REGGIANA-CATANZARO 2-2
MARKERS 25′ pt Portanova (R), 32′ Gondo (R), 41′ Pompetti (C); 30′ st Iemmello (C)
REGGIANA (3-5-2) Bards 6.5; Meroni 6, Rozzio 6.5 (24′ st Fontanarosa 6), Lucchesi 6; Marras 6 (24′ st Fiamozzi 5.5), Ignacchiti 6, Reinhart 6 (13′ st Stulac 6), Portanova 7, Sersanti 6.5; Vergara 6, Gondo 7 (13′ st Girma 6). All. Avenues 6
CATANZARO (3-5-2) Pigliacelli 6; Brighenti 7, Scognamillo 7, Bonini 6.5; Compagnon 5 (10′ st Brignola 6), Koutsoupias 6.5 (41′ st Coulibaly sv), Pompetti 7, Pontisso 6 (24′ st Seck 6.5), D’Alessandro 5.5 (24′ st Buso 6) ; Iemmello 7, Biasci 6.5 (41′ st Pittarello sv). Annex Caserta 7
REFEREE Prontera of Bologna 6
NOTES 9,959 spectators of which 1,678 guests, takings of 119,920 euros. Compagnon, Gondo, and Bonini are booked. Corners 1-4. Rec. 1′; 6′.
The appointment with the first away victory is still postponed, but never like this time would Catanzaro have deserved the coup. A match that was turning into a surprising defeat with the one-two of Reggiana signed by Eurogoals from Portanova and Gondo, instead flirted for a long time with a total comeback, which would have been legitimate and fair given what was produced on the pitch. Pompetti’s great left-footed shot which closed the gap, Iemmello’s velvet right-footed shot for the 2-2 and, again, the scratch canceled out due to a few centimeters of offside by Pontisso, a terrifying crossbar by Biasci, the outside post by Koutsoupias, others chance and good game. The best performance of the season away from the “Ceravolo” ended with a ninth draw of the tournamentso something will still need to be filed during the stop to take the long-awaited shot.
Reggiana’s strategy of attacks and counterattacks created difficulties for the Giallorossi throughout the first half: the right-foot volley with which Portanova hit from the edge (25′) following the development of a corner was the result of one of the many Emilian transitions that already in the 3rd minute, following a mix-up between Scognamillo and Pontisso, he had committed Pigliacelli. The same on the occasion of Gondo’s second goal (32′), when the ball snatched from D’Alessandro’s attacking midfield becomes a counterattack which the home centre-forward, served by Vergara, transforms into an overhead kick Eurogoal to evade any possible intervention from Bonini .
However, two centers in seven minutes did not knock out the Eagles, who had played before and continued to do so after, building from the bottom and trying to turn on the five offensive men with the wingers Compagnon (not very brilliant) and D’Alessandro and one between Koutsoupias and Pontisso on the same line as Iemmello and Biasci.
Pontisso was the first to challenge Bardi (10′), to explode the approximately 1,700 Giallorossi fans by scoring on an assist from Biasci (the VAR, however, caught him offside by half a leg) and to waste at 0-1, only in front of Bardi, Iemmello’s assist after Koutsoupias’ mugging in Rozzio. But Catanzaro was always in the game and when Pompetti took the ball from Vergara on Reggio’s 30 meters and sent a powerful and unstoppable left-footed shot under the crossbar (41′) the goal was absolutely deserved gave another boost to a team to which there was nothing to say if they had equalized with Biasci’s right-footed shot following a Brighenti cross: full crossbar (46′).
A header from Iemmello (3′), the outside post hit by Koutsoupias served by Bonini (9′) and a left-footed diagonal from the captain saved by Bardi (15′) made Reggiana tremble. In the meantime, Caserta had removed the dull Compagnon to launch Brignola against an opponent who was no longer able to sting on the counterattack.
Seck for Pontisso and Buso for D’Alessandro increased the front traction of a 3-4-1-2 with the Senegalese on the right, Brignola on the left and the captain behind the strikers. Thus Reggiana were crushed even more and Iemmello, caught in the area by Bonini in the attacking midfield position, made it 2-2 with a soft right-footed shot (30′). The spark for the knockout was missing there, the Emilians were dangerous a couple of times in injury time, but the point is still wider for them than for Catanzaro.