Post by Taxigirl on Dec 5, 2003 18:23:46 GMT
Two goals from Julio Cruz rescued Inter as they beat Reggina 2-1 in the first leg of their Coppa Italia tie.
Reggina had taken the lead before the former Bologna man scored twice in the space of 14 minutes to ensure victory.
Inter boss Alberto Zaccheroni rested a host of his more familiar faces for this tie and the fans obviously didn’t expect too much with the San Siro virtually empty.
On the other hand, Reggina Coach Giancarlo Camolese – making his debut on the bench – selected a strong line-up with the club’s 6-0 thrashing at the San Siro two weeks ago still fresh in the memory.
The first half was a dull affair. Inter ‘keeper Fontana was totally untroubled in the opening period, while Belardi wasn’t really tested by a Karagounis drive and a Martins header.
Yet the game erupted into life after the 53rd minute introduction of Di Michele. He gave his side a shock lead just two minutes after coming on as a substitute. Karagounis lost the ball to Baiocco who passed to Di Michele. He dribbled his way past Adani to rifle the ball across the right hand of Fontana.
That gave the southerners great confidence and they almost doubled their lead just five minutes later. Bonazzoli controlled a Torrisi cross and his shot from 15 yards just missed the left hand post.
It proved to be a costly error as Zac’s decision to bring on Julio Cruz paid off. Within five minutes of his introduction, he capitalised on a Jiranek mistake to side foot the ball past Belardi and just under the bar to make it 1-1.
Reggina were now on the ropes and Inter could smell victory. They took the lead in the 76th minute from the penalty spot after Cruz was judged to have been fouled by Mesto. The Argentine picked himself up to direct his spot kick to Belardi’s right.
The away side did attempt to get back into the game with a brave late charge but the Nerazzurri held on for a crucial first leg win.
Inter 2-1 Reggina
Scorers: Di Michele (R) 55, Cruz (I) 62, pen 76
Inter: Fontana , Adani, Gamarra, Brechet, Luciano, Lamouchi, Farinos, Karagounis (Okan 74), Rebecchi (Cruz 57), Kily Gonzalez, Martins.
Reggina: Belardi, Jiranek, Torrisi, Franceschini, Martinez, Mesto, Tedesco, Baiocco, Falsini, Bonazzoli (Stellone 70), Nakamura (Di Michele 53).
Ref: Palanca
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