Ghana youth international Godfred Donsah was adjudged man-of-the-match after scoring his first Serie A goal in Cagliari's 2-1 win over Cesena on Sunday at the Stadio Sant’Elia.
The hosts took the lead from Joao Pedro’s penalty rebound, tapping-in after Nicola Leali saved his spot-kick that Albin Ekdal’s excellent run earned.
Donsah doubled the Isolani’s advantage with a powerful effort midway through the first-half, but Gianfranco Zola’s first win in charge had a nervy finish as Franco Brienza put the Seahorses on the scoresheet in the 88th minute.
Here are our player ratings from the game in Sicily, how did you rate the players? Comment below.
Zeljko Brkic – 6 – Commanding
Brkic made the save of the match to keep Cagliari in the lead with a wonderful top-corner save from an Emmanuel Cascione free-kick in the 13th minute. The Serbian was generally commanding for the Rossoblu, but couldn’t see his clean sheet through to full time.
Antonio Bolzano – 6 – Quiet
A comfortable game for Bolzano, who rarely had too much to do but was credited with a clean sheet before injury brought about a premature end to his game.
Marco Capuano – 6 – Edgy
Lacking positionally at times, giving Cesena attackers a chance to shoot when the opportunity to clear was there. The defender should take confidence from the fact they held out under pressure in the final moments, with Cagliari looking organised at the back.
Luca Rossetini – 6 – Decent
Committed a couple of unnecessary fouls that let the visitors show off their threatening set-pieces, but made some important clearances. Questions can be asked on his role in conceding the late consolation, mind.
Danilo Avelar – 6.5 – Worker
Got forward down the left when needed to, and played an intelligent game that looked to buy the hosts time and contain the possession-based game of the opposition.
Daniele Dessena – 6 – Mindful
Got into good attacking positions when required, and sat deep to allow Cesena possession at other times. Did a poor job of marking Brienza for the Seahorses’ goal.
Lorenzo Cristeig – 6.5 – Disciplined
The 21-year-old played a professional game for Zola’s team today, happy to let the visitors have possession in non-threatening areas and getting in amongst it when the ball was played nearer his goal.
Godfred Donsah – 7.5 – Bombastic
18-year-old Donsah showed his inexperience at times with some poor decision making, but made no mistake with a powerful finish in the 26th minute. Starting and finishing a lovely move, it was a confident effort to make it 2-0. After that, the Ghanian flourished and bombed forward on the counter-attack, while remaining solid in defensive situations.
Albin Ekdal – 7 – Danger
It was a classy run from Ekdal that stretched the visiting defence to win the penalty, dragging the defenders wide before cutting across them and being pulled down for the foul. Always available to link play and provide dangerous attacking runs and through balls, the 25-year-old was a constant threat.
Samuele Longo – 5.5 – Hesitant
Often put himself in good positions, but also tended to hesitate at the vital moment. Did, however, show good pace to almost set up Dessena for number three in first-half stoppage time. Should have made it 3-0 himself on 65 minutes but attempted to flick the cross into the gaping goal and missed the ball entirely.
Joao Pedro – 7 – End-Product
Scored the penalty at the second attempt- the first a tame effort comfortably saved before tapping-in under pressure. The Brazilian was otherwise quiet but Pedro’s impact increased as he played his part in the second goal, playing an audacious flick to Donsah in a one-two.
Substitutes
Francesco Pisano – 6 – Fair
Came on at the hour-mark for Balzano, and played ok at right-back by getting the basics done right.
Ciao Rangel – N/A
Entered the field for the final moments in the place of Joao Pedro.