It was the debut of new coach Ivo Iaconi. Reggina were clad in the their road whites, complete with new sponsor Ipac.. which is some semiconductor electric company of sorts. The game started with bizarre circumstances, as less than two minutes into the match the stadium lights went out at the Via del Mare, leaving nothing but blackness throughout the stadio. The only light being the glow of one of the scoreboards, clock frozen in time, with the 0-0 scoreline still glowing amidst the inky shadows.

Well after a 15 or 20 minute delay, the game finally restarted. As we reported earlier, Iaconi would debut an exciting 3-4-3 formation. And a surprise to many was that young Nigerian Daniel Adejo was in the starting lineup. I’ve been screaming from the mountaintops for him to get some playing time. Iaconi can easily win me over with decisions like this. Also making an appearance was midfielder Emmaniel Cascione, getting the starting nod over Sergio Volpi.

We were actually creating some offense in this match. Maybe it’s the formation, maybe the players were eager to prove their worth in front of their new coach. We took an early 1-0 lead with a Bonazzoli penalty stroke, but would allow Lecce to level the scoreline just before halftime.

In the second half we actually kept playing! (well, maybe for some of the second half) Rizzato created a goal that was finished off wonderfully by Biagio Pagano. The 2-1 lead would be too good to be true and reality would soon set in. Why isn’t this Baclet character for Lecce regularly in their starting lineup? He already had three goals entering this match, and scored two more right after he was subbed in… we couldn’t handle him. It didn’t help that Valdez foolishly picked up a second yellow card when it was 2-2, sending us down to 10 men and ending all hope that we might earn the winning goal.

Valdez and Santos will both be suspended for the upcoming match against Salernitana. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that WE HAVE TO WIN THIS ONE. They are in LAST PLACE (a position I predicted pre-season despite some animosity from you Salernitana apologists out there) and we are at home. Anything less than three points isn’t going to cut it. Give more kids a chance. Let’s see the Viola brothers, lets see Vincenzo Camilleri. With two defenders suspended there should be no reason to keep Camilleri on the bench. Let’s go for it all. This is our last chance.

So Novellino’s replacement is Ivo Iaconi. Who is Iaconi you might ask? He’s a 53-year-old journeyman coach around the lower leagues in Italy. Most recently with Cremonese, and more notably with Ascoli in 2007-08 after their relegation from Serie A. He’s been at the helm of more than ten clubs in a period of time which spans almost two decades.

Is he the right guy for the job? From what I’ve read, he prefers to use three defenders and three attacking players, which might create some exciting football for once. He relies on the speed of the wingers, so we might see a 3-4-3 of some sorts. We won’t have long to wait and see what Iaconi does on his debut, as he will be immediately tested with a midweek match against Lecce.

Promotion is far from a goal now. Let’s just take it one game at a time and then we can see where we are at when May and June roll around. For now, I will continue to play FIFA ‘10 and live in my Reggina fantasy world.

We were playing okay in the first half and were creating chances, but nothing came out of it. Bonazzoli even had a goal ruled offside. Regardless of the opponent, a draw is acceptable when you’re on the road… and I would have been happy with 1 measly point. But with seconds remaining that point turned to NOTHING. And we are now left with another week of scratching our heads, wondering what went wrong and what could have been as we prepare for a difficult trip to Lecce.

It’s only October. This is a long season. There is plenty of time. But it’s times like these where I am thankful for college football. Give me an Ohio State win and I’m resting sound. The start of the NHL season is another great distraction. Throw in the Blue Jackets picking up an opening night win and I won’t even remember that Reggina was relegated to Serie B. But if I must focus on my one true passion in life (soccer) I can turn to the Columbus Crew. Even though they lost tonight, I have the MLS playoffs to look forward to.

So thank you, sports! Let’s hope that Brienza is ready to go by next weekend. College football and hockey can only carry me so far.

Reggina: Cassano, Busce, Valdez, Santos, Rizzato, Pagano (66′ Barilla), Carmona, Morosini, Missiroli (87′ Capelli), Bonazzoli, Cacia (77′ Volpi)
Piacenza: Puggioni, Iorio, Wolf (65′ Guzman), Tulli, Moscardelli (59′ Drogoni), Bianchi, Graffiedi, Zammuto, Naiggolan, Capogrosso (82′ Simon), Castro

Finallyyyyyyyy a win… the first home win nonetheless by defeating Piacenza 2-1 on a Monday evening at the Granillo. It was unfolding like other matches we have seen already… taking the first lead, then allowing them to equalize. But we were resilient and fought for that second (and winning) goal.

Cacia broke the 0-0 scoreline in the final minutes of the first half with a real poachers effort. He happened to be in the right place at the right time following a corner kick and bashed it in before Puggioni could get a grasp on it. But we were vulnerable after this goal, and let them get one back from a corner kick of their own. Valdez and Cassano could have done a better job at preventing this goal, just some confusion in the box. I was really giving up hope at this moment. I thought that another draw or loss was the inevitable outcome.

But no! Biagio Pagano collected a blocked shot and blasted one in for his first goal in a Reggina shirt! The former Rimini man has been struggling to settle in, but could win over the fans with his efforts today. Missiroli and Busce really helped create this goal with a great run. Busce was having a solid game and was working his way up and down the right wing creating several opportunities, including this one.

How can we keep this momentum going? Was the benching of Sergio Volpi in favor of the young Piermario Morosini the answer? Novellino finally put his own personal emotions aside and accepted the fact that Volpi doesn’t have to play 90 minutes of every game. Good game from Busce and from Missirolli who has been a pleasant surprise this year. His versatility on the left or right side of the midfield adds to his value. Bonazzoli wore the captains arm band in place of Volpi today, and nearly scored with a diving header that took an amazing Puggioni save to stop it. His first goal has to be coming soon. Cacia was also denied a goal only by the woodwork..

Onward to Modena. Let’s keep climbing the table.

Back home against Piacenza on Saturday……… 3 points and we could leap back to a “respectable” position, albeit still painfully far from the top. CAN WE GET OUR SHIT TOGETHER PLEASE!@#!?!?????? PLEASe???????????????????????????????

And what the hell is wrong with these ultras? Smashing innocent people’s car windows and other misadventures while traveling up in Frosinone? BE AMBASSADORS OF OUR TEAM, NOT A BUNCH OF DICKHEADS WHO ARE GOING TO CAUSE STADIUM BANS.

Reggina: Cassano, Buscè, Capelli (Cascione 33′), Valdez, Rizzato, Pagano (A. Viola 57′), Volpi, Carmona, Barillà, Cacia, Brienza (Bonazzoli 11′)
Vicenza: Fortin, Minieri, Zanchi, Giosa (Urbano 55′), Brivio, Braiati (Signori 69′), Rigoni, Botta, Fabiano, Sgrigna (Gavazzi 83′), Bjelanovic

How disappointing… man did we lay an egg in this one. I’m not sure what that means, but I think it’s bad which is why I’m saying it. Another match that we were expected to take, at home, and we threw it away. 3 points that will prove to be critical when spring rolls around. We’re clearly not clicking as a team right now and we need to figure this shit out. This loss was embarrassing for the team and for the fans that went to watch on a Tuesday afternoon.

Why was this the first match in a few weeks that I actually got to watch? Disgraceful. I don’t recall even threatening to score aside from a Cacia header early on that challenged the goalkeeper. Vicenza was causing all sorts of problems for us. And the loss of Brienza early on was the worst thing that could have happened. It’s clear that without Brienza there is no creativity in the attack.

We fell 1-0 when Alessandro Sgrigna, a player we were trying to sign just a few weeks ago, collected a long pass with a great first touch to easily score a goal in a 1 on 1 situation. As we flooded forward to equalize we were caught on the counter attack and Vicenza threw the knockout punch to make it 2-0… even when it was 1-0 it was obvious there was little to no hope for this team to come back.

Pagano was subbed out early again, was this his last chance? Brienza is hurt…. let’s hope he makes a quick recovery. Capelli was also subbed out real early, but he was probably just as bad as everyone else. It’s hard to write anything when I’m so DISGUSTED! I hope we turn this around. It’s only 1 loss but such an ugly one. There are already calls from the tifosi on the message boards to bring back Walter Mazzarri. I love Mazzarri but let’s not freak out just yet. You can’t polish a turd, as they say. If this team is bad, there’s nothing Novellino can do about it. He knows Serie B, he knows how to achieve promotion. Let’s just wait and see. Two winnable matches coming up (vs Cittadella 9/19, at Frosinone 9/22). At home against Cittadella is really a must win at this point…

Are you all as disgruntled as me at this point? 1 win in 4 matches isn’t comforting at all.

Let’s all remind ourselves that we are one of the best teams in Serie B and should be able to take care of the Mantova’s of the world. We blew a 2-0 lead on Saturday and weren’t able to prevent the home team from coming back and equalizing the score. Granted we were on the road, hadn’t played a competitive match in two weeks, and certain players were still recovering from international duty.

Serie B direct goal cast only showed the 4 goals in this game, so I’ve also watched the highlights that were provided on regginacalcio.tv. They were frankly better than us in the first half and created more opportunities for themselves. We had to deal with an injury to Bonazzolli in the first half, which is why Cacia entered. Biagio Pagano was also subbed in the first half, but not for any injury problems. Apparently Novellino has been less than thrilled with Pagano’s performances in the midfield. So why not put Daniel Adejo there and see what he can do? I want to see him.

The second half took a turn in our favor. Cacia had a wonderful strike from distance that the keeper could only get his fingertips on. And soon after this first goal, Brienza doubled the lead with one of his vintage slalom-esque runs, weaving in and out of defenders. At this point you would think a second half 2-0 lead would be enough… but nope.

Mantova bounced a ball into the box that was finished off with a close range header. It looked like young Daniele Capelli could have been able to clear that one out. Big mistake on his part. And then after a nervy final 20 minutes when it looked like we were home free… Mantova gets the equalizer in the 90TH EFFING MINUTE. Jesus.

I’ll take the point, but it’s time to start winning some games. We can do so immediately, as our make up game with Vicenza is scheduled for TOMORROW! Kickoff I believe is at 9:30 AM ET here in the states. We should see a decent amount of changes due to the proximity of this match with Saturday’s. Carmona didn’t play on Saturday, so he could be back. Bonazzoli was hurt so his return is questionable. Cacia could get his first start after his good performance. And perhaps Alessio Viola will partner up with him because Brienza played the whole 90 minutes against Mantova.

This game is at home. It is ours for the taking. Forza Reggina!

Here are the 19 convened for the match:

GK: Cassano, Marino
DF: Buscè, Camilleri, Capelli, Cascione, Lanzaro, Rizzato, Valdez
MF: Barillà, Carmona, Missiroli, Morosini, Pagano, Volpi
FW: Bonazzoli, Brienza, Cacia, A. Viola

As far as absences go, Santos and Costa have almost fully recovered from their injuries but will still be held out this weekend. Nicolas Viola will also be absent. Viola is the week 1 hero who came on as a substitute to score the winning goal at Cesena. I don’t think he’s injured but it could be related to our overcrowded midfield. New midfield signing Piermario Morosini could make his Amaranto debut if brought on. Morosini has chosen #25 for his shirt.

19 players are going to make the trip to the Stadio Danilo Martelli. They are as follows: Barillà, Bonazzoli, Brienza, Buscè, Cacia, Camilleri, Capelli, Carmona, Cascione, Cassano, Lanzaro, Marino, Missiroli, Morosini, Pagano, Rizzato, Valdez, A. Viola, Volpi.

Listen… what can I say about this team. Haven’t really gotten to watch them and we’ve only played two matches. I think we are capable of seeing off Mantova, despite being on the road, but who knows. It’s going be another challenge to watch the match tomorrow. I will be tuned into the Serie B direct goal cast for sure and hopefully it will show the important action. I’m sure that Reggina is anxious to get out there and play, but the players could be a little rusty. I’m still going to predict a 3-2 victory in favor of Reggina, with Bonazzoli getting on the scoresheet at least once. And I am 100% (4/4) this season in my calcio predictions. My co-worker is betting on matches based on my recommendations and he hasn’t lost yet. I told him to put money on Reggina to win, so hopefully I didn’t jinx anything.

See you all tomorrow!

Cristiano | July 30th, 2009 at 2:09 am

Sorry but if you think that Salernitana are going to be battling relegation, you should follow teh calciomercato more closely.

ooooh really? why hasn’t teh calciomercato helped them get a point yet?? huh?