Atalanta 1 : 0 Palermo - Denis strike wins rain-soaked clash

Posted Sunday, September 18, 2011 by PA

Atalanta further reduced their deficit at the foot of Serie A thanks to a first win of the season in a rain-disrupted 1-0 win over Palermo.

German Denis put the home side in front in the 34th minute, but the game was suspended after an hour when a torrential downpour rendered the pitch unplayable.

After more than half an hour's delay the referee called the players back on and Atalanta held onto their lead over the remaining half an hour to move to minus two points at the bottom of the table.

Atalanta, after drawing their first game of the season last weekend to start eating into their six-point penalty, seemed keen to further reduce that deficit at the foot of the table.

Ezequiel Schelotto earned a dangerous free-kick near the goal line in the second minute and almost headed in from the resulting set piece.

Denis gave the home side the lead after a quiet period when he raced past Marco Pisano onto Giacomo Bonaventura's perfectly-weighted through ball and shot through the legs of Palermo goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas.

Atalanta maintained the upper hand with Palermo unable to show how they had managed to beat Inter Milan 4-3 last weekend, but chances were few and far between.

After an hour's play, the heavens opened with so much rain falling in the space of just three minutes that conditions were not fit for play.

The referee halted proceedings and sent both teams to the dressing rooms as the heavy rain passed.

After half an hour, he returned with the two captains, though Atalanta's whole team were already on the field warming up, clearly keen to get back in action.

Although there were still numerous puddles down the channels, the rain had stopped and the referee restarted the game.

The visitors tried to find an equaliser, but Atalanta defended without taking any risks, leaving the fans who had braved the storm in the stands delighted at the final whistle.