Napoli Femminile drop to third in the table after conceding goals on either side of the break against direct rival Cittadella.
Lineup
Dimitri Lipoff made two changes to the squad he fielded in Napoli’s 0-2 victory over Arezzo. Martina Di Bari started at right back over Carminia Botta. Meanwhile, Sara Tamborini returned to her usual position as a tresquarista. That allowed Sara Tui come back into the starting XI, playing on the left side of the midfield three, and relegated Serena Landa to the bench.
Match
The first half was very competitive and physical, and as a consequence, neither side created many opportunities to score. Napoli’s best and only chance of the half came from a corner kick only two minutes into the match. The ball fell to Giulia Ferrandi, who went for goal with her left and didn’t miss by much.
Cittadella’s first real chance of the match didn’t come until the final minutes of the first half, also from a corner kick, and resulted in a goal. Jonna Dahlberg played an in-swinging cross to the second post where Veronica Benedetti rose up to head the ball into the bottom corner.
The second half began similarly to how the first half ended, with Cittadella doubling their lead. Defender Francesca Larocca played a throw-in to Benedetti near the corner flag. Benedetti flicked a header to Caterina Ferin in the area. The striker hit an outrageous volley that looped over Sabrina Tasselli before dipping into the bottom corner at the far post.
Lipoff made a number of changes in an effort to turn things around, including giving Giulia Giacobbo her Napoli debut. The midfielder, who joined Napoli on January 19th, replaced Valentina Puglisi in the 55th minute. At the same time, Tamborini was replaced by Romina Pinna, who made a positive impact off the bench.
Moments after entering the match, Pinna intercepted a pass from Larocca at the edge of the Cittadella area. She attempted to shoot for the far post but didn’t make good contact with the ball. Elisa del Estal redirected the shot on target, but goalkeeper Ilaria Toniolo made the save.
About 20 minutes later, Pinna picked out Del Estal with a dangerous ball into the area but the striker’s effort was blocked for a corner kick.
With the clock winding down, the Partenopee nearly halved the deficit from a free kick. Another substitute, Serena Landa, crossed the ball into the area. The ball bounced around before falling to defender Melissa Nozzi, whose shot crashed off the bar and stayed out.
That was the final chance of the match, which ended 2-0 in favour of the home side. As a result, Cittadella moved to second in the table, one point clear of Napoli. Meanwhile, first-placed Lazio suffered their second defeat of the season, losing 0-1 to Hellas Verona. Consequently, only three points separate the top six clubs in Serie B, with Ternana, Chievo Verona and Cesena all on 29 points.
Post-Match
Valentina Puglisi addressed the media after the match.
“We saw today too that there is a battle to be fought on every field and that the level of the opponents for the final victory is high, but we we should have and could have done more, despite the fact that the heavy field probably penalized a technical team like ours. On occasions like this you have to be attentive to details, set pieces and all those situations that can then generate goals from both sides. Evidently we still have to work and improve on this aspect.”
