Verona – It was the match point for salvation: Genoa takes the open-field smash after a long battle. And they go on to win in Verona, a treacherous field given what Hellas have managed to do in recent months: a team dismantled in January and rebuilt in a few weeks, capable under the guidance of Baroni of remaining in full swing to avoid relegation. Grifone had a very different ranking but a good result was needed, after the last few matches which were not fully satisfactory and the injuries which took away a good part of Gilardino's offensive potential. But what was available was enough to get the better of Hellas, in a Bentegodi seething with typhus, even with some of the usual crashes (“You are red of m…”, one of the chants repeated by the Veronese curve, tending on the far right, addressing the Genoans).
Ekuban scores, Gudmundsson scores again. As happened in Reggio Emilia in December, in what will be remembered as “The Christmas miracle”: Gud's penalty and the winning goal by Ekuban, who hadn't scored for six months. This time it was the Italian-Ghanaian, born in Villafranca 20 km from Verona and raised in the city of Verona, who put a match back on track that had gone quite badly, complicated by a number of defensive errors after a handful of minutes: ball loss by Gudmundsson on the opposing midfield, long ball for Bonazzoli with Bani clearly out of position; it would be a situation that could be remedied if Martinez didn't invent a meaningless exit, completely out of time; door wide open for the attacker, who slowly puts it down from the edge of the area and makes it 1-0. A gift that infuriates Gilardino, who is already quite excited about his less-than-brilliant start.
However time is on the Griffin's side, who slowly contains Verona's outbursts and then begins to push him towards his own area. First there is Vasquez's crossbar, the sixth wood hit by the Mexican in this championship. Then, at the end of the first half, here is the acceleration of Messias, the ball to Haps who crosses insidiously, Ekuban is lucky in the rebound with Lazovic but he has the merit of believing in it and his generosity is rewarded. At the start of the second half the winning goal was scored by Gudmundsson, very ready to collect Montipò's short rebound after a great insertion into the area by Vasquez. «It was really important to win and it wasn't an easy match. I think Verona played well and we didn't play so well. Personally I think it was one of the worst games I've played this season, but I'm happy with the three points and the goal. It's nice to end the week like this”, admits the Icelander, who had been forced to slow down during the week due to a bit of flu.
«Saved? Maybe we could say it, but it's not like we're going on holiday tomorrow. We want to try to climb the rankings and finish the season well.” The market rumors didn't stop him. «It's not easy to stay focused, but I want to continue doing well with Genoa, then we'll see at the end of the season. But the most important thing is to continue winning matches against Genoa. Stay in Genoa? I don't know, we'll see at the end of the season.” The future of Ekuban is also still to be defined, with the company working on a contract renewal. «Three points away from home are very important for the standings. For me it was a derby, I'm happy to have helped Genoa score points. The future? We've started talking, there's nothing definitive yet, we'll see what happens at the end of the season”, explains the attacker, who returned during the week after a stop due to injury and was ready for the appointment. He wins against Genoa and can look to the future with great enthusiasm, the table smiles at a newly promoted team that has never suffered throughout the championship and has achieved its objective well in advance. Now there is the possibility of planning with the right times, the first piece will be the future of the coach. A first meeting with his agent, Moggi jr, is scheduled for this week. To start a new journey together with Gila.
#Ekuban #Gudmundsson #Genoa
