Rocchi eases Lazio's worries

Updated: 6 days ago

Season 2004-05

Game 31, Serie A

Sunday, April 17, 2005

Stadio Dall'Ara, Bologna

Bologna Lazio 1-2

After an awful first half Lazio stir and overturn Bologna with a Rocchi winner

Lazio starte the season well but then went into difficulty. After 16 matches Domenico Caso was sacked and replaced by Giuseppe Papadopulo. His first match was a 3-1 derby triumph with Paolo Di Canio scoring again 16 years later. Lazio then won in Florence but then took only a point from the next five games. Luckily wins against Atalanta, Chievo and Parma had lifted the clouds. More defeats followed but a 3-1 win against Livorno a week before today's match seemed to have put any relegation threats behind them, pushing the Biancocelesti up from 14th to 10th place. Mind you, they still had to be careful.

The match

Today was an important match for both sides not to get dragged back down into the relegation battle.

Lazio had a nightmare start but somehow came out unscathed, for now. In the 5th minute Sebastiano Siviglia hit his own crossbar with a header and then Ciro Capuano hit the post on the rebound. Bologna were on top and soon took the lead albeit following a non-existent freekick. Luciano Zauri's tackle on Igli Tare was on the ball fair and square but the referee gave a free kick from the edge of the box. Claudio Bellucci touched the ball to Federico Giunti whose shot went through the wall and beat Angelo Peruzzi. Bologna 1 Lazio 0 and well deserved.

Bologna continued to dominate and almost doubled their lead with Carlo Nervo while Lazio’s only chance came in the 42nd minute with a Massimo Oddo free kick just wide. A lame and poor Lazio trudged off at halftime trailing 1-0.

During half time Papadopulo must have said something convincing because the team that came back on was transformed. Then Antonio Filippini replaced Fabio Liverani in midfield and Oddo positioned himself further back. Lazio changed tactically but above all in spirit.

The Biancocelesti’s new approach bore its fruits immediately. In the 54th minute Tare gave away a free kick about 35 metres out, Roberto Muzzi put the ball in the box where Giuliano Giannichedda was fouled by Alessandro Gamberini. A clear penalty which Oddo slotted in for the equaliser, 1-1.

At this point Lazio took control and Bologna had difficulty even getting out of their own half. Lazio pushed forward and took the lead in the 74th minute. Giannichedda went on a good run and put Tommaso Rocchi through on goal, the Venetian striker first beat Suarez before going round Pagliuca and scoring from a difficult angle. 1-2 and an unimaginable score after Lazio's first half performance.

Lazio were on a high and had several more chances. Gianluca Pagliuca saved on Rocchi, Antonio Filippini and was then saved by the post on Ousmane Dabo shot.

Bologna after doing virtually nothing for 45 minutes then almost drew level in injury time. With 5 seconds remaining of the 6 minutes given, a Giacomo Cipriani header was miraculously palmed off the line by a magical "Cinghialone" (Big Wild Boar") Peruzzi. His teammates congratulated him as if he had scored a goal and in a sense he had since he saved the result anyway. So a game of two halves ended Bologna 1 Lazio 2.

Lazio overtook the Rossoblu in the table and went up to 40 points leaving their opponents behind them on 39. Neither were safe yet but a giant step forward for Lazio.

Who played for Bologna

Pagliuca, Juarez, Gamberini, Torrisi, Nervo (78' Binotto), Giunti (46' Loviso), L. Colucci, Capuano, Meghni (76' Cipriani), Bellucci, Tare

Substitutes: Ferron, Nastase, Legrottaglie, Sussi

Manager: Mazzone

Who played for Lazio

Peruzzi, Siviglia, F. Couto, Zauri, Oddo (78' Cesar), Giannichedda, Dabo, E. Filippini, Liverani (46' A. Filippini), Rocchi, Muzzi (59' Bazzani)