Parma travelled south on Sunday afternoon to face Pescara side languishing at the bottom of Serie A but came away with nothing to show for their efforts. It was an afternoon of missed opportunities for Parma after a Elvis Abbruscato goal handed Pescara three vital points in their attempt to steer clear of the drop.
Jonathas was a handful for the Parma defence in the opening periods of the game and off a corner which he won; Pescara should have taken the lead. The home side took the corner short and the well worked set piece found Marco Capuano alone in the area, turned and snatched at the ball blasting it high and wide.
Parma’s best chance of the half fell to Jonathan Biabiany after a goal line clearance bailed out goalkeeper Mattia Perin, after he failed to deal with a long ball into the box. The ball rebounded back to Biabiany but he could not keep his composure and the chance went begging.
The half nearly finished in the perfect manner for the home side, after some neat build up play found Emmanuel Cascione on the edge of the area but again he fired the ball over Antonio Mirante’s bar.
With Giovanni Stroppa’s words still ringing in their ears, three minutes after the break Pescara took the lead thanks to an Abbruscato strike. The 31-year-old striker wrestled off the shambolic defending of Gabriel Paletta to roll the ball with his left foot past Mirante in the Parma net.
The Delfini were given a stern test of their defence as Parma went in search an equaliser. Roberto Donadoni saw his side spurn yet another chance as Alessandro Lucarelli played a delicate chipped through ball over a defence line which seemed glued to the spot. Massimo Gobbi who was on the receiving end of the Lucarelli’s pass, looked round in almost shock at the space his was allowed but hit his effort straight into the grateful hands of Perin.
As the Gialloblù threw the kitchen sink at Pescara, the substitute Vladimir Wiess broke at speed carrying the ball from the half way line outpacing the remaining Parma backline to fire his attempt in off the post.
Pescara, roared on by their home support, had defended resiliently and held on for a vital victory easing the pressure on their manager Giovanni Stroppa.
