pressure from the home side brought Oscar Hiljemark into a position to touch the ball inside for Vazquez, whose left-footed drive was too fast for visiting goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini.

Verona hit a post through Giampaolo Pazzini before a flare-up in the middle of the park led to the dismissal of two players.

Hellas winger Wszolek and Palermo full-back Morganella raised their hands to each others' faces in a heated confrontation and quickly saw red for doing so.

The indiscipline hurt Palermo rather than their opponents when play resumed, as Viviani struck a blow that dumped them, briefly, into the drop zone.

With Carpi leading Udinese, the Verona midfielder's powerful finish meant the Rosanero were going down as things stood.

Enter Maresca. The well-travelled 36-year-old eased Palermo's fears in the 51st minute as he nodded Andrea Rispoli's long pass forward past Gollini.

Carpi must have hoped Verona would put up more of a fight from that point forward, but it was not to be.

In the 64th minute Gilardino booked the Sicilians another year in the top flight by heading a Rispoli cross into the net.

It was just as well the former Parma and Fiorentina player struck when he did as Verona forced a dramatic finish through Pisano, who knocked Viviani's free-kick beyond Stefano Sorrentino.