City of Savona 1 (29′ Rizzo rig)- Vadese 1 (60′ Piu)
30′ Savona plays with the clock. Last Vadese assault.
29′ Rizzo throws his heart over the obstacle. Ride on the wing, cross for Panucci who hits the header but sends it to the back.
28′ Very narrow lines for Savona, who defend a score that would be worth the final.
27′ Free kick that beats Radu in his own half. All “almost” in the box.
24′ Six minutes until the final whistle. Everything still in balance. Vadese attacks again. Vallone hits the header in the area but sends it wide.
23′ Biffi inserts Kuci and Calcagno for Romano and Rapetti. A striker and a defender come in and two forwards come out.
22′ Another strike in the Vadese. Tona replaces Pulina.
20′ Chills for Savona. Free kick taken from the left. Vallone jumps with his head and the downward trajectory goes past Bova but crashes onto the crossbar. Monte’s team is close to match point.
19′ Yellow for Beani for clearing the ball.
16′ The second extra half now begins.
Second overtime
15′ Nice action by Savona. Panucci almost from the back puts a tow for Rapetti. Veil for the attending Beani. Powerful but high shot over the crossbar. He ends the first extra period here. Another quarter of an hour of passion. Savona must at least resist. Vadese must find a goal that would mean the final.
11′ Vadese tries to get the ball rolling. Savona tightens the lines.
10′ Foul in midfield by Rizzo penalized with a yellow card.
7′ Vadese pushes. The azzurrogranata need to win, while the biancoblù are fine with a draw.
5′ Vadese dangerous. D’Anna crosses to the center from the left. Giannone almost finds the winning shot. Biffi changes. Panucci enters for Pondaco.
4′ From a few steps away he tries to turn his head but doesn’t get there.
3′ Piu’s shot on the edge of the area is blocked by the defence.
2′ Cherkez is immediately proactive, wedges himself into the area but extends it too much. Ball on the bottom.
1′ We start with Savona in charge of the kick-off.
First overtime
They will be additional. If they end up tied in the final, Savona will go for the best position at the end of the regular season. Vadese played a better second half compared to a very slow first half.
90’+4 Vadese closes forward and earns a corner kick. But there’s no time, the referee blows the whistle amid protests from the guests.
90’+2′ Error in disengagement by Vadese. Beani wins back and tries the Eurogoal from distance. Ball abundantly high.
90′ Recovery time begins.
88′ Esposito scares Savona by trying a great shot but the ball goes high over the crossbar. Then flipping in front. Another corner for Savona. Attempt blocked by the Vadese defense.
86′ Savona raises their range of action and takes two more corners. Nothing done. Extra time is approaching. Delicate moments because whoever scores now goes through.
80′ Double corner for Savona. On the second, Romano hits a good volley but Radu, well positioned, blocks without any problems.
75′ Monte wants to fuel the wind that now seems to be blowing more in his team’s sails. Vallonenl comes in to replace Ninivaggi. The weight of the azzurrigranata offensive tandem increases.
74′ Nice cross from Signori. Bova comes out well and blocks it.
70′ Pulina crosses well to the centre. Nobody gets there. Signori collects it at the far post but his support in the center is intercepted. Vadese now attacks with consistency and seems to have more.
67′ Ninivaggi show. Dribble dryly and aim for the area. Matarozzo knocks him out. Warned. Free kick again from a dangerous position. This time Piu hits the barrier.
64′ Vadese has now taken courage and tries to push on the accelerator.
60′ The episode that Vadese needed! Piu takes the free kick, passing it over the barrier. Bova remains still. With this result we would go to extra time.
57′ Free kick from the edge of the area in favor of Vadese. Meanwhile, Beani enters Savona for Barone.
54′ First substitution. Monte removes Mandaliti and inserts Giannone. It doesn’t change much on a tactical level. Maybe a few fewer races but more quality. Vallone is also preparing. For now Biffi doesn’t seem to want to touch a structure that is working.
50′ Vadese doesn’t shake. Rapetti supports Cherkez. Very powerful low shot that goes wide. Radu in control.
48′ Foul in an advanced position by Barone penalized with a yellow card.
45′ We start again with the same twenty-two.
Second half
45’+2 The first half ends here. In an overall balanced match, Savona did better, having found better game patterns and deserved the advantage due to the greater occupation of the opponent’s half of the field. Vadese only had a great free kick from Salis on the scoresheet. The Azzurro Granata have to raise the engine speed to at least send it to extra time. Monte has several cards on the bench that could change the momentum of the match.
45′ Esposito opens for D’Anna. Good cross, Signori almost gets there with his introduction. He sweeps the defense.
44′ Garbini screws a ball, Pondaco tries the overhead kick. Weak conclusion. Para Mitu on the ground.
43′ Salis hits a free kick in the middle. Piu takes a header but doesn’t apply the right strength, the ball goes wide.
41′ Mistake by Garbini who takes a free kick and kicks it badly, giving it to Savona. 2 vs 2 with Rapetti targeting the area and opening for Pondaco. Low shot too centrally saved by Mitu. Up until now, Vadese has struggled quite a bit to build dangerous actions, while the blue and white have been better at finding passing lines to do damage.
37′ Romano is creating quite a few problems for his opponents. The attacker starts centrally but looks for space by widening. Like on this occasion, in which he starts wide to receive Pondaco’s through ball. By a matter of centimeters, the ever attentive Mitu gets there first.
35′ Vadese needs to shake itself up. Even without creating much, Savona attacks with greater conviction. While for the azzurrogranata the only ring came thanks to Salis’ free kick.
29′ Savona ahead! Rizzo displaces Radu from the spot and gives the blue and whites the lead! Penalty won due to a touch of the hand following an amazing action by Romano. Sgassed on the left side of the area, the shot hits the inside of the far post and returns to the field. Apicella tries to return it to the net, the defense returns but as the ball moves away from the area here is the touch of the hand from Signori.
24′ Vadese spreads out well on the counterattack. Nice throw from Signori for Pulina’s run. The cross is equally beautiful. Piu doesn’t get there and complains about a withholding by Apicelli. All within the limits of contact sport according to the race director.
21′ Corner taken by Salis towards the small area. Bova comes out well and works hard, clearing the area.
14′ Savona again in the opponent’s area. Rizzo with his back to the goal manages to direct it towards the posts defended by Mitu. Romano pounces on the far post but the outgoing goalkeeper blocks his way. Return from the back.
13′ Good plot from Savona. Incorvaia on the left flank picks out Romano, who puts it in the center from outside for Rapetti. The attacker tries the bank for a teammate in tow but doesn’t give the right strength. The Vadese defense sweeps.
9′ Vadese very dangerous with Salis. Free kick from the midfield. Very powerful conclusion straight towards the crossroads. Bova dives and saves in collaboration with the crossbar. Save worth a goal.
7′ Pondaco through ball for Rapetti who slips between the two Vadese central defenders. The low ball is too long with Mitu managing to control it and restart the action.
6′ Very competitive first phase in midfield. The center of gravity of the blue and white is slightly higher but substantially balanced.
Great support for the blue and whites
4′ Rapetti harpoons a ball on the edge of the area and kicks. Ball deflected for a corner, but nothing happened following the serve.
3′ Tactical note: Both teams play with the diamond. Form 4-3-1-2. Savona’s attacking midfielder is Pondaco, Vadese’s is Salis.
1′ Off. Biffi chooses to deploy Romano alongside Rapetti in an advanced position with clear license to vary. Solution that was tried two weeks ago against Letimbro. For large stretches of the season, Romano acted as a high winger.
Beautiful view of Olmo-Ferro. The stands were packed with the Città di Savona ultras turning up the volume but there was no shortage of fans from the blue and grenade side as well as many “insiders”.
First half
City of Savona: 1 Bova, 2 Fancellu, 3 Incorvaia, 4 Apicella, 5 Matarozzo, 6 Barone, 7 Romano, 8 Rizzo, 9 Rapetti, 10 Pondaco, 11 Cherkez. TO disposition: 12 Siri, 13 14 Brazzino, 15 Calcagno, 16 Kuci, 17 Palumbo, 18 Ndiaye, 19 Panucci, 20 Beani. Coach: Roberto Biffi.
Vadese: 1 Mitu, 2 Pulina, 3 D’Anna, 4 Marchi, 5 Garbini, 6 Mandaliti, 7 Signori, 8 Esposito, 9 Ninivaggi, 10 Salis, 11 Piu. TO disposition: 12 Cavalleri, 13 Berardinucci, 14 Marchelli, 15 Fiori, 16 Giannone, 17 Vallone, 18 Tona, 19 Raffa, 20 Sarpa. Coach: Fabrizio Monte.
Referee: Pierpaolo Porzio from Genoa
Cells. Not many words are needed other than those that remind us of the rules to present this match. To go to the final, Vadese just needs to win, either at the end of regulation or after extra time. In case of a draw after extra-time, Savona will qualify for the final on the Multedo pitch. For the blue and whites there is a great desire to give joy to the fans, who have returned to full strength after the acquisition of the logo. In the last five years, in fact, the white and blue faith has remained despite there being only disappointments, both corporate and sporting. Vadese traveled at a direct promotion pace in the second half of the season. It is at the peak of its young history and also has what it takes to get to the end. The objective for both is to pass this round, beat Multedo and then place as best as possible in the regional 5-man group, whose first two places – but perhaps also third – will guarantee access to the Promotion.
