Sleeping beauty awakens and scores three

Simon Basten

Feb 28, 20243 min read

Season 2006-07

Game 26, Serie A

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Lazio Catania 3-1

A subdued Lazio for almost an hour manage to win in the final minutes

Sources Lazio Wiki and Official SS Lazio photo

Lazio closed the first half of the season joint 4th but 12 points behind Palermo in 3rd. The highlight had been the 3-0 thrashing of Roma in the derby.

The Biancocelesti were still fourth with a single point over Milan and seven behind Palermo. They had won their last two games (Torino 2-0 at home and Cagliari, 2-0 away). A win today would be important.

The match

Catania started the game well as Lazio were having a snooze. For 55 minutes the visitors dominated. They scored relatively early. Corner kick, Giuseppe Mascara crossed a high ball in the box, Giuseppe Colucci jumped higher than anyone and headed the ball in.

The Sicilians could have made it two 120 seconds later when Massimo Mutarelli passed the ball back to Emilson Cribari who slipped, Mascara found himself completely alone with only Marco Ballotta to beat. But he tried to dribble past Sebastiano Siviglia, losing the moment. So, he passed to Mark Edusei who tried a shot but the Lazio keeper parried.

Delio Rossi needed to wake the team up so in the 39th minute he took off Manuel Belleri and threw in Gaby Mudingayi, moving Valon Behrami to right back. The Biancocelesti were now more compact and one could immediately see the difference. Lazio had a chance to score when Goran Pandev gave a good ball to Tommaso Rocchi on the right in the box, but his shot went wide.

Rossi in the second half took off Stefano Mauri and in came Luis Jimenez. Early on Cristian Ledesma to Rocchi who was just late with the volley and the ball went wide. In the 60th minute Ledesma to Luciano Zauri on the left, low cross in the middle for Pandev who immediately took a shot at goal, Armando Pantanelli managed in some way to slow the ball down but it went rolling towards the goal, Lorenzo Stovini tried to clear on the line but instead he hit the Macedonian and it was 1-1.

Mudingayi had a chance but his shot was saved by the keeper who afterwards was forced to come out of his goal to stop Jiménez. In the 88th minute Lazio went ahead. Free kick on the right, Ledesma crossed into the box, Igli Tare prolonged the ball and Siviglia slotted it in.

In injury time, Rocchi to Tare but Pantanelli parried, ball back to the captain who had time to control and score but he kicked the ball over the crossbar from no more than two metres and without a keeper. Then Rocchi did manage to make it three. Tare to Mutarelli on the left, ball slightly too long, Lucenti decided to pass back to the keeper but that was exactly what Rocchi was waiting for. He got to the ball before the keeper, went round him and comfortably slotted it in.

Third win in a row, things are looking brighter.

Who played for Lazio

Ballotta, Belleri (39’ Mudingayi), Siviglia, Cribari, Zauri, Behrami, Ledesma, Mutarelli, Mauri (54’ Jimenez), Rocchi, Pandev (75’ Tare)