What should have been a confidence-building performance for Andrija Novakovich and Frosinone ended as a humiliating loss, as they were shut out by relegation-bound Crotone on Tuesday evening.
FC Crotone 2 – 0 Frosinone
Novakovich started at the tip of Frosinone’s attack in place of injured Gabriel Charpentier, however had a disappointing outing, not managing even a single shot in his 90 minutes of play.
While the promotion-hunting guests predictably dominated the overall run of play against their relegation-bound opponents, they were largely toothless, managing fewer shots than their hosts, and ultimately falling to a shut-out loss.
After the teams traded early chances, the hosts took the lead after 15 minutes thanks to sloppy play by Frosinone’s keeper Stefano Minelli.
Having replaced erstwhile starter Federico Ravaglia between the sticks in early-March, Minelli did his best to return to the team’s bench by instinctively storming to the edge of the area to meet forward Mirko Maric on a breakaway.
Instead of getting a hand on the ball, the keeper instead upended the attacker, leading to Maric putting his team ahead with a competent shot to the lower right corner.
Frosinone never looked as though they had the ruthlessness to fight back from the deficit, with Crotone creating the only real danger on their continued forward push.
They were duly rewarded three minutes after the halftime break, albeit in standard form, with Vladimir Golemic stooping low to get his head on a corner from Nahuel Estévez at the far post for the 2-0 lead.
Frosinone’s best chance to pull one back came late, when a shot from distance hit the crossbar and landed at the foot of Luigi Canotto who had space in the middle of the box, however he made a mess of his attempted volley, sending it far too high to be of any danger.
In the end, Crotone held on for the surprisingly easy win. The result still leaves Frosinone in the six-team playoff group, however their position might become more precarious pending the outcome of the spate of Wednesday-evening games.
They are back in action on Saturday when they host another likely playoff team Benevento. With usual forward starter Charpentier expected back form his minor muscle issue, Novakovich will likely return to his super-sub role.
Notes
Anthony Fontana will not be available for Ascoli when they host Pisa on Tuesday evening.
