Marco Parolo's late goal earned Cesena their first win of the season in a dull 1-0 win at Bologna in the Emilia-Romagna derby at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.
Chances were few and far between and the game appeared to be heading for a disappointing goalless draw before Parolo took matters into his own hands and scored from distance in the 84th minute.
Cesena remain rooted to the bottom of Serie A after winning for the first time this season in 11 attempts, still four points behind their hosts, who are now hovering just above the bottom three.
Cesena were the first to finally find a rhythm towards the end of a typically aggressive first 45 minutes and they had the two best chances of the half with Dominique Malonga shooting wide from 20 yards and Parolo then going a little closer with a shot from just inside the penalty area.
Robert Acquafresca wasted Bologna's first big chance of the game in the 56th minute when he shot straight at Francesco Antonioli in the Cesena goal.
Adrian Mutu tried his luck with a free-kick for Cesena from 35 yards which Jean-Francois Gillet pushed past his post.
Gillet parried another Mutu set-piece wide moments later as the Romanian came even closer to breaking the deadlock.
Panagiotis Kone almost carved out a winner at the other end when he dribbled into the area from the left, leaving three Cesena defenders in his wake before blazing his shot over the crossbar in the 76th minute.
The game seemed to be heading for a stalemate until the 84th minute when Parolo curled in a shot out of nothing from 25 yards, leaving Gillet no chance and earning Cesena their first win of the season.
