PARMA SECURE COPPA ITALIA LEGA PRO ON AWAY GOALS
19 April 2017
Yves Baraye celebrates his goal in the second leg that helps Parma secure the Coppa Italia Lega Pro.
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- Paolo Vanoli’s men seal competition on away goals rule
- 2-2 draw in Sicily enough to help Parma to title
- Paolo Vanoli delighted but reiterated importance of earning promotion
ACR Messina 2-2 Parma
Goals: ![]()
26 Di Simone, 30 Baumgartner, 30 Tumminello, 64 Santacroce
Man of the Match: Gennaro Di Simone
In an energetic game in Sicily, both sides shared the spoils in the first leg of the Coppa Italia Lega Pro Final. Both sides created plenty of chances and three quickfire goals between the 26th and 30th minutes saw fans go home happy, down to the entertainment value on show at the game. It was Messina who will most likely be the happiest as they twice led Parma after two very well taken goals but the visitors tonight will now be the favourites as they just need a 0-0 draw at the Ennio Tardini to lift the trophy.
The hosts were in front inside the first half an hour as Tumminello came forward with the ball, before he crossed in with a whipped cross. The cross was looking for Padulano, but Francesco Luoni managed to put the forward off and disrupt the run to connect with the ball. However Luoni only managed to delay the goal as the ball went all the way through to Gennaro Di Simone who hit the ball first time, curling the ball into the far bottom corner to make it 1-0 to Messina. The equaliser was very much forthcoming for Parma though and three minutes after going behind, Paolo Vanoli’s men were level as Francesco Corapi slipped the ball in to Simone Corazza who took the ball first time, smashing it against the crossbar. The ball was loose though and fell straight into the path of Denis Baumgartner, who tapped home to score his twelfth goal of the season and his eighth in the Coppa Italia Lega Pro.
The equaliser though was taken as a sign for Parma to switch off and straight from kick off the ball was down their end again as Tumminello, who had provided the assist for Messina’s opener was played into acres of space as Parma’s defence switched off and the Messina forward smashed the ball into the back of the net to put the underdogs back in front. In the second half though, it was Parma who came out the better team, creating at least five chances which could have seen them level the scores but the goal did come in the 64th minute as Francesco Corapi’s free kick was driven into the penalty area hard. Fabiano Santacroce was the first to react and beat his man and drove the ball past the Messina keeper to make it 2-2. There was almost a last gasp winner for Parma in the second minute of stoppage time as Giammario Piscitella pushed forward before cutting inside on to his left foot. The winger took aim for the penalty area, but he mishit the ball, and as a result it lofted over the keepers head before smacking against the inside of the post and rolling across the goal line. However the Messina defence cleared it away and the first leg ended in a 2-2 draw with Parma taking two away goals to the second leg at the Ennio Tardini.
Parma 1-1 ACR Messina (3-3 Agg – Parma Win On Away Goals)
Goals: ![]()
Baraye 33, Padulani 82
Man of the Match: Francesco Corapi
In the second leg of the Coppa Italia Lega Pro Final it was Parma who lifted the trophy after overcoming Girone C side Messina in a tense game at the Ennio Tardini which had a very tense finale after a poor defensive error by Alessandor Lucarelli.
In a first half of competitive action and with Messina knowing that a 0-0 draw would not be good enough to win them the competition, the visitors pushed forward looking for a goal to give them the edge. However in the 33rd minute they were hit on the break as Alessio Innocenti found Tommaso Cancellotti out wide on the right, before the Italian full back crossed in to the penalty spot where Yves Baraye was waiting patiently to tap the ball home and make it 1-0 on the night and put them 3-2 up on aggregate.
With 82 minutes on the clock though, Messina were able to grab their equaliser and give their fans hope that they could still lift the trophy. Tumminello received the ball just inside the Parma half and bought the ball towards Raffaele Di Gennaro’s goal, before playing a through ball into the Parma penalty area. Alessandro Lucarelli, bought on as a gesture to the club legend to allow the captain to lift the trophy should Parma win it missed his interception allowing Fabio Padulani to get clean through on goal before placing the ball past Di Gennaro to make it 1-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate.
In the final ten minutes of the game it was Messina who came forward consistently, knowing that if they scored a second goal on the night they would at least take the game to extra time or even win it if Parma were unable to reply. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for Parma, Paolo Vanoli’s defence held strong and it was Parma who made sure that they got their hands on the trophy.
Reaction
Final winning manager Paolo Vanoli: ”We are delighted to have secured this competition. It should give us a huge boost ahead of the final three games in the league season. We didn’t expect to win it when we started out at the beginning of the season but this is a great win for us as a club. I have to be honest and say I wasn’t too bothered about winning this competition at the start of the season but this is big for us and I am delighted to have our hands on a piece of silverware this year. Now we just have to make sure we do the job in the league and make sure we are promoted to the second tier.”