Torino could not find a breakthrough against AlbinoLeffe in their last league game of the 2011/12 season, which meant that Pescara were crowned Serie B champions.
As expected, Toro made a number of changes from the team that secured promotion last Sunday - with Lys Gomis and Salvatore Masiello both making their Torino debuts.
Toro came close to opening the scoring almost immediately, but Alessandro Sgrigna's shot hit the bar from Simone Verdi's low cross. Towards the end of the half, it was Sgrigna who nearly scored a fantastic long range goal, but his shot was tipped over the bar by AlbinoLeffe keeper Daniel Offredi.
Despite creating numerous goalscoring chances, the half ended on a sour note for Toro as Sergiu Suciu - who has struggled with injury all season - was stretchered off and replaced by Giuseppe Vives.
After the break, Toro continued to dominate, and Simone Verdi twice came close to scoring - but on both occasions he was denied by Offredi. Mirco Antenucci had three great chances in the closing stages - the best of which a free header from Juan Surraco's cross, but a combination of good goalkeeping and poor finishing meant this match would remain goalless.
A draw was almost enough for Toro to become league winners, but a late goal from Riccardo Maniero in Pescara meant that is was Zdeněk Zeman's side, who were (probably deservedly) crowned champions. However, this slight disappointment should not take anything away from a fantastic season for Torino in which they have gained promotion to Serie A after a three year absence.
Forza Torino
Ci Vediamo in Serie A (See you in Serie A)
Showing posts with label Albinoleffe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Albinoleffe. Show all posts
Sunday, 27 May 2012
Friday, 25 May 2012
AlbinoLeffe V Torino Preview
With promotion already secured, Giampiero Ventura will use this match as an opportunity to thank the members of the squad who have not played regularly this season - with Lys Gomis, Salvatore Masiello, Francesco Pratali, Sergiu Suciu and Simone Verdi all expected to start. With Captain Rolando Bianchi injured, and vice-captain Angelo Ogbonna on international duty, it will be interesting to see which player is given the honour of captaining the team.
AlbinoLeffe have already been relegated, so this match has little significance to them - although they will be eager to give their home fans (albeit not many of them) a good performance in what could be their last Serie B fixture for a few years.
Prediction
AlbinoLeffe 1-2 Torino
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Torino 0-0 Albinoleffe
Torino had a disappointing start to the New Year as they failed to find a breakthrough against a resilient Albinoleffe side, and the home side finished the game with just nine men.
Davide Morello was given a start in goal as Ferdinando Coppola was suspended despite it being Kamil Glik who was guilty of the foul in Toro's last match of 2011 against Modena. In a surprising move, Giuseppe Vives was preferred to Migjen Basha in midfield, whilst Mirco Antenucci partnered Rolando Bianchi upfront.
Toro had the first chance of the match, when Manuel Iori's chipped pass found Rolando Bianchi in the area, but the captain's left footed volley went harmlessly wide of the target. The away side nearly took a shock lead after nice interplay between Andrea Cristiano and Andrea Cocco led to the latter being through on goal, but his shot was well saved by the legs of Morello.
That scare seemed to spur Torino into action, and they could of had a penalty when nice play by Antenucci put Simone Verdi through, but he was pulled back on the edge of the area. On first glance it looked as though the foul was inside the area, but on reflection the referee had made the right decision, and unfortunately for Toro, the resulting free kick came to nothing.
Just before half time, Albinoleffe were reduced to ten men when Michael Girasole was sent off after recieving his second yellow card for a foul on Verdi.
Toro started the second half brightly eager to capitalise on their one man advantage, and Antenucci was very unlucky to see his shot from 20 yards hit the post. However just moments, disaster struck for Torino when Albinoleffe countered quickly after a corner kick, and Valerio Foglio ran the length of the pitch before being fouled by Manuel Iori, who had chased him back with that intention.
Iori was unsurprisingly sent off for being the last man, although luckily for Toro, the foul was outside the area so he only conceded a free kick, and it was now 10 v 10. Both Alen Stevanovic, and then Mirco Antenucci had good chances for Toro, but both players saw their shots go wide.
Rolando Bianchi continued his poor form in front of goal, as he failed to make contact with Alessandro Parisi's cross from just three yards out. In the 90th minute, Antenucci had his best chance of the match when he received Giuseppe Vives long pass, but his shot was saved by the legs of the Albinoleffe goalkeeper.
In injury time, Torino had another player dismissed when substitite Giulio Ebagua was given a straight red card for dissent after the striker did not recieve a free kick when he was blatently pulled to the ground by Fabio Lebran on the edge of the area.
This result means that Torino are now only one point clear at the top of the Serie B table, after closest rivals Hellas Verona scored two late goals to beat Modena.
Forza Torino
Davide Morello was given a start in goal as Ferdinando Coppola was suspended despite it being Kamil Glik who was guilty of the foul in Toro's last match of 2011 against Modena. In a surprising move, Giuseppe Vives was preferred to Migjen Basha in midfield, whilst Mirco Antenucci partnered Rolando Bianchi upfront.
Toro had the first chance of the match, when Manuel Iori's chipped pass found Rolando Bianchi in the area, but the captain's left footed volley went harmlessly wide of the target. The away side nearly took a shock lead after nice interplay between Andrea Cristiano and Andrea Cocco led to the latter being through on goal, but his shot was well saved by the legs of Morello.
That scare seemed to spur Torino into action, and they could of had a penalty when nice play by Antenucci put Simone Verdi through, but he was pulled back on the edge of the area. On first glance it looked as though the foul was inside the area, but on reflection the referee had made the right decision, and unfortunately for Toro, the resulting free kick came to nothing.
Just before half time, Albinoleffe were reduced to ten men when Michael Girasole was sent off after recieving his second yellow card for a foul on Verdi.
Toro started the second half brightly eager to capitalise on their one man advantage, and Antenucci was very unlucky to see his shot from 20 yards hit the post. However just moments, disaster struck for Torino when Albinoleffe countered quickly after a corner kick, and Valerio Foglio ran the length of the pitch before being fouled by Manuel Iori, who had chased him back with that intention.
Iori was unsurprisingly sent off for being the last man, although luckily for Toro, the foul was outside the area so he only conceded a free kick, and it was now 10 v 10. Both Alen Stevanovic, and then Mirco Antenucci had good chances for Toro, but both players saw their shots go wide.
Rolando Bianchi continued his poor form in front of goal, as he failed to make contact with Alessandro Parisi's cross from just three yards out. In the 90th minute, Antenucci had his best chance of the match when he received Giuseppe Vives long pass, but his shot was saved by the legs of the Albinoleffe goalkeeper.
In injury time, Torino had another player dismissed when substitite Giulio Ebagua was given a straight red card for dissent after the striker did not recieve a free kick when he was blatently pulled to the ground by Fabio Lebran on the edge of the area.
This result means that Torino are now only one point clear at the top of the Serie B table, after closest rivals Hellas Verona scored two late goals to beat Modena.
Forza Torino
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Torino V Albinoleffe Preview
January 6th is a national holiday in Italy in order to celebrate The Epiphany, and Torino will be hoping they can commemorate this holiday with three points after succumbing to two successive defeats before the winter break.
Although the transfer window is now open, Torino have yet to make any new additions and are expected to line up in a 4-2-4 formation with Simone Verdi, Rolando Bianchi, Mirco Antenucci and Alen Stevanovic as the four attacking players.
Their opponents Albinoleffe are on a good run of form themselves, only losing one of their last eight games - and will therefore be hoping that the winter break has not disrupted their form. Andrea Cocco is one player that Torino will have to be wary of, as the striker has already scored nine goals this season.
Prediction
Torino 2-1 Albinoleffe
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Albinoleffe 1-2 Torino
Torino's hopes of gaining a place in the playoffs are now in their own hands, after a hard fought victory at Albinoleffe, that gave Franco Lerda's team a third consecutive victory, and saw them move into fifth position.
Torino were dealt a blow before kick off, as captain and top scorer Rolando Bianchi was absent from the squad due to a slight muscle strain, whilst the injury is not thought to be a serious one, he was not risked as a precautionary measure. Bianchi's absence would have given Albinoleffe a boost, and it was the hosts that started the brightest, and Brazilian keeper Rubinho, who has been in sparkling form as of late was forced to make a great save from Pierre Giorgio Regonesi's long range free kick with just three minutes gone.
Torino's first opportunity fell to Mirco Antenucci, fresh from scoring the winner in Toro's last outing at home to Grosseto, but saw his effort saved by Luca Tomasig. Torino opened the scoring soon afterwards, via Biagio Pagano's fantastic looping header that narrowly beat the dive of Tomasig in the Albinoleffe goal. Albinoleffe equalised soon after half time, and despite his recent form, Rubinho will probably have to take the blame for the goal as he failed to deal with a corner, that allowed Luigi Sala to head into an unguarded net.
With the clock ticking down, it looked as though Torino would have to make do with a point, but with just three minutes left they got their winning goal, and for the second game in a row, it was Mirco Antenucci who scored it. The move started with an exquisite pass by Daniele De Vezze with the outside of his right foot that found Pagano on the right wing, the former Livorno winger cut back a cross for the on running Antenucci who placed it into the far corner.
At the time, the decision to rehire Franco Lerda after sacking him just eleven days previously seemed to be a strange one, but now, after three consecutive victories it seems it may have been an inspired decision, as Torino can start to dream of a return to Serie A, although there is still a long way to go before that is a reality.
Torino were dealt a blow before kick off, as captain and top scorer Rolando Bianchi was absent from the squad due to a slight muscle strain, whilst the injury is not thought to be a serious one, he was not risked as a precautionary measure. Bianchi's absence would have given Albinoleffe a boost, and it was the hosts that started the brightest, and Brazilian keeper Rubinho, who has been in sparkling form as of late was forced to make a great save from Pierre Giorgio Regonesi's long range free kick with just three minutes gone.
Torino's first opportunity fell to Mirco Antenucci, fresh from scoring the winner in Toro's last outing at home to Grosseto, but saw his effort saved by Luca Tomasig. Torino opened the scoring soon afterwards, via Biagio Pagano's fantastic looping header that narrowly beat the dive of Tomasig in the Albinoleffe goal. Albinoleffe equalised soon after half time, and despite his recent form, Rubinho will probably have to take the blame for the goal as he failed to deal with a corner, that allowed Luigi Sala to head into an unguarded net.
With the clock ticking down, it looked as though Torino would have to make do with a point, but with just three minutes left they got their winning goal, and for the second game in a row, it was Mirco Antenucci who scored it. The move started with an exquisite pass by Daniele De Vezze with the outside of his right foot that found Pagano on the right wing, the former Livorno winger cut back a cross for the on running Antenucci who placed it into the far corner.
At the time, the decision to rehire Franco Lerda after sacking him just eleven days previously seemed to be a strange one, but now, after three consecutive victories it seems it may have been an inspired decision, as Torino can start to dream of a return to Serie A, although there is still a long way to go before that is a reality.
Friday, 8 April 2011
Albinoleffe V Torino Preview
Torino will be seeking their third consecutive victory when they face relegation threatened Albinoleffe on Saturday. If they achieve the victory, then it will be another sign that Torino are serious possibilities for a place in the end of season playoffs. However, the match will be far from easy because despite Albinoleffe's lowly league position, they managed an impressive victory in their last home match against high-flying Novara.
Despite being injured for part of the season, Rolando Bianchi currently has fifteen goals for the season, just two behind Piacenza's Daniele Cacia who is top scorer at the moment, so Bianchi will be looking to add to his tally and overtake Cacia.
Despite being injured for part of the season, Rolando Bianchi currently has fifteen goals for the season, just two behind Piacenza's Daniele Cacia who is top scorer at the moment, so Bianchi will be looking to add to his tally and overtake Cacia.
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