Victory against Lecce once again: Cittadella advance in the Coppa Italia.

A familiar story has emerged over the last 13 years: Cittadella travel to the Stadio Via del Mare to face Lecce, and they come out victorious.

And that story still remains true today! Despite playing against a squad a division higher, Cittadella advance in the Coppa Italia after a hard fought 3-2 win on Friday night. The Granata showed lots of character and strength after going down a goal, and made a performance that has many Cittadella supporters optimistic for the upcoming season.

A well deserved victory for Edoardo Gorini’s side can be said for this match. Cittadella outshot Lecce 20-16, and also had twice as many shots on target than the recently promoted team.

All the stats paved way for an outstanding win on the road. However, it at first looked like Cittadella were going to regret early opportunities to get their noses in front. In the opening minutes of the match, a volley from Alessio Vita flew inches away from Wladimiro Falcone’s net. Later on in the half, Ignacio Lores Varela got in behind the Lecce defense after a slip from Kastriot Dermaku. The Uruguayan midfielder couldn’t take advantage of the chance, and smashed his shot on the wrong side of the goalpost.

But the signs were there for Gorini’s side: they were into this match. The defense led by veteran center back Romano Perticone showed resilience as the match went on. The midfield held strong, and the attacking play was still very effective, despite not having attacking threat Enrico Baldini in the squad.

A small lapse in concentration within the Cittadella defense led to Lecce opening the scoring in the 61st minute. Danger man Gabriel Strefezza smashed home a close range half-volley off a floated cross from Francensco Di Mariano, following a loss in possession from the Granata.

It seemed Cittadella had been too wasteful in front of goal to get something out of this game. Their persistence finally paid off 12 minutes after the opener. An early cross from Daniele Donnarumma was met by a redirecting header from substitute Giuseppe Carriero. Ex Lecce forward Raul Asencio got on the end and nodded it home, despite being clattered by the keeper in the process.

Before extra time, Gorini brought in Mamadou Tounkara, a player who hasn’t seen the pitch since getting injured against Monza back in March. The forward couldn’t have asked for a better return, as seven minutes after the start of extra time, Tounkara slotted home the go-ahead goal. As the clock reached 100 minutes, the ball met Tounkara’s foot once again, this time a volley struck well following a corner from Carriero.

A late scare was the case for Cittadella, because right before the end of the first half of extra time, Milan loanee Lorenzo Colombo beat the offside trap, and pulled the match back to one goal.

It took a gutsy effort from everyone on the field, and perhaps the Granata earned some luck towards the end of the match. Goalkeeper Elhan Kastrati saved a point blank shot five minutes from the end. With the last kick of the match, Colombo missed the chance to be the hero, as another close range shot was pulled wide.

The win means this is the fourth time since 2017 that Cittadella has beaten a Serie A team in the Coppa Italia. Cittadella also continue their excellent form at the Via del Mare to 4 wins, 1 draw, and 0 losses. The victory is also the biggest win in the Edoardo Gorini era so far, and it feels like the biggest accomplishment yet during his time as head coach.

Cittadella advance to Round 2 in the Coppa Italia where they’ll face the winner of Torino and Palermo, who play Saturday night. Next up for the Granata is the home and season opener against Pisa on August 13th.

Top photo: AS Cittadella