A dull afternoon in Crotone

It’s the fourth straight draw for Cittadella, this time away to Crotone. It extends their league unbeaten run, but are still in need of a victory.

The first match of February has finished, and Cittadella can only walk away with a point down south in Crotone. Against a team fighting for relegation, it was once again a great chance for the Granata to get a much needed win. But similar to the past few games, it has ended all square at full time.

In the last three matches, Cittadella has given away points to teams they theoretically should be beating. Today in Crotone was no different, but the hosts should feel they were the ones robbed of three points, as they had the better of opportunities throughout the match.

Cittadella head coach Edoardo Gorini traveled to Calabria knowing he’s without starting goalkeeper Elhan Kastrati. In addition, he would have to deal with the absence of Simone Icardi, but more importantly, Nicola Pavan, who’s absence started to show in the midfield.

Gorini went with his favorable 4-3-1-2, making four changes to last weekends draw against Cosenza. Once again, attacking presence Enrico Baldini was sidelined for the third time in the last four games.

It was a first half to forget from Cittadella’s viewpoint, with nothing going in the attack and the team looking out of sorts for the first 45. Crotone dictated the match to start, enjoying more possession and forcing saves out of Luca Maniero. But Crotone’s biggest chance came in the 43rd minute. A counter attack that caught Cittadella scrambling back into defense looked promising from the home team. The ball wiped in found Vasile Magos at the far post, but blasted his effort over Maniero’s net.

The Granata‘s midfield was badly out played in the first 45. Usually on their game, the trio of Branca, Danzi, and Vita were outplayed by Crotone’s offense, and it made way for Gorini to make substitutions.

Karim Laribi, who was signed earlier in the week, came on in search of re-energizing Cittadella’s attack on his debut. But still, Cittadella were out worked by Crotone’s play. Gli Squali eventually found the back of the net in the 67th minute, but the offside flag prevented the hosts from going ahead.

From that point on, it was now Cittadella’s turn to have their say about this game.

Romano Perticone had a good look off a corner, but couldn’t wrap his foot around a difficult shot. Enrico Baldini, who came on at halftime, tried to make something out of nothing to pull Cittadella in front. A decent effort minutes after Perticone’s chance sailed over the bar, but it was clear Cittadella were starting to find their rhythm.

With ten minutes to go, Baldini quite possibly had the best look all game. A free kick right on top of the 18 yard box laid a perfect opportunity for Baldini. The free kick was struck well, and beat the wall, but was parried aside by Gianluca Saro, diving to his right.

From there on, a 0-0 draw seemed in the cards. Cittadella had more possession, had kept Crotone quiet for the remaining minutes, but never tested Saro’s goal, in exception to Baldini’s free kick.

So another draw, the eight one to be exact. It isn’t a damaging result to the Granata‘s season, but these last games were set up perfectly for Cittadella to collect important victories. We all saw these set of games: Vicenza, Cosenza, and Crotone, all in the relegation zone of the league. This must be at least a seven point game stretch, but in the end Cittadella have to settle with three points in three.

Out of those three games, this is the one game where Cittadella probably should feel happy with the point, given the way the match unfolded. Compared to Vicenza and Cosenza, where we had majority chances and opportunities to score, today in Crotone was very dull in the final third.

We have been saying the same thing ever since the season started: if we want to go to Serie A, it’s time to do the little things, and that starts with beating teams you’re suppose to beat. Teams in the bottom half of the league are winnable games, and you’ll almost always be favorites. To be promoted, you have to win (most) of these games. It’s still something that Cittadella are struggling to do, despite playing well against tougher opposition.

The good news for today? Thanks to Perugia’s win in Ascoli, Cittadella are back into the playoff spots. Jumping over Ascoli and beating them on goal difference, things are getting tight in Serie B. An important month with six more games to be played–including games against Cremonese, Benevento, Frosinone, and Lecce–will be pivotal in Cittadella’s season.

Click here for highlights on the match.