By Anna Italia

                                     TORINO   2   -   0  CAGLIARI  
                                                    71' Alessandro Rosina
                                                    86' Michele Ferri (own goal)

Substitution: 38' Alvaro Recoba out, Marco Motta in                75' Michele Fini out, Robert Acquafresca in
                      54' Tommaso Vaillati out, Roberto Stellone in      83' Alessandro Matri out, Joaquin Larrivey in
                      66' Niccola Ventola out, Dominique Malonga in
                  
With only 1 point difference between Torino-Cagliari (14th-15th position), I was expecting both teams to attack and score at least 1 goal in the first half.   So far, the match had only 1 clear chance for goal when  Torino midfielder Tommaso Vaillati hit the post. Torino are the one needing the victory to be among the top 10 teams.

Torino coach Walter Novellino said before the match that he wanted  to dominate the match since the first minute. Yet, Torino have not been able to find the right route to goal, but neither Cagliari.  A disappointment was Uruguayan forward Alvaro Recoba. I did not see the drive.  Recoba was substituted in the 38th minute for defender Marco Motta.  The one making the difference and showing the drive to win is Torino midfielder Alessandro Rosina.

In the second half, Novellino makes a substitution, midfielder Tommaso Vaillati is out for forward Roberto Stellone. I think Novellino should have made this change earlier when substituting forward Alvaro Recoba for a defender.

Finally, Torino take the lead with a goal by midfielder Alessandro Rosina in the 71st minute.  Torino 1 - 0 Cagliari.

Torino fans celebrate in the Olimpico Stadium the goal of Alessandro Rosina. Once again, Torino is back and the joy explodes with fans waving the Toro flag.

Yes, Cagliari coach Marco Giampaolo did make his substitutions, but way too late.  He did the right move in the 75th minute changing a midfielder Fini for a forward Acquafresca. The score was 1-0 in favor of Torino. If he wanted to score first and win the match,  he should have changed him earlier.

Another mistake, Cagliari coach Giampaolo waited too long to make his second substitution a forward by a forward when substituting Alessandro Matri for Joaquin Larrivey in the 83rd minute!  Hey... just 7 minutes before the end of the match?? Guess what happened 3 minutes later, boom... an own goal came.  Hello, then, there is no wonder why Torino won. It was Torino 2 - 0 Cagliari.


Saturday, October 27, 2007
Torino v Cagliari
Stadio Olimpico
Torino, Italia
Referee: Silvio Mazzoleni (Bergamo)

LINE UPS

CAGLIARI

Goalkeepers: Marco Fortin, Vincenzo Marruocco
Defenders: Alessandro Agostini, Paolo Bianco, Joe Bizera, Michele Canini, Cristiano Del Grosso, Michele Ferri
Midfielders: Davide Biondini, Alessandro Budel, Daniele Conti, Antonino D'Agostino, Michele Fini, Pasquale Foggia, Marco  Mancosu, Andrea Parola, Rijat Shala
Forwards: Robert Acquafresca, Joaquin Larrivey, Alessandro Matri

Coach:  Marco Giampaolo

TORINO

Goalkeepers: Alberto Fontana, Matteo Sereni.
Defenders: Gianluca Comotto, Paolo Dellafiore, Marco Di Loreto, Salvatore Lanna, Marco Motta
Midfielders: Davide Bottone, Eugenio Corini, Alessandro Rosina, Tommaso Vailatti, Paolo Zanetti, Vincenzo Nitride (n. 30, classe '90).
Forwards: Masashi Oguro, Dominique Malonga, Alvaro "Chino" Recoba, Roberto Stellone, Niccola Ventola, Loreto Lo Bosco (n. 32, classe '89).Coach: Walter Novellino