Spezia swept Pordenone aside 3-1 on Thiago Motta’s debut in the First Round of the Coppa Italia, but it was far tougher for Genoa in a 3-2 thriller with Perugia.
Martin Erlic nodded in the opener for Spezia, followed by a ferocious left-foot finish from new signing Dimitris Nikolaou into the top corner.
Ex-Napoli player Michael Folorunsho converted a penalty on his Pordenone debut, but Ebrima Colley sealed the 3-1 result with a spot-kick of his own.
Spezia will face either Lecce or Parma in the next round.
Genoa got off to the worst possible start, going 2-0 down at home to Serie B outfit Perugia within 10 minutes to goals from Mirko Carretta and Francesco Lisi.
Domenico Criscito converted a penalty to get them back into it, but above all Marcos Curado got himself sent off for Perugia.
Leandro Chichizola then managed to put the ball into his own net for the equaliser before half-time.
Despite the extra man, it took Genoa until the 88th minute to snatch a winner through Yayah Kallon.
It means Davide Ballardini’s Grifone will face either Salernitana or Reggina in the Second Round.