Lazio Win at Flaminio, But Questions Remain Over Performance

Simon Basten
Sep 5, 2023
3 min read

Season 1987-88

Game 5, Coppa Italia Group 8

Sunday, September 6, 1987

Stadio Flaminio, Roma

Lazio Casertana 2-0

Savino scores twice as Lazio beat Casertana 2–0 at the Flaminio but Fascetti’s men still have work to do

There was a lot of expectation this season, especially because the promotion slots were increased to four as Serie A was going to expand the number of teams from 16 to 18, but first there was the Coppa Italia to play.

Lazio were in a group made up of Pisa, Juventus, Lecce, Catanzaro and Casertana. For the first and only time, a penalty shootout was introduced in case of a draw after 90 minutes. Hence three points for a win, two for one on penalties, one for a loss on penalties. In the first game at Pisa, the Biancocelesti had won on penalties after a goalless draw, in the second against Juve they lost in the shootout after the match ended 1-1. They then beat Lecce 1-0 but collapsed in Calabria losing 5-0. The table read: Juve 10, Pisa 8, Lazio 6, Lecce 5, Casertana 4, Catanzaro 3. The top two qualified so the only hope was for Lazio to win and Juventus to beat Pisa.

The match

A sparsely populated Flaminio Stadium set the backdrop for Lazio’s third home fixture, with much of the blame falling on steep ticket prices for the general seating sections. Coach Eugenio Fascetti’s side arrived still nursing the wounds of a bitter defeat at Catanzaro, though within the club, hopes remained that the low turnout wasn’t linked to their recent form.

The line-ups offered no surprises. Lazio were without Vincenzo Esposito, with Domenico Caso starting. Angelo Gregucci was tasked with marking Nicola D’Ottavio, while Luca Brunetti shadowed Davide Ricci. For Casertana, captain Mario Buccilli was assigned to Giuseppe Galderisi, and Alberto Lorieri kept tabs on Paolo Monelli.

Lazio carved out two golden opportunities early, both falling to Monelli. In the 5th minute, Caso beat the offside trap and squared the ball to Monelli, who, completely unmarked, fired wide of Massimo Battara’s left post. Then in the 10th, Raimondo Marino picked out Monelli again, but the striker failed to control the ball just metres from goal.

Casertana maintained a structured midfield presence, while Lazio applied pressure—albeit in a chaotic and uncoordinated fashion. Man-marking was tight on both sides. In the 18th minute, Walter Viganò tried his luck from long range, but Silvano Martina read it well and made a comfortable save.

The game grew increasingly scrappy, with little in the way of coherent play despite the hard work of Caso and Walter Casaroli.

Lazio broke the deadlock in the 34th minute through a messy sequence that ended with Giancarlo Camolese nudging the ball to Gabriele Savino, who slotted past an onrushing Battara with his right foot.

That goal gave Lazio a boost, while Casertana began to show cracks at the back. Just before halftime, Monelli was denied by a sensational reflex save from Battara, who kept out the close-range shot with a leaping parry.

Fascetti made a change at the break, bringing on Massimo Piscedda for Brunetti. Marino moved to mark Ricci, while the substitute filled in as a sweeper. The tempo, however, dropped noticeably. In the 59th minute, Casaroli headed wide from a Viganò cross — one of the few real chances in a subdued second half.

Monelli continued to push, forcing another save from Battara in the 65th minute with a shot from the edge of the area. Two minutes later, he tried again with a low diagonal strike, but the Casertana keeper was once more up to the task.

Casertana's best response came in the 70th minute when Ricci headed toward goal, but his effort lacked power and Martina collected easily.

Lazio sealed the win in the 75th minute with a second goal, again from Savino. Following another chaotic scramble in the Casertana box, the number 7 pounced and tapped in with his left foot into an almost empty net. The visitors protested for offside, but referee Felicani ignored both them and his assistant’s flag.

In the end, Lazio secured a deserved 2–0 victory — but while the result was reassuring, the performance left much to be desired. Fascetti’s men still had work to do.

Alas Pisa beat Juve so Lazio were out of the Coppa Italia.

Who played for Lazio

Martina, Brunetti (46’ Piscedda), Beruatto, Pin (75’ Esposito), Gregucci, Marino, Savino (89’ Nigro), Caso, Galderisi, Camolese, Monelli