Bari 1-1 Parma (Serie A)

Defender Andrea Masiello’s extraordinary solo effort snatched a late point for Bari.

Reborn Bari were looking for a third consecutive victory, with Parma just one point behind. Star Paulo Vitor Barreto was still sidelined along with Mariano Donda, Vitali Kutuzov, Andrea Ranocchia, Antonio Langella and Daniele De Vezze. Stefano Morrone was suspended for the visitors.

Curiously, the San Nicola match was officiated by two female assistant referees.

Parma got off to an aggressive start and Jean-Francois Gillet flew to palm Alessandro Lucarelli’s header off the line.

Moments later Riccardo Meggiorini skipped past his marker at the byline to clip the outside of the upright.

Hernan Crespo’s angled drive was smothered and Davide Lanzafame had a soft penalty appeal. Gillet flew to punch away a Luis Antonio Jimenez snapshot from the edge of the box.

Parma continued to dominate, as Lanzafame’s trap and half-volley from distance was palmed round the base of the upright by Gillet at full stretch.

The Bari goalkeeper had his palms stung again by a Jimenez screamer and Crespo’s header was just wide from Francesco Valiani’s free kick.

Eventually Gillet was beaten, but it was practically an own goal. Damiano Zenoni got to the byline down the right channel and his low cross was deflected into the net off Belmonte from point-blank range.

Bari so nearly equalised with an absolute blockbuster from Meggiorini. He smashed it from a good 30 metres and the crossbar may well still be wobbling right now.

Meggiorini again threatened with a touched-on free kick that grazed the near post, while substitute Sforzini’s header was smothered.

Bari finally drew level with five minutes left on the clock. Defender Andrea Masiello surged forward and exchanged passes with Kamata in the box to thump it in with the outside of his right foot from six yards.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.