Fiorentina 0-1 Napoli: Higuain strike settles tense encounter

Date: 9th November 2014 at 7:58pm
Written by:

Higuain - NapoliFiorentina were defeated by Napoli 1-0 at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Sunday evening in Serie A.

A solitary goal from Gonzalo Higuain was enough to earn three points and move up the Serie A table to third spot.

For the home crowd, this match was supposed to be a chance for Fiorentina to get revenge on Napoli after falling to a 3-1 reversal in last season’s Coppa Italia final. Both sides were eager to get things going immediately following the whistle and the first two opportunities fell to the visitors inside the first 10 minutes.

Both Higuain and Lorenzo Insigne attempting their luck to get onto the score sheet, but both fired their efforts wide. Khouma Babacar then followed up with a long-range speculative effort of his own for the hosts, but saw it narrowly whiz over the bar.

The Partenopei suffered a big blow when Insigne came down with an injury and Benitez was forced to make his first change of the game by bringing on Dries Mertens shortly before the half-hour mark and nearly had an instant impact by attempting a shot of his own.

There were more nervy moments for the Viola when Marek Hamsik and Mertens again attempted to break the deadlock, only to be thwarted by some last-ditch defending, and frustration followed after a counter-attack attempt instigated by Borja Valero broke down.

All in all, they headed into the tunnels at the half-time break certainly feeling relieved that they were able to successfully hold off wave after wave of attacks and remain scoreless after the first period.

Montella opted, however, not to make any immediate modifications after the mid-match hiatus. After an initial settling-in period, both sides had opportunities on goal, with the first arriving through Juan Cuadrado which had young goalkeeper Rafael Cabral having to be alert to make a smart stop.

His compatriot in the opposing goal Neto also had to be on his toes to avert Hamsik’s effort out for a corner. Yet, given their persistence in their opponents’ half, Napoli finally got the breakthrough they were seeking through Higuain, who had been a thorn in the defense’s side for spells of the match.

The setback finally prompted Montella  to make his first change by hauling off Alberto Aquilani in favor of David Pizarro and then Josip Ilicic made way for Mario Gomez.

Not surprisingly, though, the goal spurred Fiorentina into action, with Cuadrado as the instigator, but fans were frustrated to see substitute Gomez unable to direct the Colombian’s cross on target.

The last few moments of the game concluded with further changes on both ends but in the end, Benitez’s squad were able to depart with a win in hand.

Follow Michelle Bonsu on Twitter: @MichelleB289

 

Comments are closed.