Parma 2 : 0 Novara Calcio - Parma claim crucial victory

Posted Wednesday, April 11, 2012 by PA

Parma cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win over fellow strugglers Novara thanks to two first-half goals in their Serie A clash at Stadio Ennio Tardini.

Sebastian Giovinco opened the scoring for the hosts in the 27th minute before Jonathan Moreira added the second five minutes before the break to give his side what proved to be an unassailable lead.

Novara midfielder Marco Rigoni missed a penalty in the second half as the visitors failed to make the crucial breakthrough.

Defeat leaves them second bottom of the table, 11 points behind Genoa - who are just outside the relegation zone - with six games remaining.

There were no real chances for either side until Giovinco broke the deadlock just before the half hour mark.

The striker scored from close range after McDonald Mariga put him through on goal, beating Novara goalkeeper Alberto Fontana.

Giovinco soon went close again when his strike from the edge of the box went wide of the post, and the forward made another vital contribution shortly after in the build-up to the second goal.

Novara midfielder Simone Pesce missed a clearance in the six-yard box allowing Giovinco to pounce on the loose ball. He passed it to Sergio Floccari who set up Moreira to poke home from close range.

The visitors' best chance came in the 60th minute when Parma defender Fabiano Santacroce committed a foul on Takayuki Morimoto to concede a penalty.

Rigoni stepped up and fired a poor spot-kick to the centre of Antonio Mirante's goal, with the ball being saved by the goalkeeper's feet.

The only other real chance of the game came for Novara seven minutes later when substitute striker Raffaele Rubino's shot was saved by Mirante before the game fizzled out.