Cittadella fall in Ferrara as relegation fight tightens

Giuseppe Ambrosino’s second half penalty kick wasn’t enough for Cittadella to overturn the deficit as SPAL beat the Granata 2-1.

It was an important match for both sides entering Sunday, with both fighting to survive the drop to Serie C. Cittadella had the opportunity to put more space between them and the play-out spots, while SPAL were desperate to climb out of the basement of Serie B.

Without Giovanni Crociata–arguably Cittadella’s most in-form player at the moment–Edoardo Gorini’s side struggled to create any firepower in the attack. The Granata‘s best chance in the first half came 40 minutes in, after Andrea Magrassi pulled back a low cross into a good area, but nobody from Cittadella was able to attack the ball.

Minutes after that chance, SPAL took the lead from Greek midfielder Ioannis Fetfatzidis. On a fast counter attack, Fabio Maistro split his pass through the Cittadella backline, making way for an easy finish by Fetfatzidis.

The attacking play improved slightly in the second half as Cittadella looked for the equalizer. Mirko Antonucci had an open chance off the volley nine minutes in, but his effort sailed well over the bar.

SPAL got their second goal in the 72nd minute through Matteo Prati. The young midfielder slotted home his first goal of the season following a chaotic sequence where Cittadella failed to clear the box, allowing SPAL to take a two goal advantage.

The Granata were given a lifeline minutes following the goal, when Giuseppe Carriero won a foul just inside the box. After a short VAR review, Giuseppe Ambrosino buried his first goal for Cittadella on the penalty, and put his team within a goal with 10 minutes left to play.

The penalty would prove to not be the start of a comeback, as Cittadella couldn’t create one final opportunity. SPAL wins a huge game, getting them out of 20th place. Cittadella will stay in 14th place on 34 points, still five points clear of the final relegation play-out spot.