Quick goals in second half inspires Cittadella to comeback against Novara

Two goals in a span of two minutes helped Cittadella rally to draw 2-2 against 10-men Novara on Sunday afternoon.

After trailing 0-2 in the first half, a second yellow card issued to Omar Khailoti in the 43rd minute gave Manuel Iori’s side a numerical advantage entering halftime. Alex Redolfi and Diego Falcinelli both scored their first goals since signing for the club in the second half to rescue a point for the Granata.

Iori made five changes to the lineup following last Friday’s defeat in Trento, giving Jacopo Desogus his first start of the season on the left wing. Falcinelli returned to the starting eleven as striker.

The changes proved costly in the first half as Novara took the lead after 10 minutes. Thomas Alberti fired home a rebound into the net, while in the 33rd minute Gianmarco Basso added to Novara’s lead by scoring once again on a rebounded shot.

Cittadella totaled just one shot in the first half despite controlling 55% of possession.

“We gave the first half to the opposing team,” Iori said after the game. “You never think your team will enter the field like this. It happened and we’ll evaluate why.”

But minutes before halftime, the game flipped on its head after Khailoti received his second yellow card, reducing the visitors to ten men.

With the man advantage and Iori making three substitutions at halftime, Cittadella quickly equalized by the 60th minute. Redolfi got on the scoresheet by finishing a scramble in the box, then Falcinelli curled an effort into the top corner to give the Granata parity.

“I’m taking away the desire to recover (the game),” Iori said. “Even with a man extra and down 0-2, sometimes you can’t even come back in many games. We were good at doing something extra and managing to draw this game.

“I repeat: if you have a first half like that, then everything becomes complicated.”

Cittadella nearly won it later in the game, but Novara goalkeeper Elia Boseggia made a double save on Davide Castelli and Alessio Vita to keep the score tied.

Despite the comeback, the Granata remains fourth in the league and four points below Union Brescia, who secured a late win on Sunday.

Looking to end a three game winless run, Iori’s side concludes the ‘girone di andata’ next Sunday at Giana Erminio.

“We need to find the right spirit,” Iori said. “After seeing the first half, we were lacking something, perhaps in many ways. So we’ll have to analyze why.”

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PHOTO: Massimo Felicetti/A.S. Cittadella