Missed chances hurt Cittadella in 1-1 draw with Perugia

An intense match Saturday night, Cittadella fight back to earn a 1-1 draw in Umbria. A much deserved point on the road, though it should’ve been more.

Without key players due to injuries and suspensions, Cittadella settle for a 1-1 draw against a compact Perugia team. But even after the point gained, most will feel empty handed and wanting more.

There were chances for the Granata to take three points back to Veneto, but it’s only one point that Citta can muster. A dominant display in the second half saw multiple opportunities fall to the feet of Giacomo Beretta, Mirko Antonucci, and Christian D’Urso.

Cittadella head coach Edoardo Gorini had to switch the formation around for tonight. Without Davide Adorni, the captain armband passed along to Romano Perticone, who did well in that role today.

From the opening whistle, Cittadella pilled pressure on the home side. Perugia stayed compact and frustrated the Granata‘s attack.

The first half showed us Perugia cannot be taken lightly this season. Strong in defense, the counter attack was the main source of forward play by the home side. A bad pass and Perugia were off to the races against the trailing numbers.

That counter attacking play finally worked its way into a goal. With nearly their first real attack, a delicate dink from Jacopo Segre passed the offside trap. Matos calmly poked the ball past Kastrati, and against the run of play, Perugia found themselves a goal up.

Minutes after the goal, a poor throw in by Amedeo Benedetti set Perugia in the clear. Maneul De Luca hit a low shot into the gloves of Kastrati. It gave warning sides to a vulnerable Cittadella backline going into halftime.

Following the halftime break, Cittadella put immense pressure on Perugia’s backline, and pushed for the game tying goal.

Before a dangerous free kick on the right side, the referee’s headset appeared to be not functioning. After a long delay, the ball by Benedetti caused havoc in front of Leandro Chichizola’s net.

Cittadella’s endless pressure was also causing concern going the other way. Following a Perugia corner, the ball managed its way to the feet of Matos. Against Kastrati, the Brazilian pulled his shot wide, with the chance to seal the win.

The match started to open up more, which made chances on both ends of the pitch more available. Baldini and Antonucci saw the opening on the counter attack, and linked up on the left hand side. Unselfishly, Baldini cut across the face of goal to an open Giacomo Beretta. In a weird angle, Beretta failed to make good connection, and the chance went begging.

It wasn’t the end of the road, however. Four minutes later, Beretta got his goal following a flick on from the corner. The pressure finally payed off for Cittadella.

Pressing for the winner, substitute Christian D’Urso wonderfully made his way to the 18 yard box. Passing Perugia defenders, D’Urso couldn’t get his shot on frame.

Cittadella couldn’t get the winner they so desperately were wanting. Big chances in the second half came back to haunt the Granata as they miss an opportunity to jump back into the playoff zone.

Still, there are many things to take away from the match in Perugia. In years past, a game like this was very common for Citta: dominate possession, have opportunities, and dictate the match. Yet in those games, they would concede a soft goal and never recover, resulting in a loss that proved costly in playoff seeding.

Today, that narrative went a bit differently. Cittadella managed to pull a goal back, and played good defense to help preserve the draw.

Yes, it really should’ve been a win. But in a game like this in previous years, we would’ve lost. Today, we earn another point on the road, and another point closer to playoffs.

Heading into December, some massive matches are coming for Cittadella. An important month in the season, and it starts Wednesday against Como.

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