Coppa Italia : Sampdoria 6 – 2 Lecce

Luigi Del Neri’s new Sampdoria have hammered Lecce 6-2 at Marassi overnight in their Coppa Italia fixture. Braces from Pazzini and Cassano saw the Blucerchiati out to a 4-0 lead in the second half before Lecce opened their account. Further goals to Palombo and Padalino capped off a dominant display that at times had the Gradinata Sud in delirium. A similar scoreline has not been seen at the Stadio Luigi Ferrarris since 1994 when Samp defeated Udinese.

Match Report

Sampdoria took the field for the first game of their Cup campaign with the anticipated 4-4-1-1 formation with Castellazzi in goal. Cacciatore and Zeigler were the wing-backs with Lucchini and Rossi central defenders. In midfield Palombo and Tissone both had great games, Tissone leaving the field during the second half to make way for Poli was given a rousing reception in his first game infront of the Sud. On the wings Mannini was a constant threat and Padalino capped off a strong game with a goal on full-time.

But it was up-front that Sampdoria really shone, and once again the pairing of Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini served notice to the rest of the peninsula that they are a force to be reckoned with.

Pazzini opened the scoring on 8 minutes after being fed a through ball by Palombo. Nearing the half-hour Cassano used his heel to direct a Ziegler corner kick into the Lecce net and then a minute later freed Mannini with a deft no-look pass, the new arrival served Pazzini with a cross and it was Samp 3-0.

Marius Stankevicius replaced Cacciatore after Half-time and soon after put Cassano through. Fantantonio delicately sent the ball sailing over the Lecce goalies’ head and into the back of the net underneath the Gradinata, which by now was on fire. Sampdoria 4-0!

Lecce managed to pull one back through Defendi but the advantage was soon restored by Palombo from the penalty spot after Poli was brought down in the area. Vives then scored Lecces second as a result of the only poor moment in defence between Lucchini and Rossi. However even the 5-2 scoreline wasn’t enough as Padalino chimed in just before the last whistle with the goal he’s been looking for to dedicate to his new-born son.

Doc