As the fifth Group A reverse match of the 2023-2024 Serie C NOW, namely the MD 24 fixture between Pro Vercelli and Atalanta U23s, culminated in a 1-1 draw at the Silvio Piola stadium in Vercelli, coach Francesco Modesto’s lads have extended their unbeaten run to 6 consecutive games.
The Nerazzurri were off to a great start, threatening the home side as early as 2 minutes past kick-off: albeit, Ghislandi’s tricky cross in the box couldn’t find the proper finishing. On 12 minutes it was Cortinovis who tested Sassi: after going solo dribbling past his marker, Atalanta’s number 30 cut inside and hurled a curler, eventually blocked by the opposing keeper. Pro Vercelli’s retaliation came through Mustacchio who, after controlling the ball in the box, tried to catch Vismara off-guard with a scorcher towards the far post but his attempt ended up wide off target. Atalanta tried to break the deadlock on 35 minutes with Palestra: after winning the rebound in the follow-up to an unsuccessful dribble, the black-and-blue wingback got a ferocious shot away, forcing Sassi to turn it behind for a corner.
Siren Diao broke the deadlock in the 58th minute: after bursting in the box and winning the mano-a-mano against Sassi, Atalanta’s number 29 bagged his first professional goal. The White Shirts found the equalizer in the 82nd minute as substitute Rojas nodded in Iezzi’s assist.
PRO VERCELLI 1-1 ATALANTA UNDER-23s
Scorer(s): Diao 58 (A), Rojas 82 (P).
Pro Vercelli: Sassi, Frey (Citi 76), Camigliano, Mustacchio (C) (Pannitteri 70), Iotti, Nepi (Rojas 70), Haoudi (Kozlowski 53), Maggio, Iezzi, Parodi, Sarzi Puttini. Unused subs: Vaccarezza, Mastrantonio, Rodio, Santoro, Contaldo, Gheza, Rutigliano, Casazza, Forte, Pinzi, Petrella. Coach: Andrea Dossena.
Atalanta Under 23: Vismara, Palestra, Berto, Muhameti, Gyabuaa (Panada 71) , Varnier (C), Ghislandi, Solcia, Jimenez (Vlahovic 71), Diao (Da Riva 76), Cortinovis (Falleni 63). Unused subs: Bertini, Avogadri, Obric, Ceresoli, Regonesi, Bernasconi. Coach: Francesco Modesto.
Referee: Samuele Andreano from Prato.
Assistant referees: Davide Santarossa from Pordenone and Giuseppe Romaniello from Napoli.
Fourth official: Saverio Esposito from Ercolano.
Notes: Gyabuaa (A), Panada (A), and Kozlowski (P) booked
