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Andrea Pirlo And Giampaolo Pazzini On Target As Italy Beat Montenegro
Italy have maintained their first place in World Cup qualifying Group 8 after a comfortable win against Montengro in Podgorica. A first half penalty from Andrea Pirlo, and a late header by Giampaolo Pazzini saw the points head back to the peninsula.
Montenegro 0-2 Italy
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Mar 28, 2009 9:40:11 PM
The World Champions were not at their best in Podgorica, but they pulled together a decent performance to come away with maximum points and keep their stability in the group. La Nazionale didn't dazzle or intimidate their opponents, but they did do the job. They now lead Group 8 with 13 points, two in front of Ireland who drew 1-1 with Bulgaria in Dublin.
First Half
Italy got the game under way, but it was the Montenegrins who applied the early pressure in front of the 11,000 strong home crowd. The World Champions threatened when Antonio Di Natale was fouled by Vladimir Bozovic. Andrea Pirlo stepped up to take the free-kick, but it was cut out by Stevan Jovetic.
There was a blow for Marcello Lippi's men when Di Natale was stretchered off with a knee problem, the Udinese hitman twisted his knee by slipping awkwardly.
Italy raised their game and it wasn't long before the opposition bowed to it. Pirlo twisted and turned his way past Nikola Drincic on the right wing and crossed in for Vincenzo Iaquinta. The Juventus man went in head first, but the ball was cut out by Radoslav Batak's hand. The referee had no choice but to point to the penalty spot. The Ankaraspor defender received a yellow card for his efforts. Pirlo took the honours and despatched a classy penalty a la Francesco Totti as he scopped the ball up and into the roof of the net. Vukasin Poleksic was fooled and dived early as the Milan man cheekily struck the ball home.
Simone Pepe, who came on for Di Natale, should have doubled the money when he was played through cleverly by Iaquinta. However, the Udinese winger missed horribly and smashed his half-volley over the cross bar. Montenegro were missing Mirko Vucinic's threat up front. The Roma man was suspended for this game. Stevan Jovetic was not providing enough depth for his side, and he was often marked out of the game by Angelo Palombo.
The home side were limited to long range shooting and hardly created any real chance worthy of mention. Sporting Lisbon's Simon Vukcevic proved his side's frustrations as he blasted from distance, only to see the ball end up hitting the fans rather than the net. The Italians fared no better. Poor passing from Pepe and Daniele De Rossi saw their dominance on the game lose its impact.
The Montenegrin defence were always well organised and they made life hard for the away side. Pirlo found De Rossi with a great through ball, but the Roma man failed to connect. Grosso was always testing his opponents down on the left wing. His run and cross for Pepe was top-quality, but the same cannot be said about the winger's header which was too weak, and Poleksic caught it with no real problem.
Italy were rather disappointing for the first period. They seemed to lack spark and creativity. Iaquinta was often isolated up front, and there was no real pace or urgency once Di Natale came off with injury.
Second Half
The Azzurri restarted with more impetus and they came out to attack their opponents. Iaquinta raised the bar and started getting into his stride. The big striker should have finished a great move off when Pepe found him. However, he scooped his shot over from 12 yards. Minutes later De Rossi tested Poleksic from range with a curling strike. The Goalkeeper fumbled the ball into Iaquinta's path, but the striker was too slow in reacting, and the custodian made things safe.
Down the other end Radomir Dalovic should have equalised when he found himself all unmarked at the back post. It was a glorious chance, but he glanced his header downward and on the wrong side of the post as a helpless Gianluigi Buffon was relieved to see it go wide. There were further injury concerns for Lippi when Iaquinta was hacked down by Milorad Pekovic. The Juventus man was unable to continue and was replaced by Giampaolo Pazzini who made his senior international debut. The Sampdoria man was the 30th player to make his bow since Lippi's double reign. Despite his hot form in Serie A, Pazzini was guilty of missing the easiest chance of the game when he beat the offside trap to find himself one-on-one with Poleksic, but he smashed the ball straight at the 'keeper.
Buffon, who was the least troubled of the goalkeepers, was called into action by Dalovic. The striker muscled his way in past Cannavaro and lunged onto a loose ball from close range. Dalovic stabbed it with his toe, but Buffon's out-stretched arm managed to get enough behind the strike to stop it from crossing the line. It was a world-class stop.
Italy then put Montenegro to the sword and doubled their lead through Pazzini 16 minutes before the end of the match. A long ball from Pirlo found Pepe on the left wing. The number 16 controlled and crossed in for the incoming Pazzini who dived to head home. Poleksic's attempt at saving was less than perfect as the ball deflected off his arm and into the net.
It was Italy's fourth win in five qualifying matches as they maintain their dominance in the group. They will now face Giovanni Trapattoni's Ireland side in Bari next Wednesday.
Teams
Montenegro 4-3-2-1: Poleksic, Pavlcevic, Basa, Batak, Bozovic, Drincic, Pekovic (Vujovic), Boskovic, Jovetic, Vukcevic (Zverotic), Djalovic (Beciraj).
Italy 4-2-3-1: Buffon, Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Chiellini, Grosso, Palombo, De Rossi, Quagliarella, Pirlo (Brighi), Di Natale (Pepe), Iaquinta (Pazzini).
Goals: Pirlo '11 (Pen), Pazzini 75'.
Cards: Palombo (Italy), Cannavaro (Italy), Batak (Montenegro), Pekovic (Montenegro)
Salvatore Landolina, Goal.com
First Half
Italy got the game under way, but it was the Montenegrins who applied the early pressure in front of the 11,000 strong home crowd. The World Champions threatened when Antonio Di Natale was fouled by Vladimir Bozovic. Andrea Pirlo stepped up to take the free-kick, but it was cut out by Stevan Jovetic.
There was a blow for Marcello Lippi's men when Di Natale was stretchered off with a knee problem, the Udinese hitman twisted his knee by slipping awkwardly.
Italy raised their game and it wasn't long before the opposition bowed to it. Pirlo twisted and turned his way past Nikola Drincic on the right wing and crossed in for Vincenzo Iaquinta. The Juventus man went in head first, but the ball was cut out by Radoslav Batak's hand. The referee had no choice but to point to the penalty spot. The Ankaraspor defender received a yellow card for his efforts. Pirlo took the honours and despatched a classy penalty a la Francesco Totti as he scopped the ball up and into the roof of the net. Vukasin Poleksic was fooled and dived early as the Milan man cheekily struck the ball home.
Simone Pepe, who came on for Di Natale, should have doubled the money when he was played through cleverly by Iaquinta. However, the Udinese winger missed horribly and smashed his half-volley over the cross bar. Montenegro were missing Mirko Vucinic's threat up front. The Roma man was suspended for this game. Stevan Jovetic was not providing enough depth for his side, and he was often marked out of the game by Angelo Palombo.
The home side were limited to long range shooting and hardly created any real chance worthy of mention. Sporting Lisbon's Simon Vukcevic proved his side's frustrations as he blasted from distance, only to see the ball end up hitting the fans rather than the net. The Italians fared no better. Poor passing from Pepe and Daniele De Rossi saw their dominance on the game lose its impact.
The Montenegrin defence were always well organised and they made life hard for the away side. Pirlo found De Rossi with a great through ball, but the Roma man failed to connect. Grosso was always testing his opponents down on the left wing. His run and cross for Pepe was top-quality, but the same cannot be said about the winger's header which was too weak, and Poleksic caught it with no real problem.
Italy were rather disappointing for the first period. They seemed to lack spark and creativity. Iaquinta was often isolated up front, and there was no real pace or urgency once Di Natale came off with injury.
Second Half
The Azzurri restarted with more impetus and they came out to attack their opponents. Iaquinta raised the bar and started getting into his stride. The big striker should have finished a great move off when Pepe found him. However, he scooped his shot over from 12 yards. Minutes later De Rossi tested Poleksic from range with a curling strike. The Goalkeeper fumbled the ball into Iaquinta's path, but the striker was too slow in reacting, and the custodian made things safe.
Down the other end Radomir Dalovic should have equalised when he found himself all unmarked at the back post. It was a glorious chance, but he glanced his header downward and on the wrong side of the post as a helpless Gianluigi Buffon was relieved to see it go wide. There were further injury concerns for Lippi when Iaquinta was hacked down by Milorad Pekovic. The Juventus man was unable to continue and was replaced by Giampaolo Pazzini who made his senior international debut. The Sampdoria man was the 30th player to make his bow since Lippi's double reign. Despite his hot form in Serie A, Pazzini was guilty of missing the easiest chance of the game when he beat the offside trap to find himself one-on-one with Poleksic, but he smashed the ball straight at the 'keeper.
Buffon, who was the least troubled of the goalkeepers, was called into action by Dalovic. The striker muscled his way in past Cannavaro and lunged onto a loose ball from close range. Dalovic stabbed it with his toe, but Buffon's out-stretched arm managed to get enough behind the strike to stop it from crossing the line. It was a world-class stop.
Italy then put Montenegro to the sword and doubled their lead through Pazzini 16 minutes before the end of the match. A long ball from Pirlo found Pepe on the left wing. The number 16 controlled and crossed in for the incoming Pazzini who dived to head home. Poleksic's attempt at saving was less than perfect as the ball deflected off his arm and into the net.
It was Italy's fourth win in five qualifying matches as they maintain their dominance in the group. They will now face Giovanni Trapattoni's Ireland side in Bari next Wednesday.
Teams
Montenegro 4-3-2-1: Poleksic, Pavlcevic, Basa, Batak, Bozovic, Drincic, Pekovic (Vujovic), Boskovic, Jovetic, Vukcevic (Zverotic), Djalovic (Beciraj).
Italy 4-2-3-1: Buffon, Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Chiellini, Grosso, Palombo, De Rossi, Quagliarella, Pirlo (Brighi), Di Natale (Pepe), Iaquinta (Pazzini).
Goals: Pirlo '11 (Pen), Pazzini 75'.
Cards: Palombo (Italy), Cannavaro (Italy), Batak (Montenegro), Pekovic (Montenegro)
Salvatore Landolina, Goal.com
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