Di Stefano double earns U19s a point at Cagliari

Sampdoria U19s picked up a valuable point at Cagliari on Wednesday to keep themselves firmly in the mix for a play-off spot in the Primavera 1 championship.

The Blucerchiati had the better of the opening 45 minutes and after several chances went amiss Lorenzo Di Stefano gave us a deserved lead on the half-hour mark with a stunning finish from outside the box.

The striker notched his second of the game – and 12th of the season – in bizarre fashion in first-half stoppage time.

From a throw-in, Daniele Montevago gave the ball to Cagliari as an act of fair play and Adam Obert passed it back to Andrea D’Aniello but the keeper failed to clear, leaving Di Stefano with the simplest of tap-ins.

As was to be expected, Cagliari – currently second in the league table – came out much stronger after the restart and Samp found themselves on the back foot.

Twelve minutes in, Luigi Palomba bundled home the loose ball after Ivan Saio had saved to make it 1-2.

Then, ten minutes later, Christo Kourfalidis drove through the heart of Samp’s defence before finishing with aplomb to level the scores.

The hosts remained on top for the rest of the game but the Blucerchiati held on to claimed a hard-earned draw.

Felice Tufano’s side missed the chance to leapfrog their opponents but remain in sixth place, with seven teams now bunched together in five points.

Torino will be the next opponents when they visit Bogliasco on Monday.

Cagliari 2-2 Sampdoria (HT 0-2)
Scorers: Di Stefano 29, 45+1; Palomba 57, Kourfalidis 67.

Cagliari (4-3-2-1): D’Aniello; Sulis (Zallu 76), Palomba, Obert, Noah; Kourfalidis, Conti (Carboni 76), Cavuoti; Tramoni, Masala (Pulina 48); Yanker (Luvumbo 70).
Subs not used: Fusco, Iovu, Delpupo, Corsini, Carboni, Caddeo, Schirru, Murru, Secci.
Coach: Agostini.

Sampdoria (4-4-2): Saio; Somma (Sepe 64), Villa, Bonfanti (Bianchi 80), Migliardi; Malagrida (Polli 80), Paoletti, Yepes, Pozzato (Bontempi 75); Montevago, Di Stefano.
Subs not used: Tantalocchi, Samotti, Dolcini, Chilafi, Leonardi, Porcu, Bonavita, Musso.
Coach: Tufano.

Referee: Cherchi (Carbonia).
Assistants: Bahri (Sassari) and Collu (Ostistano).
Booked: Cavuoti 73, Montevago 74, Bianchi 84, Villa 88, Paoletti 90+2.
Added time: 2+5 minutes.
Attendance: approx. 200.
Pitch: good condition.