Sunday, April 26, 2009
Reggina - Juventus 2-2
The match between Reggina and Juventus at the Stadio Granillo ended in an entertaining 2-2 draw that will not be of much use to either side, as Juve surrender second place to Milan while Reggina remain rock-bottom.
It was last against second as Reggina welcomed Juventus at the Stadio Granillo in a must-win game for their hopes of survival. The Bianconeri, who needed to get back to winning ways after a dire run of results to maintain their second place in the standings, played in a 4-4-2 formation with captain Alessandro Del Piero and Vincenzo Iaquinta up front, while the Granata played a 3-5-1-1 side with Franco Brienza behind Fabio Ceravolo.
First Half
The first chance came for the visitors in the eighth minute, when Pavel Nedved played the ball into the area for Iaquinta, who found himself alone in front of goalkeeper Christian Puggioni, but fired the ball wide.
In the 15th minute, Brienza made a run through the middle and fired a dangerous curling shot from the edge of the area that went just wide.
Two minutes later, Juve responded as Del Piero played the ball to Nedved, who fired a volley toward the far post that hit the side netting.
A minute after that, the home side threatened the Juve defence again as Ceravolo came inside the area from the right and tried a shot towards the far post that ended up going well wide.
The home side managed to take the lead in the 26th minute through Antonino Barillá, who headed the ball past Gianluigi Buffon from the far post on a cross by Daniel Adejo.
This unexpected goal prompted an immediate response from Juve, who came close to equalising two minutes later, as Nedved fired a hammerblow from the edge of the area that was saved with some trouble by Puggioni. On the follow-up, Del Piero was clearly fouled in the area by Bruno Cirillo, but the referee overlooked the incident.
In the 34th minute, Ceravolo made an impressive run through the middle and made his way inside the area after dribbling past several Juve players, but his shot from inside the area went just wide.
Three minutes later, Zdenek Grygera played in a cross from the right that was met by Iaquinta, who tried a volley at the near post that went just wide.
Just before the break Juve wasted another big chance to make it 1-1, as Nedved played it to Iaquinta, who played it back to Mauro Camoranesi inside the area, but the winger made an incredible error as he fired the ball over the bar from close range.
Second Half
The second half started with no changes in either side. Just two minutes in, Juve were awarded a penalty for a foul by Adejo on Iaquinta. Del Piero stepped up, and deservedly made it 1-1 with a cool finish, scoring his 260th goal for the club.
In the 50th minute, the Bianconeri nearly found the knockout punch, as Iaquinta found space for a header from inside the area, but he sent the ball inches wide.
Although Juve put pressure on the home side for a while after the equaliser, they could not come up with any clear-cut chances. In the 69th minute, they were punished when Reggina suddenly went in front again, Emil Hallfredsson firing a thunderbolt from 25 meters that found the top corner of the net to make it 2-1.
Two minutes later, Iaquinta came close to finding an immediate equaliser, as he made a great turn inside the area and fired the ball toward the top corner, but he sent the ball just wide.
However, in the 73rd minute Juve’s equaliser did arrive, as Camoranesi played in a cross from the right, Iaquinta played it on to the onrushing Zanetti, who slid the ball in to make it 2-2.
The match continued to be balanced, and in the 82nd minute there was a scare for Juve as substitute Francesco Cozza fired in a shot from inside the area, which was blocked at the last second by Olof Mellberg, and on the rebound Adejo fired the ball well over the bar.
The last chance of the match came in injury time, when in the 91st minute Nedved crossed the ball in and found substitute Amauri, who sent the ball narrowly wide.
With this result Juve dropped to third place, two points behind new runners-up Milan, while Reggina remain at the bottom of the table and are six points removed of the safety zone.
Teams
Reggina (3-5-1-1): Puggioni; Cirillo, Valdez, Santos; Adejo, Vigiani (72’ Cascione), Carmona, Hallfredsson, Barillá (83’ Corradi); Brienza; Ceravolo (58’ Cozza). Coach: Orlandi.
Juventus (4-4-2): Buffon; Grygera, Mellberg, Ariaudo, Molinaro; Camoranesi, Marchisio (36’ Poulsen), Zanetti, Nedved; Iaquinta, Del Piero (75’ Amauri). Coach: Ranieri.
Goals: 27’ Barillá (R), 48’ Del Piero pen. (J), 69’ Hallfredsson (R), 73’ Zanetti (J)
Booked: Puggioni (R); Mellberg, Marchisio (J)
Danilo Pochini
Goal.com
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