Easy business for Cittadella against 8 men Pisa

Sunday night saw the visitors go down to 8 men in the second half. Mirko Antonucci and Enrico Baldini made sure nothing got away from Cittadella.

A comfortable win for Cittadella as they make easy work from a tricky Pisa side. Though having a significant advantage, the Granata showed their professionalism in a 2-0 win.

Though it didn’t start off in the greatest ways. Edoardo Gorini viewed the match from the stands, and Roberto Musso was on the pitch side. Musso made no changes from last week’s victory in Reggina.

Pisa entered the weekend at the summit of Serie B. Results from Saturday and early on Sunday moved the Nerazzurri down to third, outside of the top two. Cittadella were aiming to chase the playoff pack as they were in 12th.

The away side showed why they belonged at the top in the opening minutes. In fact, they looked much better and organized than Cittadella in the early stages. Elhan Kastrati made a fantastic save to deny Marius Marin on the volley. Pisa’s leading goalscorer Lorenzo Lucca also looked dangerous in the 18 yard box.

Slowly, Cittadella started finding their attacking form, and nearly took the lead in the 34th minute. Alessio Vita smacked the crossbar following a corner pinging around the Pisa box. Cittadella would also hit the crossbar for the second time just before halftime. This time it was Enrico Baldini to be denied, in addition to a fantastic save by Nicolas.

Ask any fan that watched this game and they will tell you one thing: the red card changed the game. For Pisa, it was a gut punch after dominating and threatening on the attack. For Cittadella, it boosted their chances of winning.

Pisa midfielder Ádám Nagy, isolated at midfield, had Orji Okwonkwo in full stride. The Hungarian had no choice but to tackle Okwonkwo, giving the referee no choice but to send him off.

A game changing moment, as from here everything went downhill for the Nerazzurri.

Musso gave the green light at halftime, and Cittadella were out flying. It didn’t take long to break a deflated Pisa team. Mirko Antonucci fired his shot towards the far post, claiming his first goal in a Cittadella jersey.

Meanwhile for Pisa, their night got even worse as the referee showed another red card, the second of the match. Amedeo Benedetti appealed that Idrissa Toure elbowed him to the face. In disbelieve, Pisa were down to 9 men with half an hour to go.

Just when you thought it you’ve seen it all, you haven’t. Lorenzo Lucca, who was already on a yellow, received his marching orders. A brutal knee to the head on Nicola Pavan was enough to send him off.

From here, Pisa were all but done. A team playing against another with three extra players, it just wasn’t meant to be the night for Luca D’Angelo’s men.

Though the score remained at 1-0, Cittadella seemed content to knock the ball around without issue. To make absolutely sure, Enrico Baldini smashed his fourth goal of the season into the upper 90. A two goal scoreline was enough against the tired Pisa, who had a rough night.

Although 2-0 against a team with 8 men may seem not great, Roberto Musso praised his squad post-match.

“We had to deal with an excellent team, which has been at the top of the standings for a long time.” Musso explained to Il Mattino di Padova. “It was legitimate to suffer a little. The boys were good at taking advantage of the numerical superiority to take the lead.”

“We are pleased with the position in the standings.” Musso continued later on. “This championship, however, is too unpredictable. You lose two games and you find yourself down, you win two and you are up. It is very difficult to be consistent, this season perhaps much more than others.”

Once again the international break comes at the worst time for the Granata. With a two game winning streak, Cittadella hope their momentum lasts over the next two week. They now go on the road to Ternana on November 20th at 8am EST.

Click here for highlights.