Cagliari 1 : 2 Hellas Verona - Hellas Verona back to winning ways
Posted Sunday, March 01, 2015 by PA
Hellas Verona halted a four-match winless run with a 2-1 victory at Cagliari on Sunday to boost their Serie A survival hopes.
Luca Toni put Hellas ahead in the ninth minute before substitute Juanito Gomez headed the second in the 56th minute.
Cagliari captain Daniele Conti pulled one back with a free-kick with seconds remaining but the visitors held on for their seventh win of the campaign.
The home side dominated possession but struggled to make the most of their chances and remain without a victory since January 24.
The win, their first on the road since December 14, lifted Hellas to 14th place, eight points clear of Cagliari, who are in the relegation zone.
The visitors went into the encounter at the Sant' Elia stadium after holding scudetto contenders Roma to a 1-1 draw in their previous match.
Hellas enjoyed a strong start and took a ninth-minute lead when Emil Hallfredsson's cross found Toni in the area and his right-footed shot towards the far post beat Cagliari goalkeeper Zeljko Brkic.
The home side were forced to make a substitution shortly after with Joao Pedro replacing an injured Godred Donsah in midfield.
Cagliari struggled to break Hellas' well-placed defence and were limited to shooting from distance.
In the 37th minute, Nicola Murru's bullet-strike from 30 yards was off target while, four minutes later, Paul-Jose M'Poku's long-range attempt went wide.
Cagliari showed more intent after the interval and almost equalised in the 49th minute.
Samuele Longo got behind Diego Farias' cross but his close-range header was saved by Hellas goalkeeper Francesco Benussi.
In the 55th minute, Gomez replaced Bosko Jankovic and the Argentinian striker made an immediate impact seconds later.
Gomez got past his marker and headed Hallfredsson's cross past a helpless Brkic to double Hellas' lead.
Cagliari wasted a good opportunity to reduce arrears after the hour mark when Longo nodded M'Poku's cross just over the bar.
In the 74th minute, M'Poku came close again when he drilled a right-footed shot from 30 yards that forced Benussi into a full-stretch save.
Hellas were unable to keep a clean sheet for the first time since January 24 as Cagliari finally found the target.
With one minute from time, Conti curled in a 30-yard free-kick to beat Benussi.
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