Post by Bozur on Oct 28, 2008 23:51:55 GMT -5
Italy beats Montenegro 2-1
The Associated Press
Published: October 15, 2008
Italy's midfielder Alberto Aquilani
Italy's forward Antonio Di Natale and Montenegro's midfielder Simon Vukcevic
Italy's forward Alberto Gilardino escapes Montenegro defender Jovan Tanasijevic and Radoslav Batak
LECCE, Italy: Alberto Aquilani hit his first two international goals Wednesday to lead an injury-hit Italy team to a 2-1 win over Montenegro that kept the defending champions top of their World Cup qualifying group.
The midfielder hit his goals in the eighth and 29th minutes at the Via del Mare stadium, with Montenegro captain Mirko Vucinic — Aquilani's teammate at AS Roma — briefly making it 1-1 in the 19th.
Another Roma player, Italy's Daniele De Rossi, hit the post with a header in the 64th.
Italy has 10 points to lead Group 8, while Montenegro — which was playing its first official away match since becoming a FIFA member last year — has two.
"First of all I want to compliment Montenegro because it's a very good, technical squad," Italy coach Marcello Lippi said. "They've got four or five good players. The team was just born, but I'm certain it will become a great team.
"They had an advantage by not playing Saturday and extra rest helps."
Italy drew 0-0 in Bulgaria on Saturday.
"But I also want to compliment my players. They worked hard, fought, risked and suffered," Lippi said. "You also have to suffer if you want to win. We almost scored a third goal, and they almost scored another also."
Aquilani pounded in a rebound from close-range for his first goal but Vucinic equalized with a bouncing shot that Italy goalkeeper Marco Amelia couldn't handle. Vucinic played with Lecce for six seasons and the 20,162 fans in attendance applauded his goal.
Amelia was filling in for Gianluca Buffon, who is out for up to two months with a leg muscle injury. Besides Buffon, Italy was also missing Andrea Pirlo, Mauro Camoranesi, Fabio Grosso, Marco Materazzi and Vincenzo Iaquinta.
Aquilani shot in off a defender for his second goal.
Lippi matched Vittorio Pozzo's record with his 30th straight unbeaten game as Italy's coach. Lippi resigned after guiding Italy to the 2006 World Cup title and returned in August.
"To go 30 consecutive games without losing is fantastic," Lippi said. "And it's even more fantastic because we won a World Cup during those 30 games. And now it's fantastic how we are constructing a new team."
Pozzo, who led Italy to the 1934 and 1938 World Cup titles, set his streak between 1935 and 1939.
Security was tight following a riot by Italian fans in Bulgaria and there was a moment of tension before kickoff between the visiting section with about 200 Montenegro fans and Italian supporters sitting nearby.
One section of Italian fans whistled during the playing of the Montenegro anthem and the rest of the stadium drowned the negative noise out with applause.
Italy took the initiative from the start and left-back Andrea Dossena had an opportunity 30 seconds after kickoff, missing wide from a sharp angle.
Gennaro Gattuso also shot wide in the second minute and Simone Pepe nearly scored from close-range following a free kick.
Aquilani's opener came from a rebound of a shot from Pepe, who received a through pass on the right flank.
Vucinic received a yellow card in the 10th for a foul on Aquilani and will miss the game in Montenegro against Italy on March 28.
Montenegro first threatened in the 16th with a shot from Sporting Lisbon midfielder Simon Vukcevic that was cleared off the line by Pepe.
Three minutes later, Fiorentina forward Stevan Jovetic carried the ball forward from midfield and set up Vucinic's goal with a back heel.
After Aquilani restored Italy's lead, Montenegro threatened with a series of long free kicks, one of which Amelia had trouble controlling.
Italy center forward Alberto Gilardino nearly scored in the 51st but Montenegro goalkeeper Vukasin Poleksic stuck his hand out to make the save.
A defensive error left Vucinic with only Amelia to beat in the 53rd but the striker's shot went directly at the 'keeper. A minute later, Jovetic missed wide as Montenegro pushed forward to equalize.
After De Rossi hit the post, Aquilani received a standing ovation when he was replaced by Roma teammate Simone Perrotta.
Lippi failed to keep his pre-match promise and left striker Giuseppe Rossi on the bench, adding Fabio Quagliarella with his final substitution in the 76th.
"It wasn't his night tonight," Lippi explained. "We were suffering at the end, and we needed a containment type of player."
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Lineups:
Italy: Marco Amelia, Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro, Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Dossena (Daniele Bonera, 59), Daniele De Rossi, Gennaro Gattuso, Alberto Aquilani (Simone Perrotta, 65), Simone Pepe, Antonio Di Natale (Fabio Quagliarella, 76), Alberto Gilardino.
Montenegro: Vukasin Poleksic, Savo Pavicevic, Jovan Tanasijevic, Radoslav Batak, Milan Jovanovic, Nikola Drincic, Elsad Zverotic (Mitar Novakovic, 89), Branko Boskovic (Vladimir Bozovic, 81), Simon Vukcevic, Stevan Jovetic, Mirko Vucinic (Dejan Damjanovic, 90).
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