Vicenza started strongly, with Luca Toni spurning a good chance in only the first minute.

Then Brescia surprisingly scored against the run of play in the fourth minute. Dario Hubner controlled a pass from midfield from Antonio Filippini, and fired in to the right-hand corner of the goal for his seventh goal of the season.

Brescia nearly recorded a second on 35 minutes, when Kubilay Turkyilmaz forced Giorgio Sterchele to fumble. The loose ball fell to Hubner, who shot in to the side netting from a difficult angle.

Vicenza scored an equaliser in the 48th minute. The goal came from a free-kick from the left, which was flicked on by Toni in to the path of Lamberto Zauli. The striker's header took a lucky deflection off Brescia defender Alessandro Calori before going in.

Brescia opened the second half brightly, with Hubner in particular missing scoring opportunities.

The pressure on Vicenza intensified in the 69th minute when Giacomo Di Cara was dismissed after receiving a second yellow card for tripping Hubner from behind.

Four minutes later, the visitors almost profited from his absence, when Hubner missed a gilt-edged opportunity from a Filippini pass.

The last chance of the match also fell to Hubner. But his header, after a great lay-back from Jonathan Bachini, went just wide.