Spal-Pontedera: Crucial Playoff Challenge with Three Matchdays to Go

Pontedera is a traditionally tough opponent for Spal, considering that in the last 10 seasons the two teams have met seven times, with a record of five victories for the Granata and just two for the Biancazzurri. In fact, Spal only managed to win in the extraordinary 2015-16 season, the one of promotion to Serie B.

In addition to a double victory in the 2-1997 C98 championship, but we're talking about a lifetime ago.

Focusing on recent history, last season the white and blues lost both at Mazza with mister Colucci and at Mannucci after the return of Di Carlo.

The most humiliating defeat suffered in Ferrara dates back to the first day of the 2014-15 championship, when Brevi's Spal suffered a sensational 0-3 defeat from Indiani's Pontedera, led by a sensational Gigio Grassi.

In the first half of the current championship, however, Dossena's team managed to do even worse, being overwhelmed in Pontedera with a 5-1 that needs no further comment.

Spal's championship had started badly, but after the trio of consecutive victories against Pineto, Legnago Salus and Torres, the white and blues seemed to have changed gear.

The most optimistic had started talking about the playoffs as a goal, then the nightmare evening at Mannucci extinguished all enthusiasm and from that moment on Spal entered a tunnel from which it never came out.

The match against Pontedera was the turning point, a memory still quite vivid in the minds of Antenucci and his teammates, who are thinking of taking revenge on the Granata in the most delicate moment of the season.

The points clearly weigh much more for the white and blues, but after having achieved the safety objective well in advance, Pontedera is aiming to reach the playoff finish line in extremis.

For this reason, we shouldn't expect gifts from the Granata, who score and concede a lot of goals and are coming off two wins in a row and more generally four useful results in a row.

But Spal has no choice: with three days to go, they need to get back to winning ways.

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