Primavera 1 | Cagliari is safe!

Cagliari conquered Cercola with a resounding 3-0 victory over Napoli in the Primavera 1 championship play-off, securing survival, while condemning the Neapolitans to relegation to the Primavera 2 championship. The Rossoblu’s approach was devastating, and the match quickly took shape in the opening minutes. After just five minutes, Cagliari took the lead: Mendy worked a superb ball to Trepy, who cut between the Napoli defenders and beat Ferrante with a delicate touch to make it 0-1. Napoli attempted to react immediately and almost equalized in the 10th minute with Raggioli’s header, which hit the crossbar following a corner. It was only a flash, however, as Cagliari continued to control the match with character and intensity. The second goal came in the 17th minute with an extraordinary play by Mendy: the striker carried the ball 30 meters out, saw Ferrante off his line, and unleashed a perfect lob that landed under the crossbar to make it 0-2.

The Rossoblu continued to threaten throughout the remainder of the first half, while Napoli struggled to react despite the substitutions made after just twenty minutes. Cagliari thus headed into halftime with a two-goal lead and in full control of the match. In the second half, Napoli attempted to up the tempo in an attempt to get back into the game. The Neapolitans created several key chances, but were met by an extraordinary Kehayov. The Rossoblu goalkeeper was decisive, first on Borriello’s diagonal shot, then on Pereira’s, and again on Olivieri, proving crucial in keeping Cagliari’s goal. Napoli’s best chance came in the 69th minute: Pereira hit the crossbar with a header, and De Chiara was denied by a clear on the Rossoblu defense. Having escaped the danger, Cagliari struck again in the closing stages. In the 84th minute, Trepy entered the box and was brought down by Ferrante: a penalty and a yellow card for the Napoli goalkeeper. Costa remained cool from the penalty spot and sealed the 0-3 win, sealing the win and sparking a Rossoblu celebration. After six minutes of injury time, the final whistle blew: Cagliari secured safety after a display of great maturity and consistency, while Napoli were relegated from the Primavera 1 championship to the Primavera 2.

Goals: 5′ Trepy (C), 17′ Mendy (C), 86′ Costa (C)
Napoli: Ferrante, De Luca (22′ Garofalo), Gambardella, De Chiara, Raggioli (22′ Baridò), Borriello, Smeraldi, Prisco (64′ Lo Scalzo), Pereyra, Caucci (74′ Gorica), Eletto (46′ Olivieri). A disp. Pugliese, Spinelli, Cimmaruta, Nardozi, Torre, Genovese. All. Dario Rocco.
Cagliari: Kehayov, Tronci, Malfitano (74′ Nunn), Trepy (66′ Costa), Cogoni, Grandu, Mendy (89′ Sugamele), Franke, Russo (89′ Pibiri), Raterink, Marini. A disp. Auseklis, Lo Verde, Doppio, Hamdaoua, Prettenhoffer, Cardu, Goryanov. All. Alberto Gallego.
Yellow Cards: Cogoni (C) Malfitano (C), De Chiara (N), Ferrante (N), Costa (C)
Referee: sig. Riccardo Tropiano (sez. Bari). Assistants: sig. Vincenzo Andreano (sez. Foggia), sig. Pio Carlo Cataneo (sez. Foggia). IV Official: sig. Ciro Aldi (sez. Lanciano)