ROCCO SABATELLA
There will be over a thousand Potenza fans who will be in the stands of the Bonolis stadium in Teramo today to support the rossoblù team in the first leg of the play outs. This means that Potenza will essentially play at home because the number of Lucanian fans will be at least five times higher than that of Monterosi fans. Having achieved the superiority of the fans, it is now up to the team to do their utmost on the pitch to reach safety which was missed on several occasions in the last days of the regular season and which incredibly led Potenza to have to play the play-outs amidst the general dismay of a city that would never have imagined that the championship could have this bitter epilogue. After an initial pessimism, following the drawn match with Virtus Francavilla, everyone realized that there was no longer any need to feel sorry for themselves, but to create a favorable climate for the team to put them in the best conditions of spirit to face the two matches of the play outs, today away and Sunday 19 May at Viviani. In fact, first the ownership kept the team group in touch to make them responsible and stimulate them to their maximum commitment and then it was the organized groups who met the team last week to ask for the feat of salvation and ensure maximum support in the two matches. And in fact the climate around the team and among the group of players has decidedly changed to calm as coach De Giorgio confirmed in the pre-match press conference. Remembering that Potenza has the advantage of being able to save itself even with two draws for the best position in the standings, the concrete intention of coach and team is to put a more than serious threat on salvation already in today’s match in Teramo. How? By going onto the pitch with the right attitude from the start of the match and aiming to win in no uncertain terms. We should repeat the performance in the first half in Messina with very high pressing, speed of ball circulation and equally rapid movements of the players without the ball. Doing this for a very simple reason: Monterosi is a very physical and imposing team, which is why Potenza’s speed of play would suffer quite a bit. Another aspect must be considered: Monterosi made a considerable comeback in the second round to compete for the chances of staying in the play outs as second to last. And he played with his mind free from any pressure because he had nothing to lose given that he was already with a foot and a half, if not both, in Serie D. Now, like Potenza, the Lazio team are playing in Serie C in just two games and they can’t be as carefree as when they played, all-out, all-out and there were still many games to play. Confirmation of how Potenza will want and will have to face Monterosi comes from De Giorgio: “We will go to Teramo to win despite knowing that we have two challenges available to save ourselves, but we won’t make calculations. The discussion we had with the fans gave us the right energy. Now we all know that in this double comparison we are playing for a season. It’s a challenge against a physically structured team with a staff built with expert and top-class players. It will be a match where total attention will have to be paid to avoid making mistakes. We will also have to be focused on the inactive balls that the opponents will try to make the most of. In broad terms we will have to repeat the same race as Messina but for ninety minutes with the pace always high. The massive presence of our fans in Teramo will increase our sense of responsibility so we are ready to give our best.” All available, with the exception of the injured Asencio. Verrengia also returned to the bench. De Giorgio will clear up some doubts shortly before handing the list to the referee. Alastra should take the field in goal, Hristov, Sbraga and Maddaloni or Armini in defense, Hadziosmanovic and Burgio or Pace as wingers, Castorani, Schiattarella and Candellori in the middle of the field and Di Grazia and Caturano as strikers. There are also those who go to the bench on the ropes because the five substitutions will also be fundamental in the economy of the ninety minutes. In Monterosi the play maker Gori is absent due to disqualification and his duties will be assigned to Scarsella and the attacker Vano is also in doubt. For the Lazio players the same module as Potenza with a three-man defense centered on Piroli, Mbende and Sini in front of Forte. Eusepi and Vano or Di Francesco in attack. The game starts at 6pm and the match direction will be entrusted to Bordin from Bassano del Grappa, Monaco and Parisi will be the assistants, Lovison will be the fourth official, Var will be Camplone from Pescara and Avar Muto from Torre Annunziata.
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