No ninth consecutive win but decent point

Dag Jenkins

Apr 14, 20244 min read

Season 2006-07

Game 32, Serie A

Sunday, April 15, 2006

Stadio Del Duca, Ascoli

Ascoli Lazio 2-2

Lazio come from behind twice, the second time in ten men, to get a draw

At the halfway point Lazio were joint 4th but 12 points behind Palermo in 3rd.

In the return fixtures, things were so far going a lot better. Not only were they unbeaten, with 2 draws and 9 wins but they were currently on a roll of 8 consecutive victories. The Biancocelesti were up into 3rd place with a 7-point advantage on Palermo and 8 on Milan.

The match

A warm, sunny day in the nice town of Ascoli only attracted about 7,000 fans to the stadium named after the Del Duca brothers, Cino and Lillo.

The local Bianconeri had Paolo Zanetti and Thomas Job out while Lazio could not pick Massimo Mutarelli, Stephen Makinwa, Emilson Cribari and Valon Behrami.

The first fifteen minutes were bland with neither team taking any risks. Then Lazio had two dangerous attacks.

In the 18th minute, a Cristian Ledesma freekick from the left came off an Ascoli player and hit the post, it was then headed in from close range by Guglielmo Stendardo but he was judged to be in offside. A strange decision but the ball according to the referee had been touched by Tommaso Rocchi.

Not even a minute later, Riccardo Corallo slipped in midfield and lost possession, Rocchi ran forward and teed up Goran Pandev who only had the keeper to beat, but his left-footed curling chip went agonisingly wide of the far post. A huge chance.

Lazio were not dominant but had another opportunity in the 26th minute. Pandev put a ball into the crowded area where Stendardo headed but towards the right by-line where Pandev again squared a low pass to Stefano Mauri whose close-range shot was saved onto the post and out for a corner by Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos.

The first half finished goalless. Lazio were on top but Ascoli were defending well.

The second half started with a livelier home side. The "Picchio" came alive and in the 48th minute a long range shot by Andrea Soncin was palmed away from under the crossbar by Angelo Peruzzi.

In the 56th minute Lazio stirred and went the closest yet. From a Ledesma corner from the right, Stendardo towered over his markers and sent a powerful header that came back off the crossbar.

Lazio then made their first substitution, putting on a more offensive Luís Jimenez for Christian Manfredini.

It was Ascoli however, who scored. In the 71st minute Simone Pesce worked a ball well on the right and crossed into the heart of the area where Soncin rose and headed in, anticipating a hesitant Peruzzi. Ascoli 1 Lazio 0.

Lazio equalised almost immediately. In the 73rd minute Ledesma won a tackle on the left and crossed into the area where Pandev shot low but Ascoli's Greek keeper saved, the ball then came out to Rocchi on the penalty spot and he drilled in a low right foot into the left corner. Ascoli 1 Lazio 1.

In the 76th minute however, things degenerated for Lazio. After a prolonged move Gigi Di Biagio had a shot from the edge of the box which hit the bar and bounced back into play where Saša Bjelanovic was going for the header but collapsed after an alleged push by Stendardo. The referee gave it and also sent the Lazio defender off as it was a clear goal scoring opportunity and he was last man. Di Biagio coolly put away the spot kick sending Peruzzi the wrong way. Ascoli 2 Lazio 1.

Things were not looking good for the Roman Eagles, a goal down and in ten men with only just over ten minutes to go.

Ascoli then started making some substitutions, in the 77th minute Michele Paolucci replaced Bjelanovic. On the waves of enthusiasm and sensing the possibility of an upset Ascoli pushed forward again. In the 78th minute Victor Boudianski's low long range shot forced Peruzzi to dive low to his right and parry.

In the 79th minute Lazio went close with Chilean replacement Jimenez whose mid-height curling shot from about ten metres out was saved into corner by Eleftheropoulos.

In the 82nd a midfielder Michele Fini came on for striker Soncin but the defensive tactic backfired as two minutes later Lazio equalised. A Gaby Mudingayi cross into the area found Jimenez inexplicably unmarked in front of goal, the Chilean controlled it and blasted it into the top left-hand corner. Ascoli 2 Lazio 2.

Ascoli felt hard done by and tried to make their numerical superiority count. They however only had one more chance with another Boudianski long range effort parried by Peruzzi and then on the rebound Fini was in offside.

In the 90th minute Lazio buttoned up more, throwing on defender Bonetto for Pandev. They then managed to withstand Ascoli's final pressure to at least bring a point back to Rome. Final score Ascoli 2 Lazio 2.

After a dull first half the game had come alive in the second. In a game Lazio were expected to win, in the end they were relatively pleased with a point seeing how the game had panned out. Their winning streak was finished and they could no longer beat Sven-Goran Eriksson's Lazio record (9 in a row in 1998-99) but as they say you can't win them all. Coming back from a goal down to earn a point in ten men had its positives.

Lazio were still 3rd and now had a six-point lead on Milan and seven on Palermo with eight games to go.

Ascoli were still seven points from safety but with one less game to play. Only a miracle could save them.

Who played for Ascoli

Eleftheropoulos, Foglio, Nastase, Corallo, Lombardi, Guberti, Di Biagio, Boudianski, Pesce (87' Vastola), Soncin (82' Fini), Bjelanovic (77' Paolucci)

Substitutes: Boccolini, Perrulli, Bonanni, Melara

Manager: Sonetti

Who played for Lazio

Peruzzi, Belleri, Stendardo, Siviglia, Zauri, Mudingayi, Ledesma, Manfredini (56' Jimenez), Mauri, Pandev (90' Bonetto), Rocchi