Luca D’Angelo is taking nothing for granted as his well-rested Spezia side enter the Serie B play-off mix with a long trip south to face Catanzaro.

Spezia’s reward for finishing third in the table after a demanding 38-game campaign is a bye to the semi-finals and the second leg at home.

They have been preparing for this one since closing out the season by beating relegated Cosenza 3-1 on May 13.

Catanzaro, meanwhile, reached this stage with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Cesena in the preliminary round at the weekend.

D’Angelo has already tasted victory at the Stadio Nicola Ceravolo, winning 1-0 through a Francesco Pio Esposito goal just before Christmas, although the reverse fixture cancelled that out as Catanzaro won by the same scoreline in February.

“The two matches we played against Catanzaro taught us that you always need to stay focused, even when you’re in control of the game,” D’Angelo said. “And on Wednesday evening, we’ll need to stay fully engaged throughout the match.”

Spezia haven’t taken their eye off the ball much this season. They had not lost two in a row until earlier this month before bouncing back with that final-day win over Cosenza.

Esposito took his tally for the season to 17 in that game, one shy of Sassuolo star Armand Lauriente, and D’Angelo is hoping for more of the same from the 19-year-old Italian forward.

He said: “Pio Esposito is doing very well, he’s had a fantastic season and wants to carry that momentum forward, looking to make an impact in the upcoming matches as well.”

Thirteen points and three places separated the sides before the play-offs. Geographically they are 1000 kilometres apart and face the return leg on Sunday.

D’Angelo added: “We’ve already written some memorable pages in this club’s history, playing matches that will remain in the collective memory of our fans. But to truly make history, we know we need to achieve the most important result.

“Is it a long trip? Yes, it’s definitely a significant distance for our fans, but we’ll do everything we can, for those who will travel with us, for our club, and for the city we represent, which will surely support us with great passion, even from home, watching on television.”

Catanzaro find themselves on familiar ground – they reached the play-off semi-finals last year before crashing out to Cremonese having been taken to extra-time by Brescia in the preliminary.

Serie A is a more distant memory, it is over 40 years since they last graced the top flight.

Captain and top scorer Pietro Iemmello said: “Last year we approached the play-offs differently than this year, certainly with more injuries. We paid for the 120 minutes against Brescia and the comeback in the first leg against Cremonese (drawing 2-2 after trailing 2-0) in the return match (losing 4-1).

“We have nothing from last year, the team has not inherited anything. We play differently on a tactical level, even if the group that knows what it means to play here has remained.”

Iemmello claimed his 17th goal of the season with the winner against Cesena to stretch their unbeaten run to four matches, a sequence that includes a 2-0 win at champions Sassuolo.

The 33-year-old was also full of praise for manager Fabio Caserta, who made a slow start to the campaign after taking the job last summer.

Iemmello said: “We struggled the first three months because we are different from last year and we didn’t immediately find chemistry. 

“Caserta was good, but everyone wanted him out after two or three months, regardless of the tactical aspect, he and his staff were real people.  

“Compared to last year we have more experience and half an hour less of play: we live for dreams.”

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