Reggina remained rooted at the bottom of the Italian Serie A Sunday as they lost 2-0 to visiting Udinese in a tense game they closed with nine men.
After an uneventful first half, the game flared up on 55 minutes with the controversial awarding of a spot kick to Udinese and the following dismissal of Maurizio Lanzaro.
The Reggina defender was red-carded for his angry challenge to the referee's decision, but Maurizio Domizzi squandered the chance firing over the bar.
Antonino Barilla also was sent off six minutes later after picking up a second yellow card to worsen the day for the struggling hosts.
The home fans felt close to an incredible win with nine minutes left when Reggina were awarded a penalty that Franco Brienza took only to have it saved by Samir Handanovic.
Antonio Floro Flores sank Reggina's hopes with a brace scored in the dying minutes that strengthened his side's mid-table position.
Reggina failed to profit from defeats suffered Saturday by Lecce and Bologna and remain last in the three-team drop zone, four points below second-last Lecce and six behind Bologna with seven games left.
The game in Reggio Calabria was the only one to be played on Easter Sunday to give Udinese an extra day of rest after a UEFA Cup game they lost 3-1 to Werder Bremen on Thursday.
In Saturday action, leaders Inter Milan drew 2-2 at home to Palermo, but still stretched to 10 points their lead on Juventus, who lost 3-2 at Genoa ahead of next weekend's classic tie with the front-runners in Turin, reported dpa.