Keys to Victory: Comfortable in the cup!

Roma Women confirmed their place in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia with a convincing 10-1 aggregate win over San Marino Academy.

With progression practically already secured after the first leg ended 6-1, the return fixture was an opportunity for some lesser-used players to impress.

It took until the second half to break the deadlock, though, with Annamaria Serturini benefitting from some good work from Lindsey Thomas. Amalie Thestrup made it two shortly after, before a pair of midfielders who have seen less gametime recently both made a scoring impression – with Claudia Ciccotti and Vanessa Bernauer ensuring the game finished 4-0.

The result means Roma go into the international break on the back of a five-game winning run, having only lost once in 2020 so far.

Key Player

Seizing her opportunity to come back into the starting lineup after a few weeks on the bench, Annamaria Serturini offered Roma another dimension in attack.

The left winger was confident and direct in her dribbling, and managed to get on the end of a couple of chances.

It was Serturini who got Roma in front just after the break, with a confident finish at the nearpost after breaking away from her marker.

Roma’s top scorer last season, Serturini has had to be a little more patient to get the goals recently, but by giving her side the lead, she finally got off the mark for 2020.

She used the goal as a springboard to keep getting involved in Roma’s attacks, working hard down the left-hand side and pushing for further contributions.

Key Moment

Another of several players to take their opportunity to remind everyone of their capabilities was Claudia Ciccotti – and her goal was the pick of the bunch.

Having found a space on the right-hand side of the box, the ball fell kindly for the Italian midfielder, who showed excellent control by volleying it back across goal with her first touch.

Ciccotti had not scored for Roma in any of her previous seven appearances this season, so even though the game had already been won when her goal went in, it will have been a significant personal moment for the 26-year-old.

And coming just after the hour mark, it capped off Roma’s quickfire start to the second half.

Getting three goals inside the opening 20 minutes after the break once again showed how the Giallorosse can assert their dominance in games after taking the lead.

Key Decision

While Roma had not been complacent in the first half, the fact that the score was still goalless suggested that something needed to change to ensure the momentum built up in recent weeks was kept up.

Betty Bavagnoli brought Agnese Bonfantini off for Lindsey Thomas at half-time, and the change had an instant impact.

Thomas’ pace was the inspiration behind Roma’s opener, as she made her way down the right wing before cutting the ball back across for Serturini. The winger duly gave Roma the lead just three minutes into the second half.

Thomas went onto provide another assist, for Roma’s last goal, finished by Vanessa Bernauer.

The substitution was an authoritative decision from the coach, as Bonfantini has been on a superb scoring run recently and surely would have liked to extend it, but the impact that Thomas made – coupled with the fact that the two forwards who stayed on at half-time, Serturini and Thestrup, both scored – showed that Bavagnoli had made a shrewd choice.

Key Fact

Overall, Bavagnoli made the most of her chance to rotate things, and doing so allowed two players to get off the mark on certain fronts.

With captain Elisa Bartoli rested, Eleonora Cunsolo was handed a start at left-back – marking the first time she has played from the first minute in her two seasons at Roma.

Cunsolo started to build up a rhythm down the left channel, drifting forward into advanced territory in support of Annamaria Serturini.

Another player whose season has been disrupted by injury is Heden Corrado, who was one of the most impressive young players of last year. She was finally able to make her season debut as a substitute, coming on in the second half.

With the advantage so large from the first leg, Roma utilised all their options, allowing the likes of Corrado and Cunsolo to make up for lost time and gain some valuable experience with the group.