Italy 3-0 Northern Ireland – Glossy Rossi Helps The Azzurri Ease Past Youthful Northern Ireland

 

  The mood in the famous town of Pisa, western Italy, has been grim for the last week, its citizens in a state of despair after their football team, Pisa Calcio, was relegated to play regional football next season in Italy’s Serie C1, after losing their final home game of the season to Brescia last Saturday. The fiery Italian fans, who sung out in protest at the handling of their club throughout the match, were given something to lift their spirits last night though, as the Italian national side came to town, and eased past Nigel Worthington’s Northern Irish in a friendly match. Worthington’s side defended bravely throughout, but ultimately Italy were simply too strong for them, Giuseppe Rossi, Pasquale Foggia and Sergio Pellissier all scoring their debut international goals, while Giampaolo Pazzini passed up a golden chance to add to the scoreline, having his second half penalty saved by Northern Ireland’s Jonathan Tuffey.

A matchday of the past at Stadio Romeo Anconetani where the game was played

  There was an absence of household names on Italy coach Marcello Lippi’s team-sheet for the encounter, as he opted to leave many of his star players out of his side, instead fielding a mostly youthful eleven, giving several players, including Cagliari goalkeeper Federico Marchetti, and Inter Milan’s eighteen year old full-back Davide Santon, who is tipped to become one of the world’ best, and understandably so after a performance that oozed class and comfort, their first taste of international action. The line-up was not solely void of experience though, as a number of more familiar starters were included, most notably AC Milan’s Gennaro Gattuso, veteran of two World Cup campaigns, who started the game in the centre of midfield, winning his 67th cap for his country in doing so.

  Like Lippi, Worthington seemed to use the encounter as an opportunity to test out some of his younger players, particularly in defence, with the uncapped duo of Colin Coates and Chris Casement starting in the centre-backs positions.

  It was these young defenders who were on top in the early stages of the game, as they dealt admirably well with Italy’s surprisingly direct style, Casement particularly, who is currently without a club, showing no signs of fear when faced by forwards of the class of Rossi, who plays for Villarreal at the highest level of European football. After the game Worthington remained upbeat in defeat, praising his defence, saying, “I thought (Colin) Coates and (Chris) Casement were exceptional at the back, Damien Johnson was outstanding and then there were a lot of solid performances.”

Johnson’s tackle on Pazzini was typical of the rugged Northern Ireland defending

  He also paid homage to the quality of the Italian side, and it was one such moment of class that saw the Northern Irish defence undone and breached for the first time twenty minutes in. Collecting the ball from Catania’s Giuseppe Mascara, Rossi cut inside before unleashing a fearsome strike from twenty yards, which sailed past Tuffey and into the top left hand corner of the net. Unusually goalkeepers are at least partly to blame if they are beaten at the near post, but this was certainly not the case with this goal, as the quality of the strike and the pace on the ball generated by Rossi meant the Partick Thistle man had very little chance.

Rossi and his teammates celebrate the goal

  The goal seemed to spur the Italians on, but Northern Ireland continued to defend well, resisting the Azzurri’s attempts to double their lead before the break, firstly clearing after a dangerous goalmouth scramble, before Tuffey’s sharp reactions saved his side, the ‘keeper smartly sticking out his leg to block Mascara’s deflected low effort.

  The Northern Irish efforts weren’t limited to exclusively defending though, as they enjoying several fleeting moments of attacking promise, their best chance falling to the country’s all time top scorer, Sunderland’s David Healy, who, making his 74th cap, was by far the most experienced player in Worthington’s side, and posed their biggest threat. His snapshot was well saved by Marchetti, and when, a minute before the interval, he limped off, suffering from a recurrence of a previous groin injury, much of his side’s potency was removed.

  In typical international friendly fashion, Lippi made wholesale changes to his side at half-time, introducing Liverpool’s Andrea Dossena, as well as Roma midfielder Matteo Brighi, Angelo Palombo and Foggia, the latter of whom made a near immediate impact, stylishly doubling Italy’s lead seven minutes into the half. Put through on goal by Rossi, the Lazio man artfully shielded the ball from the opposing defenders, engineering himself a clear sight of goal, and taking the chance with aplomb, cooly lifting the ball over the advancing Tuffey. Aged 26, he will be keen to soon add to his current handful of caps, and producing goals like this, it will be hard for Lippi not to take notice of his burgeoning talents.

Tuffey can only look on while Foggia celebrates his goal

  With the comfort of a two goal lead, Italy began to exploit the cracks in the tiring young Northern Irish defence, and were given a golden chance to make it three minutes after Foggia’s strike, as Pazzini, slipped in by Juventus defender Nicola Legrottaglie, was crudely felled by Tuffey in the box, the ‘keeping receiving the only yellow card of the night from Dutch referee Kevin Blom as a result. Apparently unperturbed by the foul, Pazzini stepped up himself to take the kick, but was denied by Tuffey, who strongly tipped the ball onto his post and away.

  Without Healy, Northern Ireland looked blunt, and despite the introduction of fresh legs from numerous second-half substitutions, struggled to force the Italian backline, well marshaled by Legrottaglie, into any meaningful work. It is representative of the Northern Irish attacking efforts in the half as a whole, that whey they were awarded a rare corner, the 80 hardy travelling supporters saw fit to cheer enthusiastically, with it looking very unlikely that they would have anything more significant to celebrate.

  On the night it was easy to forget that the Northern Ireland side was essentially composed of untried youngsters, but that considered, it is understandable that they appeared to become fatigued as the match entered its final stages, allowing the hosts to fashion a string of opportunities. Tuffey saved well from Gaetano D’Agostion, who is said to be on the verge of a move from Sampdoria to Juventus, and bravely smothered the ball when faced by an on-rushing Rossi, before being replaced by Canadian born Linfield ‘keeper Alan Mannus.

  Mannus was soon beaten by another second-half substitute, Chievo striker Pellissier, and as a fan of Stoke City it was great to see our favoured tactics having effect on the international stage, the goal coming as a result of Northern Ireland’s inability to defend a throw-in into the box. Capitalising from hesitation by Coates, Pellissier moved towards the ball and struck a firm volley on the turn, giving the goalkeeper no time to react.

The Italy players were clearly enjoying their night

  Italy had chances to add more goals as the match drew to its conclusion, with Pellissier, Brighi and Foggia all coming close, but in truth, any further Italian goals would have represented a humbling for the Northern Irish, which, on the basis of their plucky showing from a team of youngsters, they would not have deserved.

  As it was, the scoreline was a respectable one for Worthington and his side, and an enthusing one for Lippi, as he praised his nation’s fringe players particularly, saying, “I am particularly happy aside from the effort put in today, that this represents the expression of teams like Siena, Catania, Genoa, Chievo and others who played excellent football. The top teams are full of foreigners, but the others play great football too. Pellissier is an excellent player, as is Mascara and of course we knew Rossi.” The Azzurri will face New Zealand in another friendly on Wednesday night, before flying off to South Africa to begin their Confederations Cup campaign against the best of Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australasia. If last night’s effective and stylish performance is anything to go by, they look good to add to their already impressive collection of silverware.

Italy side:

                       Marchetti

Santon  Gamberini  Legrottaglie  Grosso
                        Gattuso

             Montolivo  D’Agostino

                  Rossi   Mascara
                        Pazzini

Used Substitutes: Brighi, Foggia , Palombo, Dossena, Pellissier , Galloppa

Unused Substitutes: De Sanctis, Esposito, Cassani, Biagianti

Attendance: 8,300