| David Suazo's penalty handed Cagliari Coach Franco Colomba his first points after two straight defeats on the bench. Two desperate teams faced off in this relegation battle and have already had a change of management this season. Ascoli celebrated their first win of the season before the Christmas break and had Gaetano Fontana suspended and gave veteran Gigi Di Biagio his debut, but had never won here in Serie A with two points from eight visits. The Sardinians are without Mauro Esposito for the rest of the season with a serious knee injury.
David Suazo wreaked havoc in the area on 15 minutes, skipping past Pecorari before he was brought down by Mirko Cudini for a penalty. Suazo got back up to convert and give Cagliari the lead. The Honduras international was on fire and dribbled past three players to scuff his shot wide, though Marco Fortin had some problems on Michele Fini's piledriver. After the break Sasa Bjelanovic took advantage of a Diego Lopez error, but fired over from a tight angle, then his header was well saved by Fortin and he was denied by Paolo Bianco's goalline clearance. Bianco's header tested Gianluca Pagliuca, while Suazo's shot was parried into the path of Daniele Conti for a finish over the bar. | 
