Ascoli Blanks Sampdoria 2-0 Behind Silipo Strike and Own Goal
Manager Francesco Tomei's side capitalized on a dominant second half at Stadio Del Duca to claim all three points.
Ascoli secured a convincing 2-0 victory against Sampdoria at the Stadio Del Duca on Friday during the ninth round of the Serie B season. A second-half breakthrough by Andrea Silipo followed by an unfortunate own goal from Oliver Abildgaard handed all three points to the home side. The result left the visiting side, guided by manager Luca D’Angelo, stuck at the bottom of the league standings after a difficult evening on the road.
Under the whistle of head referee Marco Di Bello, manager Francesco Tomei's Ascoli squad entered the match aggressively, deploying heavy pressing immediately from the opening minutes. Sampdoria looked to establish possession on counterattacks, generating early looks when Cicconi missed the target following a corner kick delivered by Liam Henderson. Shortly afterward, Titas Begić broke past his markers on the right flank, but his left-footed effort rolled softly into the arms of Ascoli goalkeeper Vitale.
Ascoli steadily seized control of the midfield through Damiani and Corradini, repeatedly forcing Sampdoria deeper into their own half. Visiting goalkeeper Krastev kept the Blucerchiati in the contest with multiple sharp interventions, including a diving stop on a dangerous long-range chance past the half-hour mark. Ascoli thought they had crafted a clear opening when Silipo set up Matteo Brunori for an Acampora shot, but the attempt was annulled after Di Bello flagged an offside violation against Brunori.
The parity was shattered nine minutes after the restart. After Sampdoria defender Delli Carri picked up the game's first yellow card in the 53rd minute, Ascoli took immediate advantage of defensive lapses. Brunori outmaneuvered center-back Ferrari on the edge of the area and sent a precision delivery toward the far post. Silipo gathered the ball cleanly with his chest and drove a left-footed strike past Krastev to push Ascoli ahead 1-0.
Sampdoria pushed forward to find an immediate equalizer, nearly breaking through in the 58th minute when Begić gathered a loose ball in the box following a corner, sending his attempt just wide of the post. With the tempo increasing, Tomei and D’Angelo each executed a series of tactical adjustments in the 66th minute. Ascoli brought on Milanese, Oliveri, and Gori, while Sampdoria introduced Gennaro Tutino for Makoumbou and Stefan Gartenmann for Ferrari, followed soon after by Yann Karamoh replacing Lauritsen.
The decisive sequence arrived in the final ten minutes of regulation. Sampdoria came agonizingly close to leveling the contest in the 81st minute when Henderson unleashed a powerful strike from inside the box that clattered directly off the post. Ascoli punished the missed chance almost immediately. In the 82nd minute, an Ascoli ball driven into the penalty area deflected off the chest of Abildgaard and redirected into his own net, extending the hosts' lead to two.
The closing moments of the contest saw tempers flare, culminating in an 89th-minute yellow card for Begić after a scuffle. In the 90th minute, Tutino nearly caught Vitale off guard with an ambitious attempt from long range, but the Ascoli goalkeeper retreated rapidly to swat the ball off the goal line. Sampdoria's frustrating night ended on a further sour note when Di Pardo suffered an injury during stoppage time, forcing an emergency substitution for Diop before the final whistle confirmed Ascoli's 2-0 triumph.