3.30pm 11 October 2023
Coppa Italia Promozione (Sicily), Round of 32, Second Leg
Città Di Avola 2020 1 Frigintini 0 (2-2 on aggregate, Avola won on away goals) (att 300)
Having chosen the coastal town of Avola as our base for a holiday in Sicily I got lucky that they had a home midweek cup tie during our stay.
Although billed as the ‘Coppa Italia’, the competition seems to be for all the island’s clubs in the Promozione leagues. These sit two levels below Serie D, and there are four that cover Sicily.
I’ve no idea whether winning the cup, or reaching the latter stages, allows acces to the main Coppa Italia, or if there’s any follow up competition for the various regional winners.
I’m similarly baffled why a cup for teams who are, officially at least, amateur is played on midweek afternoons. Admission was free, and there were more than enough locals without work commitments to generate a decent atmosphere.
Both sides went into the game unbeaten and towards the top of their league. Not surprisingly Avola, trailing 2-1 from the first leg, showed more attacking initiative in a first half that ended goalless.
The game became livelier in the second half, and even more so when the home side scored, a far post header following a cross, after an hour. I wasn’t sure if a tied aggregate score might mean extra time or penalties but, as the final whistle got nearer, the home side’s tactics made it clear their away goal in the first leg would be the deciding factor.
A game that had been tetchy thoughout threatened to boil over in the closing minutes. There was some unpleasantness, which I subsequently read included accusations of racism, as Avola celebrated after the final whistle.
Città Di Avola play at a stadium on the edge of town. It’s an artificial pitch and for this game, and presumably most fixtures, just the main seated stand was open for spectators. There are more seats, uncovered and on a few steps of terracing, behind a fence on the opposite side.
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