|
A Stevan Jovetic penalty allowed 10-man Fiorentina to scrape a 1-0 victory at Livorno in the Tuscan derby.
The derby is always a tense occasion, but was especially tricky for the Amaranto, who were in penultimate place with two points from five rounds and just one goal. Fiorentina rotated the squad in preparation for the Champions League, so Lorenzo De Silvestri made his debut for the club.
Livorno had two early chances with Nico Pulzetti's cross just past the back post and a deflected Francesco Tavano free kick.
Sebastien Frey needed two touches to control a quickly-taken Cristiano Lucarelli free kick, while Alberto Gilardino spun round to drill wide.
Marco Donadel had already been booked when he brought down Candreva and was fortunate to avoid a second yellow, receiving a stern talking-to from the referee.
On the counter, Gila knocked it back for Adrian Mutu to curl round the far post.
There was chaotic defending in the Viola box when Frey clattered into Tavano when attempting to get on the end of a poor header, but Dario Dainelli used his body to charge down Candreva's shot and prevent a certain goal.
A Tavano cross flashed inches over Lucarelli's head at the back post after shaking off Per Kroldrup.
Livorno were dominating the first half and a corner came out to Pulzetti for a daisy-cutter from the edge of the box, but Frey got down at the last second to fingertip it round the post.
At the other end Gilardino had penalty appeals waved away as a Juan Manuel Vargas cross was whipped in from the left flank.
Straight after the restart Mutu tested De Lucia, but the linesman had already raised his flag. Moments later another chance saw Martin Jorgensen try to set up Gilardino rather than go for goal himself.
Livorno also went close as Frey got down to parry Candreva's thunderbolt and another low strike from Tavano, also on the right flank.
A terrible clearance from Perticone gave Fiorentina a very dangerous opportunity, Gilardino's snapshot bringing a save out of De Lucia. Perticone seemed to be suffering from cramp and went off soon after.
De Silvestri also slipped for a woeful defensive move, handing the ball to Tavano in the box, but the Livorno striker was startled and couldn't get it under control.
Stevan Jovetic replaced Mutu for the final 20 minutes at the Stadio Picchi. Gilardino flashed a shot across the face of goal from De Silvestri's cross.
On 75 minutes the referee pointed to the spot when substitute Diniz hauled back Gilardino in the six-yard box as he tried to get on the end of a Vargas cross. Jovetic stepped up to take the penalty and converted powerfully despite De Lucia guessing the right angle.
Lucarelli's cross-shot was heading into the far top corner until Frey acrobatically fingertipped it over. That set play then turned into a Fiorentina counter with four against one, but the lone Livorno defender still managed to clear it.
The Stadio Picchi was up in arms when Cellerino went on a blazing run towards the area and was bundled over between the two defenders just outside the box. The referee awarded the free kick rather than a penalty, but gave Dainelli his second booking. The set piece was touched on for Candreva and charged down.
A desperate Kroldrup clearance prevented Mozart tapping in from point-blank range and Lucarelli's free kick struck a Viola head in the wall. Livorno laid siege and in the final corner De Lucia came up to pack the box, but Candreva drilled inches over the bar.
|
