A Gervinho Goal of the Season contender capped off an impressive performance from the Ivorian as he was inspirational in Parma’s 2-0 defeat of Cagliari at the Stadio Ennio Tardini on Saturday afternoon to climb, temporarily, into seventh place in the Serie A.
Roberto Inglese got the game’s opener but the ex-Roma winger was the main threat throughout and he had the entirety of the stadium on their feet when he added a second after the break to seal the points for Roberto D’Aversa’s side.
Parma thought they had taken the lead on 15 minutes as Inglese headed a Simone Iacopone cross over Alessio Cragno’s head only to have his celebrations halted by the assistant referee’s flag.
Five minutes later though the Gialloblu did lead through Inglese. He was again served by a full-back as Federico Dimarco’s week got better after he played a ball beyond the Casteddu defence. Filippo Romagna was the favourite to win the ball but he failed to deal with it, or do anything in fact, and Inglese was in. Cragno resisted but stepped off his line late and the striker’s effort bounced off the Italian goalkeeper, back off of the Parma No.45 and into the net.
Gervinho showed glimpses of what he was capable of, taking the ball from wide and deep and running straight at the Cagliari goal but ultimately lacked a finishing touch.
Before the break, Dimarco nearly made it two goals in as many games. Antonio Di Gaudio pulled the ball back from the byline to the youngster, who tried an outwards curling shot towards the top corner but Cragna was able to get his hands behind it and palm away.
Gervinho brought the whole of the Tardini to their feet including a considerable number of those in the press box. Gathering the ball deep in his own half on the right, he burst forward. First, he evaded a luge of desperation from a tracking defender as he drove infield. With two Rossoblu trailing him he cut back out towards the right, knocking the ball between the two defenders and racing into the box. Cragno came out to close the angle but the Ivorian’s near post effort bounced off the inside of the upright, across goal and into the side of the net on the opposite side.
A brief spell of the visitors looking to claw a way back into the game ended and from then Parma really should have scored more. They had a number of chances in the final 15 minutes to be out of sight, including the biggest of those which saw Cragno make an impressive save.
Gervinho’s gift is Parma’s great hope
Once again Gervinho showed just how important he is to Parma’s chances of survival in Serie A this season.
The No.27 is their outlet. His electric pace and utter unpredictability in possession strikes fear into even the most assured of defenders, as he demonstrated when Juventus came to the Tardini and were lucky to leave with all three points.
He threatened Cagliari a couple of times in the first half but, as is often a problem for him, his finishing was inaccurate and he let the Sardinians off the hook.
In the second half though he wasn’t feeling so generous and produced what is sure to be a contender for Goal of the Season come May. A Cagliari corner fell to the edge of Parma’s box and from there he was the only player to touch the ball before it nestled in the corner of Cragno’s goal.
George Weah’s name and that goal immediately sprung to the mind of most, as the ex-AC Milan’s striker’s name was uttered by many more than a couple of the journalists who stood to applaud in the press box.
Inglese’s importance
As key as Gervinho’s groundwork is to Parma, Roberto Inglese’s presence offers them something completely different while also complementing the traits of the winger.
He provides them with a target and Iacoponi and Dimarco both looked to hit him with crosses from deep when there was no space to run or pass into ahead.
More than being an aerial threat, he was always willing to make the runs that others were reluctant to make and gives the Gialloblu options.
