Palermo 2 : 1 Cesena - Palermo break duck with late winner

Posted Sunday, October 19, 2014 by PA

Palermo picked up their first win back in Serie A to ease the pressure on their coach Giuseppe Iachini, although they left it late to beat 10-man Cesena 2-1.

Pauli Dybala put the Rosaneri in front after 33 minutes, but substitute Alejandro Rodriguez levelled from the penalty spot on the hour mark.

Manuel Coppola was given his marching orders for a second yellow card with 10 minutes to go and Cesena were unable to hold on to a point as Costa Rica defender Giancarlo Gonzalez headed in Palermo's winner in the second minute of stoppage time.

Dybala showed his threat early on with a free-kick which he curled onto the top of the crossbar and it was no surprise that he put the Sicilian side in front with a powerful shot on the turn in the 33rd minute, beating Nicola Leali.

Dybala continued to keep the Cesena defence busy, leading to their coach Pierpaolo Bisoli making a bold change early in the second half with Rodriguez brought on to replace defender Gabriele Perico.

Within minutes, Rodriguez came close to bringing an attack-minded Cesena level but Stefano Sorrentino denied him, giving away a corner.

From the cross into the area, a foul was spotted among a group of players by the referee, who awarded the visitors a penalty.

Rodriguez beat Sorrentino from the spot to bring Cesena level.

Franco Vazquez hit the post minutes later with Leali well beaten before Coppola picked up his second yellow card, having already been warned a few times by the referee.

Not only did Cesena have 10 minutes of normal time to survive, they also had to hold firm for the three minutes of stoppage time - but the latter proved too difficult for them.

It was Dybala who sent in a corner from the right which Gonzalez rose to meet with a header from five yards out, beating Leali and sending the Stadio Renzo Barbera wild with joy at Palermo's first win of the season.