Orsolini’s scream, Bologna beats Lecce and regains Dall’Ara

It took Lewis Ferguson‘s return to the pitch, welcomed by an ovation ten minutes from the end after an absence of 203 days, to beat Lecce 1-0 and win again at the Dall’Ara, where Bologna did not he had been able to get the three points for seven months (it was April 1st, against Salernitana).

For those who don’t believe in coincidences, just look at the action that in the 39th minute of the second half led to Orsolini‘s goring, which was decisive in breaking the deadlock in an engulfed match, marked for long stretches by very boring football: a deep ball from the Scot for Ndoye , touch for Miranda, cross and goal.

A very sweaty third victory of the season, the second in a row, against a Lecce team that took the field almost openly for a 0-0 draw. The Italian confirmed Cagliari’s offensive structure, with Odgaard as attacking midfielder, Castro as central striker and Orsolini-Ndoye as external sliders.

But the rossoblù maneuver, for over eighty minutes, systematically fell apart between the very tight meshes of a compact Lecce team, very attentive, not inclined to offend but methodical in man-marking any form of life decked out in rossoblù. Castro’s header after 48 seconds gave rise to hope, but it was an illusion. The entire first half was not enough to create anything comparable to a scoring action, while Lecce, in the only counterattack of their match, even came close to taking the lead with Krstovic, who shot very weakly one-on-one with Ravaglia .

At the end of the first half, however, there was a double jolt: in the 41st minute Freuler crushed the ball in front of goal and sent the ball up from a very favorable position, and in injury time Castro raised Falcone’s scorecard with a very insidious header. Second half, same score: Lecce closes and starts again, perhaps with a little less timidity. Gotti, Donadoni’s former deputy, removes a striker and inserts a midfielder, while Italiano aims for the full post, bringing in first Dallinga, as usual very disoriented, and the lively Fabbian, who will also come close to scoring.

The different approaches of the two coaches, however, can be seen: in the 32nd minute Fabbian headed the ball and became dangerous one meter from Falcone; then the decisive change: the roar of Dall’Ara suggests a luxury return, that of Lewis Ferguson, absent for almost seven months (coincidentally the time of the last victory at Dall’Ara); it is his lucid and authoritative vision of the game that finds the key to breaking into the Lecce safe. Bologna rises to 15th in the standings, three behind Juventus and the Europe zone which was starting to get further and further away. Monaco arrives in the Champions League on Tuesday. And after two consecutive victories, the Monegasques are also less scary.

Bologna (4-2-3-1): Ravaglia; De Silvestri (36’st Posch), Beukema, Lucumì, Miranda; Freuler (36′ st Ferguson), Moro (12′ st Urbanski); Orsolini, Odgaard (12′ st Dallinga), Ndoye; Castro (22′ st Fabbian). All. Italian.

Lecce (4-3-3): Falcone; Guilbert (11′ st Pelmard), Gaspar, Baschirotto, Gallo; Pierotti, Ramadani, Rafia (30’st Pierret); Dorgu (41’st Sansone), Krstovic, Banda (11’st Coulibaly). All. Gotti.

Scorers: 39′ st Orsolini. Booked: Urbanski, Ndoye Referee Collu of Cagliari. Viewers 26,767, takings 597,894.