REGGIO EMILIA – A bitter return from the break for Reggiana, which, after an excellent start to the season, suffers its first home defeat of the season, succumbing 3-1 to Südtirol.
The match begins with the granata seeming to take control and having both the legs and the mind. Yet, it is the guests who surprise everyone by opening the scoring with a beautiful goal from Molina, who finds the top corner with a precise right footed shot. The usual Vergara confirms himself as the soul of Reggiana: his cross-shot, which hits the crossbar, generates a confused action in the box from which the equalizer comes, scored by Portanova with a splendid volley. At the close of the first half, Südtirol doubles the score with Arrigoni, who leaves Bardi flat-footed with a beautiful low right footed shot that finds the corner.
In the second half, a vigorous reaction from Reggiana is expected, and it arrives promptly: after just a few seconds, the usual Vergara nearly scores the equalizer with a precise left-footed volley, but the visiting goalkeeper performs incredibly. The match intensifies, with Südtirol controlling the game while Reggiana struggles to find space. As the minutes pass, the match increasingly leans towards the Tyroleans, who play on the counter and exploit the spaces left by the granata. A perfect counter-attack leads to the definitive 3-1 with Praszelik extinguishing the home team’s hopes.
After two consecutive victories, now come two defeats that raise alarm bells, especially concerning the defensive phase. Now Reggiana looks towards the next challenge, still at Città del Tricolore, next Saturday against Salernitana.
The Summary
REGGIANA – SÜDTIROL 1 – 3
Scorers: Molina (S) at 7′, Portanova (R) at 31′, Arrigoni (S) at 40′, Praszelik (S) at 78′.
REGGIANA (4-3-2-1): Bardi; Sampirisi (Fiamozzi at 46′), Meroni, Rozzio, Fontanarosa (Cavallini at 78′); Stulac (Cigarini at 69′), Sersanti, Portanova (Maggio at 69′); Vido (Okwonkwo at 56′), Vergara; Gondo. Bench: Sposito, Reinhart, Libutti, Ignacchiti, Urso, Girma, Nahounou. Coach: Viali.
SÜDTIROL (3-4-2-1): Poluzzi; Kofler (Pietrangeli at 83′), Ceppitelli, Giorgini; Molina, Arrigoni, Kurtic, S. Davi (Rover at 21′); Tait (Martini at 66′), Casiraghi (Praszelik at 66′); Odogwu (Merkaj at 66′). Bench: Drago, Tschoell, El Kaouakibi, Crespi, Zedadka, F. Davi, Vimercati. Coach: Valente.
Referee: Valerio Crezzini. Assistant I: Claudio Barone. Assistant II: Thomas Miniutti. IV Official: Davide Gandino. VAR: Gianluca Manganiello. AVAR: Salvatore Longo.
Note: Yellow cards to Giorgini (S) at 45’+3′, Martini (S) at 88′
Corners: 3-1 in the first half. Injury time: 3′ in the first half.
The Match Report and Goals
78′ – GOAL Reggiana – SÜDTIROL 1-3. Merkaj sets up Praszelik with a backheel, and he scores the goal making it 3-1 in a one-on-one situation with Bardi.
50′ – SÜDTIROL CHANCE. Arrigoni tries from the edge of the box, but the ball goes just wide.
49′ – SÜDTIROL CHANCE. Again Molina shoots on the volley from a corner kick. The ball goes just wide.
47′ – REGGIANA CHANCE. Vergara shoots from just inside the box towards the corner. Poluzzi makes an incredible save resulting in a corner kick.
40′ – GOAL Reggiana – SÜDTIROL 1-2. A precise shot from Arrigoni who beats Bardi directly from the edge of the box on a pass from Molina.
35′ – SÜDTIROL CHANCE. A cross to the far post, and a header from Odogwu goes high, but he illegally pushes off Sampirisi, interrupting the play for a foul on the defender.
31′ – GOAL REGGIANA – Südtirol 1-1. A volley from Portanova following a corner kick. Odogwu tries to save on the line, but the ball goes in.
30′ – REGGIANA CHANCE. A cross-shot from Vergara hits the crossbar.
24′ – REGGIANA CHANCE. A header from Vergara grazes the upper part of the crossbar.
20′ – REGGIANA GOAL DISALLOWED for an offside on Gondo.
13′ – SÜDTIROL CHANCE. Again Molina, with a left footed shot from the edge of the area, challenges Bardi who makes a solid save.
7′ – GOAL Reggiana – SÜDTIROL 0-1. From a Tait assist, Molina breaks in and scores with a powerful volley that hits the top corner where Bardi cannot reach it.
5′ – REGGIANA CHANCE. A cross from the right by Sampirisi, and a header from Vido challenges the goalkeeper. The ball goes out for a corner.