Primavera | The Bianconeri’s run ends in the semifinals

Cesena FC Primavera’s run in the Final Phase of the Primavera 1 Championship comes to an end just one step shy of the final. Coach Campedelli’s Bianconeri were defeated 2-1 by Parma Calcio Primavera at the end of a hard-fought match that went down to the wire.

The match got off to a balanced start at “Viola Park,” with both teams focused above all on not giving up space in the opening minutes of the playoff semifinal. The first real chance came in the 14th minute, when D’Intino struck a volley off a rebound in the box, hitting the post squarely. The Crociati continued to press, and a few minutes later Fontana was ready to stop Plicco’s close-range attempt. In the 23rd minute, the Gialloblù hit the woodwork again through Mikolajewski, whose shot was deflected by Kebbeh and ended up on the crossbar.

The deadlock was broken in the 29th minute when the Crociati opened the scoring thanks to a penalty kick converted by Mikolajewski. Cesena tried to respond in the closing minutes of the first half but failed to find the spark needed to equalize before halftime.

In the second half, Parma nearly doubled their lead immediately through D’Intino, who was denied by the post again after a deflection by Fontana. The Cavalluccio, however, grew into the game and, after pushing higher and higher up the field, found the equalizer in the 55th minute: a perfect free kick by Zamagni beat Astaldi.

In the 72nd minute, Parma regained the lead on a penalty kick by Mikolajewski, but the Bianconeri, despite falling behind again, never lost their composure and, in fact, gave it their all to snatch the equalizer. In the closing minutes, Coach Campedelli’s team ramped up the pressure even further and first came close to equalizing through Poletti, whose shot was cleared off the line by Conde, then nearly scored through Tosku, whose attempt was denied by a decisive save from Astaldi. In stoppage time, Fontana kept the Cavalluccio’s hopes alive with a great save on Chimezie, but at the final whistle, the result favored Parma, who qualified for the Primavera 1 championship final.

The referee’s final whistle sealed Parma Calcio’s qualification for the Primavera 1 national championship final, but the Cavalluccio exited with their heads held high amid the applause of over three hundred fans who had traveled from Cesena.

“We put our hearts into it and never gave up. The boys,” said coach Nicola Campedelli at the end of the semifinal, “were able to bounce back even from the incidents—which are part of the game—so it’s a shame to go out like this. But today I want to highlight this match: two teams that fought hard and two quality teams that faced off with their heads held high. I’m truly proud of the boys and my staff, who gave them incredible support to improve, and I want to thank the club and the owners. We made it this far thanks to an incredible shared purpose, and we’re proud of that. Right now it’s very disappointing, but defeat is part of the game too, and it means we’ll try to pick ourselves up and come back stronger next year. Cesena is a special place, and today we should be proud of the journey we’ve all taken together.”

Parma Calcio – Cesena FC 2-1

Goals: 29’ pen. and 73’ pen. Mikolajewski (P), 55’ Zamagni (C)

Parma Calcio: Astaldi, Mena, D’Intino, Tigani (90’ Mengoni), Mikolajewski (76’ Semedo), Cardinali (90’ Chimezie), Plicco (61’ Castaldo), Drobnic, Conde, Gemello (46’ Diop), Konaté. Substitutes: Mazzocchi, Pajsar, Vranici, Balduzzi, Marchesi, Sartori. Coach: Corrent

Cesena FC: Fontana, Domeniconi, Zamagni (76’ Galvagno), Tosku, Wade (89’ Tonti), Rossetti (76’ Poletti), Ridolfi, Mattioli, Casadei, Kebbeh (84’ Abbondanza), Amadori (84’ Carbone). Substitutes: Gianfanti, Marini, Berti, Lantignotti, Biguzzi, Ribello. Coach: Campedelli

Referee: Alessio Recchia of Brindisi

Assistant referees: Simone Iuliano of Siena - Luigi Ingenito of Piombino

Fourth official: Mattia Nigro of Prato

Notes: yellow cards for Casadei (C), Diop (P). Red card for Coach Campedelli (C) in the 72nd minute, and red card for Marchesi (P) from the bench in the 73rd minute.