| Francesco Tavano took his seasonal tally to 19 goals, but Ascoli fought back to win against 10-man Empoli. There was a carnival atmosphere at the Stadio Castellani, as both teams came up from Serie B last summer and were able to secure their safety in relative comfort. Francesco Tavano made what will almost certainly be his last game in the Empoli jersey.
Tavano marked that moment with his 19th goal of the season, as he volleyed in at the back post after Sergio Almiron had held up a corner kick.
Just one minute later, Tavano risked doubling his tally, but this time couldn't get the effort on target.
Tavano had several shots on goal in the first half and was determined to leave the home fans with some more celebrations, while Coppola performed a fine save on Christian Rigano's header.
However, Empoli were left in 10 men when Pratali received his second booking for hacking down Cariello.
Bjelanovic failed to take advantage of Raggi's defensive error, hesitating and allowing the defender to recover his position.
Tavano continued his one-man battle and brought a tough intervention out of goalkeeper Coppola.
Ascoli equalised on 73 minutes when Igor Budan bravely jumped up to get his glancing header on target, even at the cost of a sore head as he clattered into the goalkeeper to reach Perrulli's cross.
Budan completed his brace to make it 2-1 for Ascoli in the final minutes, springing the offside trap and placing an angled drive into the far corner.
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