League Play-Off

Stadio Valleggia
Spectators: 33 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) De Matthaéis's Cosimo Di Massa started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. The supporters of Palermo booed when De Matthaéis was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 5 match minutes in a wonderful position. Fausto Ronconi didn't get a good kick on the ball. 9 minutes into the match, De Matthaéis's goal looked a bit too open when Fabrizio Camerlengo came free, but Carlo Di Pasquale reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Fabrizio Camerlengo fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 12th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Carlo Di Pasquale having to interfere. Christian Giampietro was extremely unlucky when he, in the 16th minute, took a shot that hit the right post and went out. Fabrizio Camerlengo struck a weak shot in the 17th minute. Carlo Di Pasquale didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Palermo. Palermo's Ferdinando Gaudino played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Cosimo Di Massa in the 20th minute of play. Diego Capone's late challenge caught a De Matthaéis's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Diego Capone helped the player get up and apologised. Diego Capone kicked well hit freekick during the 21st minute of the match. Cosimo Di Massa scored 0-1 in the 31st match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Ferdinando Gaudino, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. If Emilio Chiarelli had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 34th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Cosimo Di Massa took the ball and in the 36 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Ferdinando Gaudino. Ferdinando Gaudino dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-2. Palermo's Ferdinando Gaudino played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Emilio Chiarelli in the 42nd minute of play. If Fabrizio Camerlengo had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 45th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Emilio Chiarelli fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 48th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ferdinando Gaudino having to interfere. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-2 lead.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Fabrizio Camerlengo stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. After a defensive mix-up in De Matthaéis's zone, Fabrizio Camerlengo stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Carlo Di Pasquale came out of the goal and Fabrizio Camerlengo tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 58th minute, Alexander Simone got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Fausto Ronconi during the 60th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. 59 minutes into the game, one of De Matthaéis:s players got tackled near the goal, and the referee blew for a penalty. Antonello Costanzo shot the penalty kick right outside the post. The crowd rose to their feet as Cosimo Di Massa kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Ferdinando Gaudino. That made the score 0-4 in the 63 minute of play. Ferdinando Gaudino was out of position in the 74 minute of play, and Emilio Chiarelli capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Emilio Chiarelli really showed his touch with that goal: 0-5. In the 81st match minute, Palermo was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Enzo Cagnetta to maneuver through the defense. Carlo Di Pasquale showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Alexander Simone in the 84th minute of the match. In the 85th match minute, De Matthaéis was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Donato Negri to maneuver through the defense. After recieving a nice pass, Palermo's Antonello Costanzo tried to score from far away in the 86th minute, but the ball went over the crossbar. In the 92nd minute Fabrizio Camerlengo shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Carlo Di Pasquale saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. When Fabrizio Camerlengo came up free with the goalie in the 94th minute, the Palermo fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Fabrizio Camerlengo couldn't finish the play. In the 95th match minute, De Matthaéis was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Demetrio Cesare to maneuver through the defense. The away crowd were delighted with the way their team had played and cheered loudly when the final whistle sounded. De Matthaéis walked away with the win, even though the match was close until the end.