Marino will not be suspected of star fever - he, just like at the beginning of the season, calls maintaining a residence permit in Serie A the team’s primary task. However, the appetites of the fans of “Rossazurri” increase with each round, and they are not averse to making several trips out of the country for the UEFA Cup matches next season.
But fellow opponent Marino - Francesco Gvidolin - not envy. In series A, there are enough extravagant presidents, but the Palermo cartridge Maurizio Zamparini stands out even against their background. Have you ever heard the head of the club wish his club a defeat in the UEFA Cup match, motivating this by the fact that the game in the second most important European competition has a negative effect on the performances in the domestic championship?
Dzamparini once fired Gvidolin - in 2005, after a very successful debut season. And recently, he again increased pressure on the head coach. Lose the Palermo in the Sicilian derby, and the gap from 5th place would be reduced to only 6 points. It could well have brought the eccentric Zamparini to a boil ...
The first half disappointed those who expected teams to score extravaganza similar to the one in the autumn meeting (5: 3 in favor of Palermo). In the ranks of "Catania" scoring achievements, it was appropriate to expect from Jonanta Spinesi. In 2007, he could not replenish his scorer in any way, on which 11 goals appear after the first round. Francesco Totti, the forward of the Catania, could not get closer to the leader of the goalkeeper’s race this time. At the beginning of the meeting, Jonant did not realize a couple of good moments, and in the 77th minute unsuccessfully tried to punish Alberto Fontana, who had inadvertently left the gate.
The greatest activity in the team Marino showed the left winger Giuseppe Mascara. He diligently supported Spinesi from both flanks, and several times he himself went to the shock position. The whole five midfielders, called upon to create moments for the only striker of Catania, acted quite mobilely and inventively, but failed to bring the matter to a goal.
Palermo formally also plays with one striker. Acting in the first half Andrea Caracciolo sincerely tried to act in the manner of an injured Brazilian Amauri. He stepped back, shifted to the flanks, although he had never burdened himself with such activities before. In the first half, the 25-year-old striker had little success, and the main threat came from David Di Michele, who acted a little deeper.
It is all the more surprising that it was Caracciolo who opened the account. At the 50th minute, Mark Bresciano burst into the Catania penalty box, but, meeting the resistance of three defenders at once, threw the ball to Caracciolo, who cleverly understood the episode. Andrea once again proved that the game in the penalty area is his element.
A goal scored led to clashes between the tiffosi of the two teams. As a result, the stadium "Angelo Massimino" plunged into a tear fog, and Stefano Farina was forced to interrupt the game. The match resumed only after 25 minutes. If the players hid in the locker rooms all this time, then the audience had to escape from toxic smoke by any possible means.
The curtain at the gates of Fontana had not yet had time to disperse, as Fabio Caserta equalized. No doubt, his most powerful shot turned out great. But in conditions of perfect visibility, Fontana would still be more likely to fend off the blow. It is noteworthy that Caserta and Caracciolo were almost invisible in the first half, but they added great in the second.
The return goal shocked Guidolin. Moreover, his wards didn’t manage to do everything that evening — Korini’s standards, Bniciano’s dream, didn’t work out. The latter, by the way, Francesco eventually replaced.
“Catania”, on the contrary, caught courage and rushed forward. Until the 84th minute, it seemed that the case was about to reach the second goal against the Fontana. Especially in the 80th minute, when the ball after a shot from Mascara seemed to fall into Mattia Cassani's hand. However, Farina did not see a violation of the rules and did not give a penalty.
Despite the fact that the smoke had cleared almost completely, the referee did not even see the more obvious handball from Di Michele, before he sent the ball into the goal of Armando Pantanelli in the 83rd minute. It is unlikely that the attacker acted on purpose, but the infidelity of the goal was not in doubt, even without subsequent tele-repetitions.
After this derby, Francesco Gvidolin, apparently, will be able to breathe quietly - he kept the lead from 5th place. Yes, and Pasquale Marino has no reason to become depressed - despite the defeat, the Catania departure zone is still very far away.
SKATING - PALERMO - 1: 2 (0: 0)
Goals: 0: 1 - Caracciolo (50), 1: 1 - Caserta (59), 1: 2 - Di Michele (83) .
PALERMO: Fontana, Cassani, Barzagli, Pisano, Guana, Corini, Fabio Simplicio, Bresiano (Diana, 67), Di Michele (Tedesco, 88), Caracciolo.
February 2. "Angelo Massimino", 20.00.
Judge: Stefano Farina (Novi Ligure).