Cittadella draw goalless with Ascoli, ends 2023 in 4th place.

Cittadella was held goalless for the first time since September 24th as the Granata drew 0-0 with Ascoli on Boxing Day.

Edoardo Gorini’s side came into the match knowing they could beat their Serie B club record number of points after 19 games with a victory. Cittadella sat only two points from 2nd place at Christmas, while Ascoli were looking for a win to get themselves out of the relegation zone.

The last two meetings at the Stadio Cino e Lillo Del Duca ended goalless, with Cittadella failing to score in Ascoli Piceno in the last five trips. The Granata were given a golden opportunity to go into the lead in the first half, when referee Daniele Minelli awarded Cittadella a penalty after 27 minutes.

Filippo Pittarello scored a brace three days ago against Spezia, but this time he was denied from the penalty spot for the second time this season.

Pittarello was given another opportunity after VAR spotted keeper Emiliano Viviano off his line during the first attempt. Incredibly, Pittarello’s second attempt ended as the same result. The striker’s attempt smacked the crossbar and cleared away.

Cittadella goalkeeper Elhan Kastrati was busy in the first half, making three saves to keep Ascoli off the scoresheet. The Albanian keeper made a total of five saves in the match, keeping his sixth clean-sheet of the season.

The Granata began to get closer to finding the breakthrough after the substitutions of Claudio Cassano and Luca Pandolfi, both of whom started on the bench. Cassano created two shots in just over 30 minutes on the pitch, coming closest in the 87th minute with a quick shot to the far post which had to be parried away by Viviano.

Cittadella end the calendar year of 2023 on an eight game unbeaten streak. The Granata sit 4th in Serie B with 33 points after half-season played. Gorini’s side will have nearly three weeks of rest before hosting Palermo in the first match of 2024 on January 13th.

PHOTO: Fabio Urbini/LaPresse