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ITALY VS. ARMENIA: FINAL SCORE 2-2 IN A MATCH THAT ULTIMATELY HAS NO IMPORTANCE
Philly.com
Oct 15 2013
Italy, already qualified for the World Cup, had nothing to play for
but pride (and a seed, I suppose) in Naples, while Armenia still had
a chance of slipping in to Brazil via the playoffs. They sat fifth in
Group B, but even on points with the Czech Republic, and both sides
just a point behind Bulgaria and Denmark. Of course, due to UEFA's
quirky playoff qualification rules, there was still a chance that
no side from Group B would make the playoffs, but Armenia certainly
weren't going to take that risk.
That's why it wasn't all surprising that Armenia scored the first
goal, in the fifth minute. Yura Movsisya got on the end of a ball from
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who stole it from a poor back pass from Alberto
Aquilani. Defender Davide Astori tried to slide in to make the save,
but Yura easily went around him to put the ball in the bottom corner
from about 12 yards out.
Italy's defense was exposed once again 10 minutes later, when Aras
Ozbiliz and Karlen Lazarian paired up to split apart the azzurri.
Fortunately for the home side, Lazarian blasted his shot well high.
The azzurri were back in it before 30 minutes were up. Pablo Osvaldo
got the ball and sent it out to Lorenzo Insigne on the right. The
hometown boy, who proved a brilliant spark in Italy's attack, chipped
his cross over to Alessandro Florenzi, lurking just beside the post.
His header flew past Roman Berezovskiy for the equalizer.
Insigne himself very nearly scored a fantastic goal to put Italy ahead,
executing a lovely little backheel to escape his defender, but his shot
went inches wide of the post. The Napoli forward, clearly thrilled to
be representing his country in his hometown, then attempted a volleyed
shot, before ending the half with a ball straight at Berezovski.
Armenia regained the lead in the second half, but it no longer
mattered. Bulgaria fell to Czech Republic and Denmark beat Malta,
but as it turned out, no side from Group B would be headed to the
playoffs. Still, a goal's a goal. This one came from a corner from
Gevorg Ghazaryan, with Mkhitaryan rising to head on.
The lead didn't last very long, however -- not with Mario Balotelli
on the pitch. Just six minutes later, the scoreline was squared
once again. Andrea Pirlo sent forward a lovely ball from midfield,
perfectly placed for Balotelli. SuperMario dinked it over Berezovski
for the equalizer.
Italy: Marchetti; Abate, Astori, Bonucci, Pasqual; Aquilani (Rossi
73), Pirlo, Montolivo; Florenzi (Candreva 61), Osvaldo (Balotelli
54), Insigne
Goals: Florenzi 24', Balotelli 76'
Armenia: Berezovski; Arzumanyan, Hayrapetyan (Hovhannisyan 63), Mkoyan,
Haroyan; K Lazarian, Ozbiliz (Sarkisov), Ghazaryan, Mkhitaryan;
Yedigaryan (Pizzelli 90), Movsisyan
Goals: Movsisyan 5', Mkhitaryan 70'
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sbnation/SBNation_20131015_Italy_vs__Armenia__Final_score_2-2_in_a_match_that_ultimately_has_no_importance.htm l
Philly.com
Oct 15 2013
Italy, already qualified for the World Cup, had nothing to play for
but pride (and a seed, I suppose) in Naples, while Armenia still had
a chance of slipping in to Brazil via the playoffs. They sat fifth in
Group B, but even on points with the Czech Republic, and both sides
just a point behind Bulgaria and Denmark. Of course, due to UEFA's
quirky playoff qualification rules, there was still a chance that
no side from Group B would make the playoffs, but Armenia certainly
weren't going to take that risk.
That's why it wasn't all surprising that Armenia scored the first
goal, in the fifth minute. Yura Movsisya got on the end of a ball from
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who stole it from a poor back pass from Alberto
Aquilani. Defender Davide Astori tried to slide in to make the save,
but Yura easily went around him to put the ball in the bottom corner
from about 12 yards out.
Italy's defense was exposed once again 10 minutes later, when Aras
Ozbiliz and Karlen Lazarian paired up to split apart the azzurri.
Fortunately for the home side, Lazarian blasted his shot well high.
The azzurri were back in it before 30 minutes were up. Pablo Osvaldo
got the ball and sent it out to Lorenzo Insigne on the right. The
hometown boy, who proved a brilliant spark in Italy's attack, chipped
his cross over to Alessandro Florenzi, lurking just beside the post.
His header flew past Roman Berezovskiy for the equalizer.
Insigne himself very nearly scored a fantastic goal to put Italy ahead,
executing a lovely little backheel to escape his defender, but his shot
went inches wide of the post. The Napoli forward, clearly thrilled to
be representing his country in his hometown, then attempted a volleyed
shot, before ending the half with a ball straight at Berezovski.
Armenia regained the lead in the second half, but it no longer
mattered. Bulgaria fell to Czech Republic and Denmark beat Malta,
but as it turned out, no side from Group B would be headed to the
playoffs. Still, a goal's a goal. This one came from a corner from
Gevorg Ghazaryan, with Mkhitaryan rising to head on.
The lead didn't last very long, however -- not with Mario Balotelli
on the pitch. Just six minutes later, the scoreline was squared
once again. Andrea Pirlo sent forward a lovely ball from midfield,
perfectly placed for Balotelli. SuperMario dinked it over Berezovski
for the equalizer.
Italy: Marchetti; Abate, Astori, Bonucci, Pasqual; Aquilani (Rossi
73), Pirlo, Montolivo; Florenzi (Candreva 61), Osvaldo (Balotelli
54), Insigne
Goals: Florenzi 24', Balotelli 76'
Armenia: Berezovski; Arzumanyan, Hayrapetyan (Hovhannisyan 63), Mkoyan,
Haroyan; K Lazarian, Ozbiliz (Sarkisov), Ghazaryan, Mkhitaryan;
Yedigaryan (Pizzelli 90), Movsisyan
Goals: Movsisyan 5', Mkhitaryan 70'
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sbnation/SBNation_20131015_Italy_vs__Armenia__Final_score_2-2_in_a_match_that_ultimately_has_no_importance.htm l