Roma 0-0 Chievo

Chievo moved a step closer to Serie A safety with a goalless draw against inconsistent Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.

Domenico Di Carlo's men frustrated the Giallorossi and held on for a point despite having Giampiero Pinzi sent off in injury-time.

Sixth-placed Roma had thrown away a two-goal lead to another struggling team, Lecce, in their last home match before winning by the odd goal in five, were tighter defensively today.

But they struggled to break down the Flying Donkeys despite the efforts of the talismanic Francesco Totti.

It was Totti who had the first chance of the game for the home side, firing in a fierce free-kick in the third minute which Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino fisted to safety.

In the 16th minute Julio Baptista's shot took a deflection and Sorrentino needed to react smartly to punch it away for a corner.

Twelve minutes later midfielder Luca Rigoni beat Roma's Rodrigo Taddei to the ball to deny him a scoring chance after good work by Baptista.

And two minutes later Totti went close again with a fierce right-footed drive which just cleared the angle of post and bar.

Just before the break the home side had a lucky escape when defender John Arne Riise played striker Sergio Pellissier onside.

The Chievo captain, who scored an impressive hat-trick to earn his team an unexpected point away to Juventus last month, was left one-on-one with Roma goalkeeper Artur, but wasted the chance.

Roma started the second half on the front foot and in the 56th minute Sorrentino made good saves to deny Totti, then the rebound effort from World Cup-winning midfielder Simone Perrotta.

Three minutes later and Sorrentino was busy again, diving to tip Baptista's right-footed free-kick round the post.

In the 78th minute Pellissier shot from distance but his weak shot was easily saved by Brazilian goalkeeper Artur, meaning the Chievo top scorer was unable to add to his tally of 12 Serie A goals this season.

In the closing stages Totti tried a long-range shot but his effort was too central and Sorrentino, who started his career with Lazio, blocked it.

Three minutes into injury-time Pinzi, the on-loan Udinese midfielder, picked up his second yellow card and was dismissed - but the Flying Donkeys held on.

The point is welcome as they bid to avoid an immediate return to Serie B, leaving them six points clear of the bottom three with just four matches of the campaign remaining.