UEFA Europa League – First half review: Sampdoria versus PSV Eindhoven
The home side Sampdoria from the Italian football league started the match off with a bang as in the 8th minute of the first half it was Marilungo who hit the post for the Italian club. The striker seemed to be in an
offside position when he was played in by his team mate but he didn’t bother to check with the linesman as he surged forward and struck his shot with authority. Luckily for the visitors his drive was deflected out for a goal kick after taking a heavy touch
from the goal post.
In the 13th minute of the match, Afellay and Toivonen combined to good effect for Eindhoven as they almost found their behind the Italian club side’s defensive line. It was a marvelous one two between the two strikers
as Afellay whipped in a brilliant ball inside the Sampdoria penalty area. However, after Toivonen collected the ball, his ensuing shot was well wide of the mark as he mis hit his effort on goal. The score thus remained at 0-0.
In the 22nd minute of the match, Sampdoria suffered a heavy blow as Massimo Volta replaced Lucchini, the Sampdorian defender was making his comeback from an injury but his return was hampered as he had to be carried
off the field due to fitness issues. Volta replaced the defender in a break in play which was caused by a failure of functionality in one of the flood lights at the match.
PSV and Sampdoria looked bemused at the fact that the game was halted due to a technical failure in the lighting equipment at the ground. The officials deliberated quite extensively as they decided whether to keep the teams on
the field or take them off to the dressing rooms till the faulty flood light was fixed by the authorities in charge at Sampdoria’s home stadium; Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa, Italy. After a total of 7 minutes of discussion amongst both the team’s captain
and the officials in charge at the stadium, it was eventually decided that the match will be continued despite the fact that the lights had not been fixed to their full functionality.
After the mini stoppage in play, PSV resumed where they left off as they pushed onwards in attack towards the Sampdoria goal. Despite having a major share of the possession, the Dutch side failed to really penetrate in behind the
Sampdorian defense which stood resolutely to deny the visitors any goal scoring opportunities. In the 36th minute of the match, it was Pazzini who found himself in space for Sampdoria at the edge of the PSV Eindhoven penalty area. Nonetheless, the
Italian striker’s shot was blocked by the Dutch club’s defense as Eindhoven regained control of the ball.
Sampdoria ended the half strongly as they had a good spell of ball possession from 43rd minutes onwards till the end of the 7 minutes of added time that was announced by the officials due to the short break in play in
between. The Genoa club relied on crosses to utilize on the lack of physical play inside the Dutch club’s defense. Their tactics paid off as at the 45th minute mark, the home side drew first blood as Pazzini connected effectively with Ziegler’s
cross to give his side the lead. It was a deserved goal for Sampdoria as the first half ended at 1-0 to the home side.
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