Cosenza 0-1 Cittadella: Goalkeepers shine in Granata road victory
On January 25, 2025 by Jake IovineElhan Kastrati and Luca Maniero made five combined saves for Cittadella in Saturday afternoon’s road win against Cosenza.
Kastrati started the match, but had to be substituted at halftime due to an injury. Maniero helped preserve the shutout as the Granata earned their fifth road win of the season in a relegation six-pointer.
“Today we made the most from our goalkeepers,” Cittadella head coach Alessandro Dal Canto said after the game. “We have grown significantly in the last two months.”
Dal Canto’s men had a dream start after 12 minutes as Edoardo Masciangelo’s cross deflected into the net off Christian Dalle Mura’s head. The goal marked the first goal from a set piece this season for Cittadella.
Cosenza pilled pressure in a ten minute interval after half an hour, coming closest in the 35th minute when Kastrati denied a close range effort by Gabriele Artistico. Another opportunity for the hosts arrived four minutes later as Kastrati parried a curling effort from Andrea Pizzo Pinna.
“We started very well in the first 20 minutes,” Dal Canto said. “Then, Cosenza took the control of the field too clearly. They left too many opportunities for the equalizer.”
A collision in the penalty box during stoppage time meant the Albanian goalkeeper could not continue and Maniero made way in the second half. Maniero, who played his first game since October, made three saves after halftime to frustrate the hosts.
Artistico thought he found the leveler minutes after the break when he redirected a header from point-blank range, but the substituted-Cittadella goalkeeper denied the striker once again.
Cosenza accumulated 1.73 expected goals (xG) throughout the game compared to Cittadella’s 0.38 xG, but the hosts couldn’t find the net as the Granata held on for three points.
A fifth road victory of the season puts Cittadella in 12th place for the moment with 27 points. Dal Canto, however, is not satisfied with his team’s performance, insisting that the result made up for last weekend’s defeat to Mantova and the season is far from over.
“I am happy with the result, but not with the performance,” he said. “Last week, in contrast, I wasn’t satisfied with the defeat, but I liked the performance.”
“Let’s put it this way: we have to do better, that’s for sure.”
PHOTO: A.S. Cittadella Facebook