Toro hammered in Palermo

di Andrea Rosselli

The final result speaks for itself: Toro suffered their fifth defeat of the season, perhaps the most predictable one, as league leaders Palermo hammered the Granata with a clear 3-0.

Zaccheroni’s men did what they could against a much better opponent and even played well in the first 15 minutes, going close to the lead with a very positive Rosina: soon, however, Palermo started imposing their huge technical and physical superiority and the rest of the match simply had no history.

Toro’s first 15 minutes were really promising, with an inspired Rosina giving Palermo plenty of problems with his quickness: the diminutive forward almost gave the Granata the lead twice in the first 10 minutes, but Fontana saved the first shot and deflected the second on his right post.

Unfortunately, Toro’s match practically ended there, as the hosts took control of the midfield with Corini, Guana and Simplicio and dominated the following minutes. Toro’s defence made a very good job in the middle on Amauri, but was completely devastated on the wings by Bresciano and especially Di Michele, by far the best man on the pitch.

From the 25th to the 35th minute the hosts created a number of scoring opportunities, with Abbiati always ready to reply. In the 43rd minute, however, there was nothing to do for the Granata goalkeeper: a series of horrible series of defensive mistakes allowed Simplicio to fire a shot which was deflected from the edge of the small box by Corini, who gave Palermo the lead.

In the second half the hosts easily controlled Toro’s weak reaction: as usual Stellone was too isolated upfront, the ball possession was sterile and as soon as Guidolin’s men decided to push on the accelerator the Granata literally collapsed. After going close to the 2-0 several times, Palermo netted two more goals with as many superb counterattacks led by Di Michele: in the 69th minute the Sicilian striker flied all alone towards Abbiati’s net and scored with a soft touch, while ten minutes later he perfectly assisted Amauri for the 3-0.

Zaccheroni made three changes in the second half, replacing Pancaro, Brevi and De Ascentis with Balestri, Abbruscato and Gallo respectively, but everything the Granata managed to produce offensively was a free kick by Rosina that hit Fontana’s bar with a few minutes to go. Not a lucky day for Alessandro, another bad day for Toro.