Catania goalkeeper Alberto Frison has a fan club known as “The Frison fans club”. However, it may be a very small group after last weekend.
The Rossazzurri’s 3-3 draw against fellow relegation candidates Livorno sparked a lot of discussion about the shot-stopper. He was at fault for the penalty on Innocent Emeghara as he came out and chopped the legs of the striker, forcing the referee to award a spot kick for the visitors.
That was the second of three goals he conceded, all of which he could’ve done more to prevent them from going into his net. The first and third were seemingly harmless shots, but he parried them back out towards the centre of the box, allowing Emeghara to bury the easy rebounds.
Now it’s been revealed that Frison has a thigh strain, leading to former starter Mariano Andujar’s re-call to the squad. The Argentine was co-owned to Napoli during the January window in order to provide funds for the Elefanti, but thanks to yet another injury, it’s forced coach Rolando Maran to cancel the deal.
Apart from the 2-0 loss to Livorno and the 4-1 defeat to Torino, Andujar has been an adequate player for the Etnei. He’s come up with crucial saves when his team needed them and he’s started in two of the club’s three victories this campaign. In all, he’s appeared in two wins, three draws and eight losses.
He’s certainly been a lot more impressive than Frison this season. Andujar has far more experience and for a team that’s battling relegation, that’s something they desperately need for the closing stages. Had it not been for that awful decision to bring down Emeghara, Catania could’ve easily won that match and would be a point away from safety.
The only saving grace is that the players showed some life when they went behind. In attack, they haven’t been that prevalent in 2013/14. In fact, that was the first time they scored three goals in a single match, yet they walk out with a draw.
Some of the blame can go towards the defence. After all, Emeghara was the one who was allowed into the box so easily on two occasions before scoring. On the other hand, that back line has taken such a beating this season, so the occasional slip up is to be expected, that’s why it’s so important for the goalkeeper to be commanding, confident, and technically strong. Frison is not.
What’s interesting is that Frison earned most of his appearances when Luigi De Canio was coaching. Apart from two, which was when Andujar was close to sealing his move to the Partenopei. Maybe Maran will go back to his old starter.
Hopefully for his sake, Andujar can win back his place in the team and stay. It seems as if the big contributors from last season, mainly Francesco Lodi, Gonzalo Bergessio, and Pablo Barrientos are in sync again. If Catania can keep things organized at the back and their Argentine custodian can find his feet again, then that could lead to safety.
