Elisa Del Estal and Adriana Gomes continued their incredible run of form, while captain Paolo Di Marino scored her first of the season, as Napoli earned a comfortable defeat over Sassari Torres.
Lineup
Biagio Seno made one change to the squad he fielded in the victory over Ternana, starting Matilde Copetti over Sabrina Tasselli in goal.
First Half
Sassari Torres got off to a strong start, with Samia Adam eager to impress against her former club. In the opening 15 minutes, the forward had a shot on target and teed up Morena Iannazzo for a shot, but neither effort troubled Matilde Copetti.
Napoli’s first chance came about midway through the half. Paolo Di Marino went up strong to win a header at midfield, starting a Napoli counter-attack. Adriana Gomes played a give-and-go with Romina Pinna, who played a gorgeous, no-look diagonal return pass into the area. Gomes was clear on goal but with Marica Deiana challenging, Gomes quickly ran out of space and the keeper made the save.
The home side created another chance ten minutes later. Napoli pressed high and forced a turnover from a Torres throw-in. Sara Tui squared to Claudia Mauri in the middle of the park. The midfielder played a diagonal pass to Pinna in the area. The forward turned inward before shooting with her left, but the shot lacked power and Deiana made the easy save.
Napoli’s best chance of the half came from a corner kick in the 36th minute. Mauri played an out-swinging corner kick into the area. Del Estal won the header at the first post but it bounced off the upright. The rebound fell to Del Estal but Deiana reacted quickly to stop the Spaniard’s second header. Del Estal had another chance on the second rebound but she volleyed the ball wide of the mark.
Second Half
Seno made two changes at the start of the second half, hoping to ignite the attack. Giulia Giacobbo replaced Giulia Ferrandi while Sabah Seghir replaced Romina Pinna.
It wasn’t long before the Partenopee opened the scoring. In the 54th minute, Gomes fought to win a free kick on the right side of the midfield. Mauri played an out-swinging cross into the area, where Del Estal was waiting to head the ball past Deiana at the first post.
Even with a lead, Napoli continued to push forward. In the 69th minute, Sara Tui made a clever turn in the middle of the park before playing the ball to Aurora De Sanctis on the left wing. She played a dangerous cross into the area but Deiana stretched to tip the ball out for a corner kick.
Deiana stayed down for a while but, after receiving medical attention, the Torres goalkeeper was able to carry on. On the ensuring corner kick, Seghir played an in-swinging cross with her left foot . Captain Paola Di Marino leaned back to head in her first goal of the season.
Once again, the home side demonstrated that the best defence is a good offence. By continuing to attack, Torres was limited to very few opportunities to score.
Meanwhile, Napoli were unfortunate to not be awarded a penalty kick in the 78th minute, after Giacobbo lobbed the ball to Gomes in the area. The Napoli striker appeared to be fouled by Elena Crespi, who immediately threw her hands up in the air to plead here innocence – an often an admission of guilt – but the penalty wasn’t given.
However, Gomes got her retribution moments later. Copetti played a long ball forward which bounced beyond the Torres back line. Gomes got to the ball first and was clear on goal. Deiana was slow off her line, which allowed the former Sassari Torres player to dribble around the keeper with relative ease before rolling the ball into the empty goal. With Anastasia Spyridonidou scoring in Ternana’s 2-2 draw, Gomes 18th goal of the season ensured the Napoli forward remained one goal behind Spryidonidou in the race for Capocannoniere.
With the match comfortably in hand, the final 10 minutes were played out as a mere formality.
Lazio and Cittadella won their respective matches, so Napoli remained third in the table. However, with Ternana dropping points for a second consecutive round, the top three clubs have begun to pull away from the pack.
Post-Match
Matilde Copetti, who made a rare start in goal, addressed the media after the match.
“It was important to win a match that turned out to be difficult in the first half because Torres defended well. Luckily we kept calm and lucid and managed to take the lead, putting the match downhill. We had an excellent defensive phase thanks to the whole team, for me obviously remaining undefeated is a reason for happiness but also having contributed with the assist of Gomes’ third goal”
