What a Waste

By: Jeremy | March 14th, 2009

I am not one to blame the ref when a game is lost, but I think this time I must make an exception. For the first time in awhile Cagliari came out showing why they have moved up to the top half of the table after a horrid start to the year. The simply dominated Genoa until that red card. Genoa is a team that is trying to secure Champions League football and has done well on the road yet Cagliari came out and ran them into the ground. Whether that would have meant later goals who knows, but I liked where the game was heading. I dont think Genoa was doing anything and Cagliari was clearly the better team. Where the game would have ended up if not for the red card to Cossu is anyones guess, but Cagliari did not deserve to be put in that position. Genoa needing eleven men to play equal football to Cagliaris ten said something about both teams. Despite the extra man it was still anyones game.

Speaking of the second yellow to Cossu, what justification was there for it? It was nowhere near the goal and while it certainly was a foul, it was not worthy of the yellow card. All the enthusiam I was feeling as the game progressed, gone. Props to the lads for fighting. Acquafresca even looked lively and came back to help on defense. They wanted this game and new it was for their season. F___king ref!!

With Cossus sending off just before the first halfs end, it was expected that Genoa would come out and control the second half and find the winner. They pulled the winner out in the final minutes, but Cagliari dominated the half. The only reason Genoa scored is because despite being down one man, Cagliari attacked and Genoa got space on the counter. Cagliari knew a draw was meaningless and give Allegri credit for going for it. Cagliari had numerous chances to get the goal to put them ahead and Finis failure to finish was one that he needs to lose sleep over. After the great cross from Lazzari, he needed to send that ball home. Genoa had some chances and the goal they got early in the half but was called back for offsides was probably a good goal, but I think the refs were looking for anything they could to even the game back up as they knew that sending off was not right.

For all the negativity, here are some positive observations I had despite the damn ref..

1. Matheu is a keeper on defense. He has size and strength and can move forward a bit. Despite his inability to cross the ball to Bionidini just before the half ended for what would have been an excellent chance to score, he covered a lot of ground. Very much in the mold of Diego Lopez that with some maturity can be a well rounded defender. If he could get some offensive awareness, he would really amp up his value.

2. For all the hustle and controlling of this game and others, Cagliari still lacks consistent ability to put the strikers in a good position to score. Once Acquafresca gets to play in attack for a team that sets him up more often, which will come from playing in a bigger team, my guess is he scores a bunch. I know he is frustrated, but they need to figure out how to get him the ball in good positions more often while he tries to learn to be more active with the midfielders creativity.

3. Cagliaris strength is in the midfield and it is often the midfielders that create the best chances for each other making our strikers meaningless. Lazzari, Fini, Biondini, and Cossu and all work wonders passing and crossing in a fast moving match. They just cant finish like you would hope. Why the strikers arent on the end of their creativity more often is something I cannot figure out, but it is clear we have a strong midfield. Even if we arent scoring, controlling the ball keeps even high powered offensive teams like Genoa off the scoreboard. We need to build on this strength.

4. What can you say about Marchetti. The dude is a frickin stud and gives a damn. Did you see him almost get his head taken off trying to punch that ball out late in the game. I saw that coming as I knew he wanted more then anything to keep that ball out of the net. Props to him for his toughness, leadership, and performance. He made some key saves and even intimidated Milito, a deadly finisher, into hitting the woodwork on what should have been an easy goal. Like Buffon says, he is the future in goal for Italy and for all of our worries about how we will replace Acquafresca, it will be a good offseason if we dont lose Marchetti to a big team. It is inevitable and a damn shame because he is up and coming like the team.

5. Young striker Ragatzu is one for the future. I do think Allegri will give him much more playing time as the year winds down and Europe is no longer really an option. With safety all but secured, he will see if the kid can be the next Acquafresca. The few minutes he is given at the end of the recent games now is just to get him some confidence for what wil be many more minutes and his opportunity. Lets hope he can take advantage of it.

This is a gut wrenching loss. It was our game of the season and the team played like they were ready to win. I was not impressed with Genoa at all. To not be given a chance to win the game over that call is beyond frustrating. Hours of time spent preparing to put yourself in that position only to have it determined so harshly is brutal. I really hate to blame the ref, but damn. Despite that, the team showed heart and very easily could have won that game.

Reality says the european dream is over, but I am as proud of this team for their effort today as I likely would have been had we won. There is some serious talent and with the right tweaking in the offseason, we can move up and forget the relegation worries. But for now, I just need time to help me get over my anger.