Sampdoria 2 - 3 Cesena - Cesena boost survival hopes

Posted Sunday, March 06, 2011 by PA

Cesena moved out of the bottom three of Serie A and dragged Sampdoria down into danger with a 3-2 win over the Blucerchiati at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Three goals in the space of five minutes, spread between the end of the first half and the start of the second, earned Massimo Ficcadenti's side a crucial second win in a row to lift them above Lecce on their head-to-head record and out of the drop zone.

Marco Parolo fired Cesena ahead two minutes before the interval and two goals from Emanuele Giaccherini early in the second half put them in the driving seat.

Massimo Volta gave Samp hope in the 83rd minute, but not even a penalty scored by Massimo Maccarone in stoppage time was enough to rescue the hosts from defeat.

Jonathan Biabiany wasted two glorious chances for Samp in the first half.

He took the ball around Cesena goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli in the 12th minute, but rather than shooting with his weak left foot, he shifted the ball back onto his right foot and Antonioli was able to recover to push the ball behind.

He then sent the ball into the stands from just six yards with the whole goal to aim at after half an hour.

Giaccherini wasted Cesena's best chances in the first half, but the visitors still went in at the break in front when Parolo capitalised on an error by Stefano Lucchini and arrowed his shot into the top left-hand corner from 25 yards.

Giaccherini put his name on the scoresheet less than a minute into the second half with a fine volley in off the far post from a tight angle.

And two minutes later, he stole the ball off Daniele Gastaldello and placed his shot into the bottom corner from just inside the area.

The game was not over, though, and Samp tried to recover amid the protests from the fans aimed at coach Domenico Di Carlo and president Riccardo Garrone.

Volta took advantage of a glaring error by Antonioli, who let Maccarone's free-kick slip through his legs in the 83rd minute to allow the former Cesena defender to bundle the ball over the line.

And a foul by Yohan Benalouane on Volta in the penalty area in the last minute of play allowed Maccarone to score Samp's second from the spot, but there was no time left for them to find a third goal.