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Napoli coach Mazzarri rues missed chances against Siena
After seeing his team engineer a number of clear sights on goal at the Artemio Franchi, the Partenopei boss felt even a draw would not have been just reward for their dominance
10-Feb-2012 4:44:52 AM
By Mark Doyle
Getty Images
Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri was left lamenting his side's profligacy after Thursday night's 2-1 defeat by Siena in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final tie.
The Partenopei have long been considered the masters of the counterattack but they found themselves two goals adrift with just over a quarter of the game remaining after terrific breakaway efforts from Reginaldo and Gaetano D'Agostino
Napoli halved their deficit with just four minutes to go courtesy of an own goal from Emanuele Pesoli to keep their hopes of reaching the final alive, but Mazzarri felt that they could have effectively put the tie beyond their hosts if they had been more ruthless in front of goal.
"Congratulations to Siena but we had so many chances," the Napoli boss said during an interview with Rai. "This year we are wasting so many opportunities.
"It was a game in which we shouldn't have conceded any goals but with the only two mistakes we made, as has happened so often this year, we conceded.
"We gave ourselves an uphill challenge but my Napoli gave it a great go.
"We tried right until the end and I think that Napoli would not only have deserved a draw but also a victory."
Napoli will now have to turn things around when they host Siena in the second leg at the San Paolo on March 21.
How do you stay up to date with football when on the move? With http://m.goal.com – your best source for mobile coverage of the beautiful game.
The Partenopei have long been considered the masters of the counterattack but they found themselves two goals adrift with just over a quarter of the game remaining after terrific breakaway efforts from Reginaldo and Gaetano D'Agostino
Napoli halved their deficit with just four minutes to go courtesy of an own goal from Emanuele Pesoli to keep their hopes of reaching the final alive, but Mazzarri felt that they could have effectively put the tie beyond their hosts if they had been more ruthless in front of goal.
"Congratulations to Siena but we had so many chances," the Napoli boss said during an interview with Rai. "This year we are wasting so many opportunities.
"It was a game in which we shouldn't have conceded any goals but with the only two mistakes we made, as has happened so often this year, we conceded.
"We gave ourselves an uphill challenge but my Napoli gave it a great go.
"We tried right until the end and I think that Napoli would not only have deserved a draw but also a victory."
Napoli will now have to turn things around when they host Siena in the second leg at the San Paolo on March 21.
How do you stay up to date with football when on the move? With http://m.goal.com – your best source for mobile coverage of the beautiful game.
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