TEAM ALTAMURA – MESSINA 2-1
SCOREERS: 16′ pt De Santis (TA), 24′ pt Leonetti (TA, penalty), 4′ pt Anatriello (M).
TEAM ALTAMURA (3-4-1-2): Bread 5; Manè 6 (18′ st Gigliotti 5.5) De Santis 6.5 Siletti 5.5; Large 6.5 Rolando 6.5 Painting 6.5 Andreoli 5.5 (9′ st Bumbu 5.5); D’Amico 6; Simone 5.5 (11′ st Peschetola 6) Leonetti 7 (28′ st Molinaro 6). Available Viola, Poggesi, Acampa, Lagonigro. All.: Di Donato 6.5.
MESSINA (4-3-3): Krapikas 5.5; Lia 4 Manetta 5 Marino 6 Ortisi 6; Garofalo 6.5 (36′ st Salvo sv) Petrucci 5 (1′ st Anzelmo 6) Pedicillo 6; Re 5 (1′ st Mamona 6) Luciani 5 (1′ st Anatriello 6.5) Petrungaro 6 (22′ st Cominetti 6). Available: Kurtosi, Ndir, Morleo, Adragna, Di Palma, Rizzo. All.: Modica 5.5.
REFEREE: Diop of Treviglio 5.5. Linesman: Martinelli-Pizzoni. Fourth official: Totaro.
NOTES: 2,600 spectators. Expelled: in the 31st minute Lia (M) for a double yellow card.
Booked: Andreoli (TA), Leonetti (TA), Modica (M), Pedicillo (M). Angles: 5-5.
Recovery: pt 1′; st 4′.
BARI – A good half hour in the second half at Messina is not enough to avoid yet another away defeat. The Modica team continues to struggle far from the friendly walls: only 3 points won. A first half to forget was decisive for the final result, with Team Altamura in total control of the match, master of the pitch and close to scoring several times. But the interpretations of Diop di Treviglio also weighed, as in the 92nd minute he allowed a push from Bumbu behind Salvo to continue, which could have been worth the penalty to make it 2-2. The game changes suddenly, with two episodes that they upset the plans of Modica and Messina. In the 16th minute, Team Altamura broke the deadlock by taking advantage of the decision of referee Diop di Treviglio, who allowed the game to continue despite Garofalo being in pain on the ground after a collision with Krapikas, in the middle of the penalty area.
The Giallorossi midfielder keeps De Santis in the game, who scores after the Messina goalkeeper’s rebound. Down by a goal, Messina feels the pinch and takes a risk on Grande’s great shot (19′) intercepted by Krapikas. However, the second negative episode for the Peloritani was sensational: Lia passes Manetta backwards, but the ball hits the defender’s right arm, slightly moved away from his body. For Diop it was a penalty, a controversial but probably right decision, which Leonetti capitalized on in the doubling goal, wrong-footing Krapikas from eleven metres. Messina stunned, Team Altamura masters the match: in the 28th minute, Rolando passes backwards for Simone, who loads his left foot while running and comes close to making it 3-0.
This opens up for the hosts, who in the 34th minute come close to scoring a trio with a shot from Simone, rebounded for a corner by Lia. But Leonetti is the one to devour the knockout goal, in the 43rd minute: Grande carries the ball up to twenty meters and serves the attacker, who in front of Krapikas squeezes the conclusion too much with his right foot and shoots to the back. In the interval Modica made three changes: the impalpable Re and Luciani out, Mamona and Anatriello in, then Anzelmo for the lightweight Petrucci, who ended up being eaten by the opposing midfield. The result is immediate: in the 4th minute, Garofalo enters the area for Anatriello who, thanks to De Santis’ inattention and Pane’s poor positioning, hits the net and resurrects Messina. Two minutes later the attacker could have equalised, but attempted a difficult backheel and saved Mamona’s assist. The Messina attack begins here: Anatriello finds himself in front of Pane, but graces him with an angled but lopsided right. In the 15th minute, the goalkeeper had to oppose Pedicillo’s poisonous left-footed shot. Team Altamura moves their center of gravity back and Messina believes in it: in the 21st minute, Anatriello turns weakly with his left foot and doesn’t worry Pane. In the 31st minute, however, Messina’s match takes a tremendous turn for the worse, when Lia comes in late on Dipinto, takes the ball and his opponent, and gets the second yellow and the consequent red card. Protests from the Giallorossi (Modica also booked), but Diop is adamant: Messina with 10 men. It’s the final knockout blow, because with the extra man Team Altamura catches their breath and closes the match easily, vibrating only on an oversized diagonal from Cominetti in the 43rd minute and on Bumbu’s half-thrust on Salvo , which infuriates all of Messina.