Sudtirol 1-2 Cittadella: Granata leave it late to complete comeback

Cittadella is alive and believing in Serie B survival.

The Granata left it late at the Stadio Druso to complete a 1-2 comeback against Sudtirol on Boxing Day, claiming a second consecutive victory for the first time since last December.

Federico Casolari scored his first professional goal on the stroke of halftime before Luca Pandolfi struck in the 80th minute to give Cittadella the win in a relegation six-pointer.

“Collectively, we were good because it was a difficult match,” Casolari said after the game. “They were sending long balls and had physical attackers, and we were good at limiting their qualities.”

The 21-year-old midfielder, who had been sidelined with an injury through October and November, was on the wrong side of the scoreline six minutes into the game. After Daniele Casiraghi’s loose touch, the ball made its way into the net after Casolari’s tackle, giving Sudtirol an early lead.

A frantic first half saw multiple chances for both sides, with Cittadella outshooting Sudtirol 10-5. Cittadella goalkeeper Elhan Kastrati made a big stop in 27th minute to deny Raphael Odogwu from point blank range.

The Granata were 0-1-8 after conceding the first goal, but went into halftime with a lifeline as Casolari struck minutes before the whistle. A cross which sailed over Giacomo Poluzzi found the net to level the scoreline.

“My goal? The only thing that matters is that it went in,” Casolari said with a smile.

In a second half where Cittadella outshot Sudtirol once again, the breakthrough came 10 minutes from the end after Pandolfi headed home his fifth goal of the season. On the back of Edoardo Masciangelo’s cross, the Neapolitan’s looping header floated into the far post, giving Cittadella the lead.

The three points lift the Granata out of the relegation zones for the moment with 20 points, three points above 19th place Cosenza and 20th place Sudtirol.

“The team did well in all moments of the match and we were rewarded for our attitude,” Dal Canto said in his postgame interview. “The players have always trained well, even when we lost. Football is evaluated by the results, now we are simply happier.”

Cittadella ends the ‘girone di andata’ with two successive wins and will have a chance to close 2024 with another one on Dec. 29 against Palermo: a team who Cittadella has beaten twice this year.

“It’s a very difficult match on paper,” Dal Canto said on next Sunday’s game. “Now we have to recover players from today’s six-pointer and prepare as best as possible for the match.”