Cesena registered a crucial 2-1 win for their survival in Serie A after defeating Parma at the Stadio Ennio Tardini on Sunday afternoon.
Nico Pulzetti opened the scoring for the Cavallucci Marini with a precise curled shot in the first half, with the Ducali levelling terms on an own goal by Emmanuel Cascione after 76 minutes. However the visitors snatched away the win with a goal by substitute Alejandro Rodriguez in the last seconds of the 90 minutes.
Cesena goalkeeper Nicola Leali came out of the box after eight minutes to intercept a long pass, but his header ended up in the feet of Jose Mauri, who’s lob shot could not find the open net.
The Cavallucci Marini had an opportunity to make the Ducali pay for their miss moments later, but Milan Djuric’s shot from inside the box was well saved by Antonio Mirante.
Five minutes later, Gabriel Paletta received the ball in the visitors’ penalty area and finished well into the far corner with a turn, but the goal was rightfully ruled off for offside.
At the other end, Luigi Giorgi tried his luck from the edge of the penalty area but Mirante gathered comfortably with dive to the left.
Five minutes later, a goal for the Cavallucci Marini came after all. Gregoire Defrel found the on-coming Pulzetti on the left and the central midfielder curled a shot past a defender and past the outstreched Mirante to find the far corner of the Ducali’s goal.
The 30-year old went for his second a quarter-hour later, but his shot from about 30 yards out soared high above the crossbar.
The last opportunity in the first half came for the home team. A volley by Antonio Nocerino on a Parma corner was blocked by the back of his teammate Raffaele Palladino. Andrea Costa got to the ball first, but his header was a bit too strong to find the frame of Leali’s goal.
The Ducali came out of the break strong and had a good opportunity only two minutes after the restart, but Cristian Rodriguez’s well-placed header was saved well by Leali.
The visitors had a rare second-half opportunity after 65 minutes, but Cascione’s shot from a free kick found the hands of Mirante.
After 70 minutes Cesena had a great opportunity to double their lead. Alex Rodriguez was found unmarked in the Ducali’s penalty area after a counter-attack by the Cavallucci Marini, but his shot was brilliantly blocked by an on-rushing defender.
With less than a quarter-hour remaining on the clock, the visitors were punished for their missed opportunity. Out of nowhere, a simple back pass by Cascione caught Leali wrong-footed and ended up in the back of the net to get Parma back in the game.
Although the Ducali tried to use the momentum to snatch away all three points, they struggled to create real threats to Leali’s goal.
On the contrary, as the last seconds of regular time were expiring, Cesena’s substitute Rodriguez capitalized on poor Parma defending in the box on a free kick and volleyed the ball into Mirante’s net from about 12 yards out.
That goal secured the second win for the season for the Cavallucci Marini – and second against Parma – and they cut the distance to the safety zone to seven points.
