Finally the first win!

"di Andrea Rosselli

"The nightmare is over: after so many disappointing outings Toro finally collected their first win of the season, a deserved 1-0 over Chievo, thanks to a superb goal by Roberto Stellone a few minutes into the second half.

"With these vital three points the Granata make a big step towards the middle of the Serie A table: Toro are currently 11th, tied with Catania and nine clear of league leaders Inter.

"Zaccheroni's men played a good match, the best of their season. After having tested the 3-men defence for most of these past two weeks, the former Milan coach decided to field it already in this key clash. By consequence Gabriele Cioffi made his season debut, alongside Franceschini and Di Loreto, with Comotto and Pancaro on the wings, De Ascentis and Barone in the middle, and the Fiore - Muzzi duo supporting Stellone upfront.

"The new formula definitely worked, although what really made the difference was the huge determination Toro showed for the whole match,. The first half was pretty balanced, with the Granata playing better in the first and in the last 10 minutes but also struggling to find any space in Chievo's well-organized defence. Actually there were no real scoring chances by either side: only a couple of shots from outisde the box by Muzzi and Fiore, while Abbiati was forced to make a good save on a right-footer by Luciano.

"The start of the second half coulnd't have been a better one. Toro assaulted their opponents right after the starting whistle, putting a big pressure on Chievo's defence, and in the 48th minute Stellone took profit of a perfect pass by Muzzi and fired a superb left-footer from the edge of the box, giving the Granata their first lead of the season.

"Chievo's reaction was confused and the hosts controlled it without many worries. In the 53rd minute Oguro replaced Muzzi, and the Japanese striker had a very good impact on the match: Toro kept on playing well, building a few very good counterattacks, while Chievo were really dangerous only in the last minutes with a shot by Tiribocchi that skimmed Abbiati's post. After an endless five-minutes added time, the final whistle and the deserved celebrations in front of the usual, fantastic Maratona.