Bari fought back from 3-0 down to force extra time, but Novara snatched
a late 4-3 victory to reach the Serie B promotion play-off semi-finals.
Therefore Novara go on to face Pescara in the semi-final on May 29 and June 1.
Novara thought they had their spot in the semi-final under lock and key
after going 3-0 up at the Stadio San Nicola with a Pablo Gonzales
hat-trick.
Many Bari fans left the arena and others remained to jeer their team,
but the hosts completed an extraordinary comeback in the final
half-hour.
Alessandro Rosina fired in one chance, then converted a penalty before
on-loan Inter striker George Puscas drilled the equaliser from distance.
This forced extra time, but due to the Serie B rules, if the sides were
still level after 120 minutes then the club that finished higher up the
table in the regular season would go through.
In this case, it was Bari, so goalkeeper Alessandro Micai performed an
amazing triple save to deny three Novara shots in quick succession.
Lorenzo Dickmann received a second yellow card, reducing Novara to 10
men, but they still managed to grab a winner with Andrey Galabinov’s
header from an improbable angle.
It still wasn’t over, as Da Costa fingertipped a cross away in front of
an open goal and as the move continued Jacopo Dezi volleyed inches off
target from 10 yards.
Bari 3-4 Novara (aet)
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