| Massimo Maccarone's late solo effort gave Siena a precious victory over resurgent Cagliari. These sides looked dead and buried only a few weeks ago, but recent results have given them unexpected hope. The Sardinians were fresh from wins over Napoli and Lazio as well as a draw at Juventus, though they remained rooted to the foot of the table. Michele Fini sat out a ban and Daniele Conti returned. Siena could have done even better, but threw away a 2-0 lead at Atalanta to draw 2-2 at the weekend.
Cagliari hadn't a single victory in their total three Serie A visits to Siena. Alex Manninger had an early scare on Simone Vergassola's wayward backwards header, while Joaquin Larrivey nodded Biondini's cross over the bar. Paul Codrea and Conti tried their trademark free kicks, while Massimo Maccarone did well to turn between three defenders in the penalty area, but just thumped his finish way off target. Pasquale Foggia failed to make the most of a Simone Loria defensive error, while Agostini's cross flashed acros the face of goal. Siena boss Mario Beretta made a double change at half-time, introducing Tomas Locatelli and Mario Frick. Maccarone held up the ball for the Liechtenstein international to drill just wide, while Manninger turned a Foggia right-foot strike out for a corner. Locatelli's right-foot effort went wide and Jeda allowed Rossi to close him down when clear on goal. Maccarone finally broke the deadlock in the final minutes, going on a solo run past two defenders to beat Storari from close range. |