Primavera 1 | Cagliari defeated in Verona

A 90th-minute penalty proved fatal for the Rossoblu Under-20s. Hellas Verona won 1-0 in a hard-fought match, played well and fearlessly by the Cagliari team. A desperate late push to recover proved futile.

FIRST HALF WITH FEW TWISTS
The tempo was high from the start, with intense battles, especially in midfield. In the 12th minute, Franke’s header was barely saved by Castagnini. Hellas came alive in the 27th minute, with Peci running forward, passing the ball to Akalé who attempted to place it in the top corner, but Auseklis made a brilliant save and sent it into the corner. The Rossoblu goalkeeper also did well in the 33rd minute, thwarting a Vermesan shot. Nothing else to report in a lively first half, but with few scoring opportunities.

HELLAS HIT THE POST
Hellas capitalized on a counterattack and threatened in the fourth minute of the second half: De Rossi broke away and played it to Vermesan on the left; his shot was blocked by a sliding Marini, but Vermesan fired over from a favorable position. In the 54th minute, Mussola’s low shot from outside the box was too close to Auseklis’s post. On the hour mark, Vermesan hit the post, beating the keeper to a cross from the left by De Battisti.
Cagliari responded with an aerial deflection by Franke, saved at the near post by Castagnini. The first substitution was Pisano in the 72nd minute, with Nunn coming in for Goryanov.

FRANKE SAVES IN AN EMPTY NET
The Rossoblù responded with a series of strikes, with Hellas trying from distance with Feola, who fired over. The pace slowed, and fatigue set in. In the 79th minute, however, the home side came very close to scoring, first Auseklis saving from Akalé, then Franke saving from the Verona striker’s rebound into an empty net.

LAST-MINUTE PENALTY
Cardu comes on for Hamdoua at the 83rd minute. In the 89th minute, he swings a shot from outside the box, but it’s deflected into a corner by a Rossoblu defender. Following the corner, Mendy handles the ball in an aerial challenge with Vermesan. The referee points to the spot, and Vermesan sends Auseklis the wrong way. Costa immediately comes on for Prettenhofer for the final assault. Cagliari puts Hellas Verona under pressure but fails to break through.
The Rossoblu remain at 20 points in the standings. Sassuolo arrives at the CRAI Sport Center on Monday.

IL TABELLINO
HELLAS VERONA: Castagnini; Feola, Popovic, De Battisti; Szimionas (90+2 Martini), Peci, Yildiz, De Rossi (72′ Garofalo), Mussola (81′ Stella); Akalé (90+2 Fabbri), Vermesan – A disposizione Tommasi, Raccanello, Zanin, Cumerlato, Cavazza, Egharevba, Bortolotti – All.: Sammarco.
CAGLIARI: Auseklis, Grandu, Franke, Prettenhofer (90+1 Costa), Doppio, Marini, Liteta, Tronci, Goryanov (72′ Nunn), Mendy, Hamdaoua (83′ Cardu) – A disposizione Filigheddu, Pintus, Cogoni, Ragni, Corrnti, Roguski, Russo – All.: Pisano.
REFEREE: Poli di Verona.
GOAL: 90′ Vermesan (penalty)