Latina-Gelbison: mathematical salvation and then everything that comes

Third last day of the championship which takes place entirely on Saturday afternoon for the upcoming Easter holidays and a struggling Gelbison arrives at the “Francioni” in Latina, who hasn’t won for several days and whose ranking has become deficient, falling into the middle of the area play out. On the other hand, Latina who, despite being outside the hot zone, tries to earn salvation as soon as possible, so the fans sound the alarm prematurely with the banner in the stadium area: “OUR SALVATION WILL BE THE VICTORY OF AN ENTIRE CITY, ALL ON THE 8-4 BEND”. In reality the team is in the middle of the standings, between salvation and the playoffs but staying in the third series comes first, then what comes in more will be all for the better.

I arrive in the Pontine capital with a good margin of advance, despite the sun and the spring temperature in the distance black clouds full of rain that lead my common sense to also bring an umbrella: never was a more apt choice, not so much for me as for the precious equipment. I enter the green rectangle well ahead of time and notice that, net of all appeals, the stadium has enormous voids, even if in the North the ultras group is more numerous than usual and that is already enough. In the large balustrade the banner of the only supporting group shows off, WINGED LION, while in the smaller one there are banners to remember the unforgettable Mirko and Stefanino. For the occasion there is also the visit of the brothers from Viterbo complete with a banner, as well as friends from Cisterna. In the away sector, however, there are about thirty fans from Campania, mostly ultras, who cover their area with banners, including that of the supporting group CS96slightly asymmetrical with respect to their position.

With the entry of the teams into the field, the North has more color than at other times thanks to five flags waved then profitably throughout the first fraction. The pontini never disappoint me but today they seem to have something extra. I didn’t notice any pauses, when on very rare occasions they wanted to rest their voices, they opted to boo the away team ball and chain, but this only in the final minutes of the first part of the match. An impressive amount of clapping to accompany the choirs, masterfully managed by the drum, ten minutes after rest then raise the scarves at the same time as several black-white-blue flags. The guests, on the other hand, stand out for the waving of a couple of flags but their cheering is quite fluctuating with pauses alternating with choirs in addition to which they show some good clapping.

In the second half comes the dreaded rain increasingly thick and pouring with the passage of time. At first the guests go to take shelter under the curve while the hosts, regardless of the storm, continue to cheer as if nothing had happened without even raising an umbrella. Obviously the abundant rain does not allow flags to be waved but the standard remains high WITHOUT TRUCE. The team seems to understand the sacrifices of their ultras and after just five minutes they take the lead with bomber Fabrizi, making the whole stadium rejoice and giving even greater conviction to the supporters of the North. For the record, it must be said that even the SMALL LATIN MINORITY in the bleachers, he sings in the rain, with the rest of the spectators looking for makeshift shelters.

In the meantime the rain subsides and the guests gain the stands again trying to regroup. They wave the flag and manage to get noticed with clapping, cheers for the team and a simple but beautiful scarf just before half an hour. Then the rain returned abundantly but this time they all remained strictly in their places, encouraging the team with several claps and despite some pauses, they seemed better and more continuous than in the first fraction, in defiance of the rain handicap.

Also in this second fraction nothing can be attributed to the hosts, not even nitpicking, because they always sing, both with and without rain, once again making numerous claps to accompany the choirs, although in the last minutes the storm again. It takes Peschetola, one minute from the ninetieth, to thank them and definitively close the game, skipping the defender and goalkeeper and then depositing the ball at the bottom of the bag for the 2-0 final.

At the final whistle, all of Latina goes to rejoice under the Curva Nord for the mathematical salvation they have just reached, even climbing up to eighth position in the middle of the playoff area and who knows if after the salvation there might not be some further joy for the fans who in the meantime he rejoices, sings and thanks. On the opposite side, the Campania players go under the sector with their heads down with the ultras upset by this umpteenth defeat that confines them to third from last place and the hopes of a direct salvation now reduced to a flicker when there are only two days left.

The presence of the old and dear fanzine written and distributed (free of charge) by the members of the Nord should be noted at the end. A very important tool for which I continue to admire and thank those who, nowadays, still spend money, time and energy to get it out. In the past they could be found in almost all the curves, sometimes even in multiple versions where there were various groups and it was a fundamental means of keeping everyone updated on the life of the group, on the organization and on the stories of the away games, as well as on the visiting fans. In short, a pleasant step back in time that I really appreciated.

Marco Gasparri