Romina Pinna’s second goal in as many matches was not enough after Napoli Femminile fell behind by two to Cesena.
Lineup
Dimitri Lipoff started the same lineup for the third consecutive match, making no changes to the squad he fielded in Napoli’s 0-1 victory over Sassari Torres.
Match
Cesena started the match well and opened the scoring in the 8th minute. Sara Tui conceded possession just inside the Napoli half and Cesena immediately countered. Gaia Di Stefano played a low ball across the face of the goal, perfectly weighted for the late run from Elena Casadei. The defender took a touch before rolling the ball off the upright at the far post and into the back of the goal.
Napoli didn’t create their first real chance until the 32nd minute, after Claudia Mauri drew a foul on the right side of the midfield. Giulia Ferrandi played an in-swinging cross into the area, where Paola Di Marino rose up to win the header. However, the header from the Napoli captain finished just wide of the top corner.
At the hour mark, Cesena doubled their lead from a free kick of their own. Nanoka Iriguchi played the ball to Zsandra Ploner, who got low to head the ball in, making the score 2-0 in favour of the home side.
Lipoff responded immediately, switching to a 4-2-3-1 formation by replacing Mauri with Romina Pinna, as he did against Torres. The change proved to be effective, as Pinna was Napoli’s most dangerous player from the moment she came off the bench. Pinna was rewarded for her efforts, scoring her third of the season in the 73rd minute. Once again, the goal came from a set piece after Serena Landa drew a foul on the right side of the midfield. Ferrandi crossed the ball to the near post, where Pinna flicked a header toward the top corner. Eveljn Frigotto got a hand on the ball, but it wasn’t strong enough to keep the ball out. That made the score 2-1 for Cesena with 17 minutes of normal time left to play.
Despite controlling the play for the final phase of the match, Napoli were unable to find the equalizer. With the 2-1 loss – the Partenopee’s first loss of the campaign – Napoli dropped to fourth in the table. Lazio remained top of the table (on 19 points) after a 4-0 victory over Torres. Meanwhile, Cittadella pulled level with both Cesena and Napoli on 16 points after their 1-1 draw against Hellas Verona.
The Femminile will have a two week break, before returning on November 20th to play against Brescia.
Post-Match
Martina Di Bari addressed the media after the match.
“Unfortunately we conceded too much to our opponents overall but especially in the first half, then we tried to make up for it and we were also unlucky in not finding the equalizer. However, we must not mistake the approach to the race as we did today. The championship is long and demanding, we are an excellent team and we have to make as few mistakes as possible.”
