Tanner Tessmann played the full game for Venezia while Andrija Novakovich and Gianluca Busio saw substitute action, as the Winged Lions overturned a two-goal deficit to earn a valuable point against Parma.
Venezia 2 – 2 Parma
FC Venezia was able to turn around a two-goal deficit on Monday against sixth-place Parma, with head coach Paolo Vanoli running the “three-yank” formation to end the game with Tanner Tessmann, Andrija Novakovich and Gianluca Busio all on the field.
Tessmann was the only American of the trio to start the game and had an active, although hardly error-free outing. He had a total of 68 touches – the most for the team outside of the back line – while completing 79% of his 57 passing attempts, seven of 17 long balls, and taking one shot.
However, he conceded the penalty that led to the opening Parma goal, for which he picked up his third yellow of the season, committed three fouls, and won just two of seven duels.
In his half of play in the midfield, Busio was heavily involved in the action, with 40 touches, 30 completions in 35 attempts, and one shot off-target. Novakovich saw just under a half-hour of action, completing five of eight passes, and winning six of eight duels.
After a fairly tame first half that saw only a small handful of chances on either side of the field, Tessmann barely clipped the heel of Simon Sohm as he charged forward towards a cross by Franco Vázquez as the break approached.
A subsequent VAR review confirmed the slight contact by the American, and Vázquez fired his attempt straight down the middle for the 1-0 lead.
Busio entered immediately after the half in place of midfielder Magnus Kofod Andersen, however the visitors quickly doubled their lead five minutes later.
Receiving the ball at the edge of the area from Sohm, Vázquez powered past Venezia defender Luca Ceppitelli and rounded keeper Jesse Joronen before angling a shot from near the endline towards the far post for the 2-0 lead.
Three minutes past the hour, Novakovich completed the American on-field trio, coming in for the ineffective Dennis Tørset Johnsen at forward, after which the hosts began to mount their come-back in the 70th minute.
Nicholas Pierini slid a short cross from the right towards the near post, where both Novakovich and Joel Pohjanpalo were lurking with only keeper Leandro Chichizola and a single Parma defender within range. The Finnish international got the last touch after a slight deflection by Chichizola, poking the ball over the line to cut the lead.
Then with eight minutes on the clock, Pohjanpalo looked to have scuffed a shot from just outside the area, however his possible miscue took a fortunate roll forward into Pierini’s path for a short finish to earn the point.
The draw means that Venezia finish the round and reach the midway point of the season in 17th place, on 20 points from their first 19 games. Still, they are only six points out of the promotion playoff spots, and have some optimism for making a push in the new year after taking 11 points from their last six games.
The team will resume their Serie B season on January 16 with a visit to Genoa, but will hit the road for a high-profile friendly against Bayer Leverkusen on January 7.
Notes
Anthony Fontana is still listed as injured for Ascoli and did not suit up for their 1-0 home loss to second-place Reggina. They close the first half of the Serie B season in ninth, just a point out of the promotion playoff spots.
