Bologna wins to boost Serie A survival hopes

BOLOGNA - Agence France-Presse

Alessandro Diamanti, Bologna. AP photo

Bologna virtually assured its Serie A status yesterday with a 3-2 win over struggling Genoa.

Bologna started eighth from bottom of the table but, with only a seven-point lead on third-from-bottom Lecce, the northern side was still not guaranteed to beat the drop.

However after dominating the opening exchanges Daniele Portanova, in the 24th minute, and Gaston Ramirez, 13 minutes later, put the hosts at ease by giving Bologna a 2-0 lead at the break.

Genoa has not won since February 5 and fired its third coach of the campaign in midweek when Alberto Malesani was replaced by Luigi Di Canio, who paid the price for a 4-1 home loss to Siena which caused fans to rampage for 45 minutes. Genoa found hope when Rodrigo Palacio headed home to reduce the arrears in the 59th minute, but its defense, however, was ultimately found wanting and were to blame when Hungarian Gyorgy Garics gave Bologna a 3-1 lead on 67 minutes.