Valenzana Snatches Last-Gasp Winner, Piling on Imperia’s Woes as Serie D Season Tightens

A charged autumn afternoon at Stadio Comunale delivered late drama and a vital three points for Valenzana, who edged Imperia 2-1 with a stoppage-time strike that could yet serve as a season-altering moment in Serie D’s Girone A. With the stands still buzzing from a match where tension never waned, Valenzana's players lifted their arms in relief and celebration—well aware of what this win could mean for a side that has flirted with crisis and needed a turning point.

The home supporters hardly had time to find their seats before controversy colored the encounter. On 20 minutes, a swift Valenzana attack saw Imperia’s defense broken. A clumsy challenge in the area left the referee with little option but to point to the spot. The Valenzana penalty taker stepped up with the weight of recent weeks on his shoulders and, amid palpable anxiety, coolly slotted the ball past Imperia’s goalkeeper, sending the home crowd into raucous applause.

For much of the first half, Valenzana pressed in search of a cushion—unsurprising for a squad that had found just six goals across six matches all season. Yet it was Imperia, winless and rooted at the bottom of the table, who clawed their way back into contention. Against the run of play in the 41st minute, a rare foray forward paid dividends when Imperia’s equalizer rippled the net, the result of a slick move down the right and a clinical finish.

The equalizer punctured Valenzana’s early confidence, and the contest entered halftime knotted at one goal apiece, with both benches animated and aware that the margins for error were rapidly shrinking as the league table began to clarify itself.

For Valenzana, this fixture meant more than mere points. Their recent form—one win in six, a string of draws, and some anxious late concessions—had dialed up scrutiny. At kickoff, Valenzana sat 12th in the standings, just four points ahead of Imperia and uncomfortably close to the relegation zone. The last month had been a slog: a 1-1 draw at Celle Varazze, a painful 2-1 home loss to Derthona, another split point at Asti, and an agonizing last-minute draw at home with Sanremese. That context lent urgency to every challenge, every chance, and most of all every mistake.

Imperia’s predicament was even bleaker. They entered the day 18th, with just two points from six matches and none of the resilience that had made them a mid-table fixture in seasons past. Recent results had exposed the fragility at both ends: a 2-2 draw with Ligorna, a 3-1 reverse at Vado, and a chastening 5-0 home defeat to Sestri Levante. The visitors showed admirable grit to stay level well into the match, but their inexperience under pressure began to show as the second half unfolded.

The final 45 minutes brimmed with nervous energy. Valenzana probed for openings, and Imperia, clearly conscious of what even a draw could mean for their survival fight, dropped deeper and deeper. It became a siege, Valenzana throwing numbers forward, desperate for a breakthrough that had so often eluded them this campaign.

And then, as the clock crept toward 90, came the moment that could linger in Imperia’s nightmares. As Valenzana surged one last time, a searching ball was floated into the box. Amid a scramble, the ball ricocheted to the feet of a Valenzana attacker, who lashed home from close range in the dying seconds. The release of emotion was immediate: bench, players, crowd as one, celebrating a goal that felt both redemptive and precious.

Imperia’s frustration spilled over in the closing moments: a reckless challenge in stoppage time earned one of their number a straight red card, compounding the pain of defeat and further complicating selection for the weeks to come.

With the whistle, Valenzana’s ascent—however modest—became official. They move to six points, keeping daylight between themselves and the bottom three as Girone A’s traffic jammed midtable grows ever more congested. Imperia, meanwhile, remain anchored in 18th, with a defense too porous to protect slim leads and an attack that has not yet found its identity.

If head-to-head history in this fixture has often been close-fought, today’s result underscored just how thin the margins are in a league where every point feels hard won. For Valenzana, the promise of progress will be measured by their ability to string results together: the next fixtures will reveal whether this dramatic afternoon fuels the consistency needed to climb from danger. For Imperia, the search for a first win becomes ever more desperate, and the specter of relegation looms after yet another late collapse.

As Serie D’s autumn grind presses on, Valenzana’s faithful were left to savor a rare taste of last-minute glory—a moment that could yet define their season. Imperia, battered and shorthanded, face the reality that time for a turnaround is fast running out.