Recap: Cittadella start strong against Monza

A trip to Sardinia is set.

Cittadella prevails over Monza in the first round of the Coppa Italia on a hot, muggy summer evening in Veneto. Orji Okwonkwo and Mamadou Tounkara scored the first goals in Cittadella’s 2021/22 season as the Granata won in front of their home fans.

Starting off the game strongly, Cittadella very on the front foot early. Monza were pinned inside their half, as the home team were enjoying the possession. A ball over the top from Davide Adorni unleashing Orji Okwonkwo saw the striker one v one. Okwonkwo calmly rounded Di Gregorio to make it 1-0 in the eight minute. The Nigerian striker looked up for it this evening. Running onto every ball, he was lively in the opening twenty minutes of the match.

The right hand side was getting pounded by the Cittadella attack, as a few times Alessio Vita, Tommaso Cassandro, and Mirko Antonucci connected to get the cross off.

Okwonkwo, who was having a brilliant game, was subbed off right after the cooling break as he appeared to have injured himself while running onto a ball in behind. The striker was replaced by Mamadou Tounkara, who also played his first match at the Tombolato. Gorini spoke after the match and said “Okwonwko has an inflammation of the patellar tendon, we will do everything possible to try to recover it.” A tough break for the striker, as we hope he recovers soon.

Monza equalized off a Carlos Augusto header. A quick play after a cooling break saw a ball lofted into the box, making its way to the far post. The Brazilian winger got his head on it, bouncing up in front of Kastrati who couldn’t keep it out. The Albanian keeper knows he should’ve done better with that effort.

Five minutes before halftime, Mirko Antonucci was fighting for a loose ball on the right side of the box. He managed his way to the end-line, where he drove the ball across the face of goal, where Tounkara was waiting for a tap in. Against the run of play, Cittadella regained their advantage before halftime.

Despite a bright start for the home side in the opening minutes of the second half, Monza firmly grasped the game and created opportunities. Ciurria had two chances early on, one was saved and the other called back for offside.

Danish forward Christian Gytkjaer found himself free after Augusto won a duel on top of the box. The Dane finished with ease. However, VAR called the goal back after a very tight offside call.

The best chance for Monza came in the 72nd minute. A free kick from about 25 years out beat Kastrati in the air and rattled the crossbar. The ball came down against the turf, and Gytkjaer was pushing for the tap in. Incredibly, Tommaso Cassandro cleared away after a heroic goal saving tackle.

Only minutes later, Tounkara found himself free behind the Monza center backs. Baldini slipped him through, just poking it past the keeper to make it 3-1. The celebrations were short-lived thought, as VAR once again called the goal back for a tight offside.

Tounkara proved to be a handful for the Monza backline, as late in the match he was handling the ball up field. A hard fought team performance was rewarded by a win.

Cittadella holds on in an entertaining match at the Tombolato. Under hot weather conditions and a grueling fixture, Citta advance to play Cagliari in the next round. Their next home match is next Saturday the 21st, when they welcome Vicenza in the season opener.