There was a Samba hat-trick on Sunday, as a trio of Brazilians lined-up at the Stadio Sant’Elia, and all three hit the back of the net to complete the scoring in the crucial tie between Cagliari and Livorno – unfortunately for the Isolani however, two of them were wearing the Amaranto jerseys of their Tuscan visitors.
The match eventually ended 2-1 in the Labronici’s favour, but anybody tuning in to watch the game having missed out on one of the club’s meagre allocation of 4,500 tickets would have been forgiven for switching off before the interval having witnessed nearly three-quarters of an hour of humdrum football, during which there was rarely a shot on goal and the away side looked much the better team.
It must be said though, that those who stopped viewing at around the 43-minute mark to make themselves a half-time panini were ill-advised to have done so.
After 44 minutes, it wouldn’t have been too surprising if this was also the thought going through referee Andrea de Marco’s head as Livorno midfielder Emerson, who was closer to the half-way line than the opposition penalty area, shaped up to fire an ambitious left-footed drive goal-wards from all of 45 yards out.
What followed was something very special indeed, and was surely one of the finest strikes seen throughout Europe at the weekend – even Vlada Avramov appeared to be in awe as he remained rooted to the spot, watching as the ball swerved viciously, and rifled into the left side of what may as well have been an empty net.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCWJZfv8OEY[/youtube]
This was the piece of magic which sparked the game into life and lit the fuse on a real firecracker of a match, as both sets of players awoke from their slumber to deliver a highly dramatic second period, which proved to be the complete polar opposite of the first.
Cagliari emerged after the restart determined to make amends, having thus far been outperformed by a Livorno side which had displayed much more hunger and desire, and in truth, le Triglie’s 1-0 lead was no less than they deserved at that point.
10 minutes after the restart, the home team’s situation would get worse though, as Vlada Avramov came out to meet Paulinho, who was left free by the defence to race on to a well-placed Marco Benassi free kick from wide on the right – the Serbian hesitated, and failed to really focus on either the trajectory of the ball or the run of the striker, bringing the opposition player down clumsily, and gifting Livorno the opportunity to double their advantage from the spot.
Having won the penalty for his side, Paulinho duly stepped up to take it, and struck the ball into the left side of the net, narrowly beating Avramov, who despite touching it on it’s way in, missed the opportunity to redeem himself following his calamitous mistake.
It was his ninth goal of the season, and anyone who had been following Livorno closely this term would have realised that the Amaranto had not lost a single game when their Brazilian hit-man had found the back of the net – an ominous omen for the Isolani, and a trend which didn’t look like it was about to be bucked on Sunday, with the 28-year-old putting his side 2-0 up after 54 minutes.
Coach Diego Lopez opted to haul Daniele Dessena off just two minutes later, and the whistles the former Sampdoria midfielder was greeted with upon leaving the pitch to be replaced by Victor Ibarbo were likely to have been as much due to his abject display in the middle of the park as they were a product of the crowd’s displeasure at what they’d seen from their side up until then.
Just after the hour-mark however, the Sardi were given new hope by their own Brazilian star, Nene, who picked up the ball from Gabriele Perico and ran into the box on the right, cutting the ball inside to curl a beautiful effort with his left boot past Ishak Belfodil and into the left side of Francesco Bardi’s net.
Whilst not quite as magnificent as Emerson’s opener, it was still an excellently crafted solo goal, and aside from this, the Sao Paolo native fought like a lion to get his side back into the match, and was one of the best players on the field.
For a a quarter of an hour it seemed like they could salvage something from the game, but with twenty minutes to play, captain fantastic Daniele Conti sealed his side’s fate by getting himself sent off needlessly – he stepped up to take a free-kick, with the Livorno wall slowly advancing, being far too close when he struck the ball, and he wheeled away and insulted the referee for failing to intervene and force the barrier of Amaranto shirts to retreat.
If you watch the replays, you can clearly see the 35-year-old mouthing the word “vaff******,” something the official obviously didn’t appreciate, as he brandished a red card seconds later – so often a leader for his team, Conti had lost his head, and Cagliari’s chances of getting anything from the encounter were severely dented when he left the pitch. Crucially, he will miss the games against Inter and Udinese after receiving a two match suspension for his conduct.
He was not to be the last player to take an early shower though, with Federico Ceccherini receiving a second booking for a bad foul on Mauricio Pinilla, and Marco Benassi handed a straight red for a dangerous tackle on the same player – in truth, the challenge only warranted a yellow, and the Chilean’s playacting was quite embarrassing to watch, as he writhed pathetically on the floor to influence the referee in awarding the 19-year-old the first red card of his career.
Despite the away side going down to 9 men however, the Sardi couldn’t capitalise, and fell to their second successive defeat and fifth loss in six games against a direct relegation rival.
While the Sardinians could excuse previous disappointments against Atalanta, AC Milan and Sampdoria either due to bad luck or shoddy refereeing, there truly was nowhere to hide on Sunday, as Livorno returned to Tuscany with all three points, and did their survival hopes the world of good in the process.
The loss now leaves the Isolani in 15th position with 24 points from 24 games, and five points outside the drop zone, after Catania, who were rock bottom before the weekend, managed to record an impressive 3-1 victory over Lazio.
It doesn’t get any easier for them as they now face a daunting away trip to Inter, but while it’s still unclear what the future has in store for the island of mystery, it was good to see that at least one Cagliari supporter present at the Stadio Sant’Elia on Sunday had a sense of humour about their current plight, responding by dressing head to toe in muslim attire – a reference to the Qatari based company linked with a takeover of the club.
Follow Anthony Alborino on Twitter: @anthonyalborino
