Patrick Cutrone scuttles Juve Stabia: Monza in final towards Serie A
A draw was enough, but victory comes. Monza advances to the playoff final that is worth promotion to Serie A by beating Juve Stabia. But the Campani struggled until the very last second, as confirmed by the 2-1 final that matured at the U-Power Stadium. It all happened in the final minutes of the challenge, which remained with untouched goals until the 85th minute and then saw three one after the other until the final whistle.
After a possible lead cancelled out to Monza already after 12 minutes (Dany Mota’s position was irregular), it was Patrick Cutrone who put the hosts ahead in the 85th minute with a classy strike after an equally beautiful action by Alvarez. Juve Stabia managed to equalize in the 90′ when Burnete took advantage of Gabrielloni’s assist to anticipate Lucchesi and give the Campanians a few minutes of hope. By virtue of the 2-2 draw in the first leg and the final Serie B standings, however, another Gialloblù goal would be needed. Instead, it was Cutrone again who scored, collecting Colombo’s assist at 96′ on Burnete’s own mistake and completing the Brianza celebration. In the final, now, the challenge will be against Palermo or Catanzaro with the Calabrian favorites to pass the round.
An epilogue that rewards the solidity and the ability to suffer of Monza, already protagonist of a similar comeback in the first leg played at the Menti di Castellammare di Stabia. On that occasion, the Brianzoli had gone down by two goals – with goals by Mosti at 57′ and Okoro at 68′ – before recovering with Carboni at 77′ and Delli Carri at 89′, snatching a 2-2 that proved invaluable. Juve Stabia, for its part, had paid dearly for that denouement also on the disciplinary level, with the expulsion of sporting director Lovisa and the disqualification of Diakité, cautioned as a cautioned player and therefore absent in the return.
Cutrone confirms himself as the great dragger of this Monza: arrived on loan from Como in January – with obligation of redemption upon the occurrence of certain conditions – the 1998 class striker has been able to impose himself as a reference point of the Brianza attack. A player with an impressive resume, who grew up in Milan’s youth academy and was able to score 28 goals in 169 appearances in Serie A, as well as being elected MVP of Serie B in Como’s promotion season. In the cadetteria, before this season, he had already netted 23 goals in 67 games.
Monza’s path to this final had started with the advantage of direct access to the semifinals, by virtue of the third place won in the regular season. Juve Stabia, on the other hand, had had to get through the preliminary round by beating Modena 1-0 at Braglia thanks to an acrobatic goal by Kevin Zeroli – a midfielder class of 2005 on loan from Milan – that came in the 86th minute.
Now for Monza the final chapter opens, with first leg scheduled for May 24 and return on May 29. The opponent will almost certainly be Catanzaro, which in the other semifinal overwhelmed Palermo 3-0 in the first leg with a double from Iemmello and Liberali’s trio of goals, making the return scheduled for Wednesday night at Palermo’s Renzo Barbera almost a formality. Should the Calabrians pass the round, however, the regulations will smile on Palermo in the event of an overall draw after the 180 minutes of the final, the Rosanero being the better placed of the two. The stakes are very high: the third and final place available for Serie A, after Venezia and Frosinone have already secured direct promotion at the end of the regular season.
