It was business as usual for Filippo Inzaghi’s Pisa side last weekend.

The Nerazzurri got back on track with a 2-0 away win against struggling Reggiana at the Mapei Stadium following a shock defeat at home to Modena the week before.

Pisa had been expected to see off Modena at the Arena Garibaldi, yet the away side produced a masterclass in hitting on the counter. Modena were two goals up before Stefano Moreo gave the home side a little bit of hope with 13 minutes remaining.

The defeat stunned the home crowd, who’d been vociferous in their support for the Pisani all afternoon.

Inzaghi knew another setback wasn’t going to be tolerated, and Reggiana, fighting for their lives at the bottom end of the Serie B table, were put to the sword thanks to goals from Alexander Lind and the ever-dependable Matteo Tramoni.

Both goals were littered with mistakes from the very giving home side, but Inzaghi and his men won’t care. On a weekend where Sassuolo confirmed their promotion back to the top flight after only a single season in Serie B, Pisa also took a step closer to ending their 34-year wait to feel the air atop the calcio summit.

“The team was very good,” said Inzaghi following the win in Reggio Emilia. “My only criticism was not seeing the game off earlier.

“We still have a long way to go, but we’ll keep our head down and keep pedalling.”

Spezia’s 2-2 draw with Mantova now means the gap between the two is seven points, after the Ligurian side had narrowly closed the gap the week prior.

For Pisa, the home game against Cremonese on Monday represents the last big game of the season, and one Inzaghi will want to win.

Pisa walked away with a 3-1 win at the Giovanni Zini in late November, and Inzaghi will be hoping for more of the same at the Garibaldi.

Nine more points are needed to secure promotion to Serie A, and a win against Giovanni Stroppa’s side, who have their own aspirations of trying to catch Spezia in third and thus put themselves in a better position for the play-offs, would mean light at the end of the tunnel for Pisa.

Cremonese, meanwhile, battled to a 1-1 draw with Juve Stabia, and Stroppa can feel frustrated by his attacker’s wastefulness in front of goal. 

Chance after chance went begging in Cremona, and they could’ve been out of sight by half-time. 

Cremonese had 13 shots to Juve Stabia’s three, yet it ended in a stalemate, with Andrea Adorante showing the kind of ruthlessness the home side lacked.

“I’m going home and I would like to break something, but it was beautiful to see the squad play like this,” said Stroppa after the game. “We lacked quality up front but in general we were perfect.”

The absence of Franco Vazquez is certainly being felt by Stroppa, with the Argentine banned for 10 matches after racially abusing Bari’s Mehdi Dorval in the meeting between the two sides in mid-March.

Vazquez will miss the rest of the campaign, and Stroppa will have to hope his forwards find their feet in the final five games, with Juve Stabia and Catanzaro close at hand.

Yet with Spezia showing inconsistency, there is a chance for Cremonese to close the gap on third place, yet it means turning draws into wins.

As for Pisa, a win in Cremona would mean another step closer to promotion, another step closer to the big time, and another step towards the reported €30m jackpot playing Serie A football would bring. 

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