Beretta’s late goal springs Cittadella into playoff position.

A goal late into stoppage time gave Cittadella all three points at home against Frosinone on Saturday afternoon. Second half substitute Giacomo Beretta poked a loose ball into the net, giving the Granata their first win since August 13th.

Cittadella were missing some key starters heading into the match. Forward Raul Asencio and defender Dario Del Fabro both picked up red cards last weekend against Ascoli, and weren’t unable to play. Midfielder Andrea Danzi was also sidelined for the match.

Despite both teams having plenty of shots–with Cittadella outshooting Frosinone 14 to 12–Frosinone came closest to finding the breakthrough throughout the game. Goalkeeper Elhan Kastrati made a man of the match performance, making four saves on the day. The biggest of them all came in the 58th minute, after a quick break the Albanian keeper denied Luca Garritano from point blank range to keep the score level. Just minutes later, Kastrati saved the day once again from close range to block Samuele Mulattieri’s effort.

Frosinone tried to push Cittadella on the counter, but both teams couldn’t find anything to put the ball past Kastrati and Stefano Turati.

However, late into stoppage time, Cittadella found their goal through halftime substitute Giacomo Beretta. Turati mistimed a free kick served into the box, which led Santiago Visentin to hit the crossbar on the rebound. The ball bounced around before finally hitting the foot of Beretta, who ran celebrating with the Rabaltai ultras on the opposite end of the stadium.

Celebrations continued shortly after as the referee blew for full-time. Against a difficult opponent in the league, Cittadella find a late winner to secure their first win since the home opener in August. The victory also sees the Granata leap into the playoff standings, while also moving four points from the automatic promotion spots.

The games for Cittadella don’t get any easier as they are set to play another team that leads the league at the moment: Reggina. Next Saturday the team will face off against Pippo Inzaghi’s side in Reggio Calabria, a place where Cittadella haven’t lost since 2002.

Top Photo: AS Cittadella