Rome  - Siena edged and lowly visitors Reggina 1-0 Saturday in the first game of a round that marks the halfway mark of the Italian Serie A.

Mario Frick came on from the bench to give Siena a second-half winner after both sides played most of the game worrying mostly about not losing.

The win ended a bad run of four defeats for Siena and pushed them seven points above the danger zone. The southern-Italy guests remain in trouble lying second-from-last in the three-team relegation zone.

After a fairly uneventful first half, Reggina came back from the changing rooms with better grit and determination and a Bernardo Corradi header forced a great save from Emanuele Manitta that, however, had no relevance due to the offside position of the Reggina striker.

Siena were in trouble again as Paraguayan Edgar Barreto fired narrowly wide off a feed from Franco Brienza.

The hosts gradually recovered from their slow start in the second half and Frick, a Liechtenstein striker who replaced Massimo Maccarone, took off on the left flank and drilled a left-footed drive past Andrea Campagnolo on 74 minutes.

Few minutes later, the home crowd thanked Manitta for a great save on a smashing shot from Francesco Cozza that allowed the Tuscany hosts to secure three valuable points.

In later Saturday action, AC Milan welcome Fiorentina in a crucial game to secure fourth place.

Front-runners Inter Milan play Sunday away to Atalanta in a regional derby, while second-place Juventus, lying four points adrift, play a late game against Lazio in Rome. (dpa)