Sensational epilogue at the “Ventura” stadium where Bisceglie scores the decisive goal to access the final of the playoffs of the Eccellenza championship in the eighth minute of injury time. President Racanati’s team in fact drew 1-1, a result which, added to the 3-3 achieved in the first leg in Lamezia, qualified the Nerazzurri by virtue of the greater number of goals scored away from home.
Pignataro is available again after the disqualification and Mr. Di Meo immediately throws him into the fray in Fucci’s place. The attacker completes the trident with Bonicelli and Di Rito and represents the only change compared to the team that took to the field in Calabria seven days ago. Three changes instead for the guests who choose Scalon, Lavendri and Catania from the first minute instead of Verso, Mascaro and Foderaro. First phase of study between the two teams, but as the minutes passed, Vigor Lamezia took the initiative and came close to taking the lead. In the 14th minute the guests put together a splendid team effort, Spanò’s aerial pass for the perfect insertion of Bernardi who, however, found Suma’s sensational response to deny him the goal. The Calabrians’ good moment continued four minutes later when the Nerazzurri goalkeeper was once again the protagonist, literally saving his team with a smash following the development of a corner kick. Bisceglie finally shows up on the turnaround in front but is imprecise and wastes the restart. In the central phase of the half the hosts attempted to raise the center of gravity and in the 24th minute Di Rito freed himself with a shot but was blocked by the Calabrian defence. On the next chance from the flag the visiting rearguard is still attentive and unravels the problem. The last segment of the first half is characterized by a lower pace of play and a very fragmented match due to the tension which turns into numerous fouls and interruptions by the match director. Shortly after the half hour there were vehement protests from Lamezia who claimed a penalty for a knockdown by Catania but the referee let it continue. In the 36th minute Bisceglie returns with an excellent shot from Bonicelli on the left, the Argentinian reaches the back and crosses for Pignataro, whose attempt however goes very high. The last chance of the first half goes to Amendola, who is inaccurate on a free kick from a tight angle in full injury time.
The second half opens without changes and along the lines of the beginning of the match with the two teams very careful not to expose each other. The first two opportunities came from Bisceglie with Pignataro who in the 54th minute headed home following a corner kick, but his header was central and easy prey for Columbro. In the 57th minute Di Rito also tries but his shot is weak and does not cause problems for the goalkeeper from Lamezia. At the end of the action, however, the Argentine striker suffered a muscle problem and was forced to make a substitution and was replaced by Fucci. At the hour mark the guests showed up again with a shot from Amendola which, thanks to a deviation from the Bisceglie rearguard, ended up in a corner, sending a shiver through the Nerazzurri fans. On the following corner kick, Bernardi broke the deadlock by taking advantage of an incorrect marking by the defence; the attacker is good and cold in piercing Suma from the height of the penalty spot, causing the packed away sector of the “Ventura” to explode. The disadvantage is a boulder on the morale of Di Meo’s men who draws from the bench by inserting Dembele for Mangialardi. The Nerazzurri only met again in the 78th minute with an elegant backheel from Pignataro blocked by the visiting defence. The last segment of the match opens with a good move built by Kone in the 81st minute who does everything well except for the shot, while two turns later Foderaro wastes everything on the counterattack by putting it to the side face to face with Suma, devouring him 0-2. The minutes of injury time granted by the match director were eight due to the numerous interruptions caused by various losses of time by the guests after the opening goal. In the 93rd minute Bisceglie came close to scoring the qualifying goal, in fact on a ball delivered by Monaco Bonicelli’s split intervention ended just wide. In the 96th minute Foderaro wastes the 0-2 goal again on the counterattack and on the turnaround in front Kone shoots high from the edge. When everything seems lost with Suma desperately rushing forward, the star goalkeeper, definitely the best on the pitch for his team, scores the decisive goal in the eighth minute of injury time. The number one from Bisceglie performs an extraordinary turn, the Calabrian defense makes a mess and Lucero scores the goal making the whole “Ventura” explode.
It therefore ends with an exciting success for the Bisceglie team who will face the Campania team in the final Amalfi Coast, good at overcoming the San Cataldo obstacle away by 1-3, replicating the home success of the first leg. The final, always to be played as a home and away match, will be held on 9 and 16 June with the first leg scheduled for the “Ventura” and the return match in Campania seven days later. (PHOTO: EMMANUELE MASTRODONATO)
