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Sunday, March 13, 2011

Torino 0-2 Livorno

If Torino fans were hoping that the appointment of Giuseppe Papadopulo in mid week would lead to a change in fortunes, then for the time being at least, they were mistaken. Torino's home defeat against fellow playoff chasers Livorno was their third consecutive defeat, and their 12th defeat in all this season, meaning they have now lost more games than they have won in the league.

Torino had started brightly in the first game under their new coach, and Rolando Bianchi could have given them the lead after just two minutes, but his header was comfortably saved by Alfonso De Lucia in the Livorno goal. Bianchi's strike partner Mirko Antenucci also came close to giving the home side the lead, as he latched on to a long ball, but saw his shot go just wide of the far post. Livorno also had their chances in a feisty but entertaining first half, but Francesco Tavano somehow failed to hit the target when it seemed easier to score, sadly for Toro however, he would compensate for that miss in the second half.

Livorno took the lead ten minutes into the second half, as former Torino player Ahmed Barusso's long pass found an on running Franceso Tavano who finished calmly. The Torino defence seemed to be distracted by the presence of a Livorno attacker who was in offside position, but their was no debate about whether Tavano was offside when the pass was played, because he clearly was. However there were more complaints regarding the second Livorno goal that came from the penalty spot after Agostino Garofalo was adjudged to have fouled Federico Dionisi in the area. Whilst it looked as though Garofalo had made contact with the ball, Torino were also upset with the fact that in the build up to the move, the linesman had raised his flag, but then looked to have changed his mind and play continued, despite several Torino players seeming to stop when they saw the flag go up.

This defeat has moved Torino down to 11th position in the table, though incredibly just two points from 6th place, which emphasises just how tight the Serie B table is at the moment. Whilst Torino's next two games are both away from home, the fact they are against Frosinone and Ascoli, two teams in the relegation zone may give their fans added hope they may get back to winning ways sooner rather than later.

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