Udinese beat Frosinone 1-0 at the Stadio Friuli on Sunday afternoon in Serie A, condemning the away side to their fifth loss of the season.
Francesco Lodi was the man who made the difference, thanks to his speciality, a free kick scored on 20 minutes to give Udinese the lead. Frosinone attempted to react but it was the hosts who had the better chances and only a great Nicola Leali performance in goal was able to save the guests from losing by more.
The home side started off the brighter of the two, with a more attacking approach and some decent chances early for Antonio Di Natale to shoot on goal.
The Ciociari struggled to cope with the pressure of the Zebrette and were unable to contrast the hosts’ long-lasting possession in midfield, led by Lodi, Emmanuel Badu and Bruno Fernandes.
Lodi, who formerly also played for Frosinone, found the 1-0 with a clever free kick that nobody touched, beating goalkeeper Leali and giving Udinese the lead at half-time.
The second half started with a different impetus by both sides, with Fernandes going close to scoring and Frosinone replying with a Paolo Sammarco shot from inside the box, brilliantly saved by Orestis Karnezis.
The guests tried to push for an equaliser, but it was Udinese that had the best chances, with Di Natale going close to one of his traditional wonder-goals with a lob saved by Leali.
Udinese wasted some good counterattacks with Cyril Thereau and Di Natale, while Frosinone nearly equalised with Nicolas Castillo doing brilliantly until his shot missed the target.
The best chance for Frosinone came in the 83rd minute, when Federico Dionisi blasted a snapshot that Karnezis reacted well to at the expense of a corner.
Frosinone kept pushing, and on the counterattack Rodrigo Aguirre managed to miss the easiest of chances by shooting the ball over the bar with an open goal.
The final minutes were all about Udinese, with the hosts going close to the 2-0 in at least three occasions, with Thereau, Lodi and Badu being denied the goal by a great Leali.
It was not necessary, however, as Lodi’s first half strike was enough to give Stefano Colantuono’s men the three points, taking Udinese to 11 points and leaving Frosinone on seven, just one point above the drop zone.
