Tanner Tessmann was in Venezia’s starting lineup while Gianluca Busio saw second-half sub action, as the Winged Lions were finally able to snap their long winless streak with a road win at Benevento.
Benevento 1 – 2 Venezia FC
With the early-season thoughts of a possible promotion back to Serie A having turned into a dogfight for survival, head coach Paolo Vanoli desperately needed his team to take the three points to turn around a winless streak that stretched back to mid-December.
Tanner Tessmann and Gianluca Busio both contributed to the overall strong performance of the club, despite neither having a direct role in the team’s two goals.
Tessmann started in Vanoli’s five-man midfield, playing 57 minutes, taking a pair of shots, making two clearances, winning six of seven duels while completing 77% of his 35 passes.
Busio entered the game at the 57-minute mark as a part of the trip-switch that saw Tessmann leave the field, and had a productive final half-hour, with a pair of shots, 11 of 13 passing, 20 total touches, and one drawn foul.
Andrija Novakovich remained on the bench while Patrick Leal and Jack de Vries continued to be absent from the gameday roster.
Nicholas Pierini opened the scoring for the visitors in the third minute with a perfect free kick that snuck through the wall on its way to the lower left corner of Alberto Paleari’s goal.
Then in the fourth minute of added time before the halftime break, Andrés Tello equalized for the hosts, finding space in the box to head in a corner from Frédéric Veseli.
However, Vanoli’s men would end up with their first win in nearly two months, after Finnish legend Joel Pohjanpalo stooped low to one-time Antonio Candela’s cross from six yards out.
Any lingering hopes Benevento had of a comeback were put to rest with one minute left in regulation, after Mattia Viviani was shown a second yellow for a petulant shove of Dennis Tørset Johnsen, leaving the visitors with little challenge to hold their lead until the final whistle.
Venezia are still in deep trouble after the win, although the points do give them a lifeline for jumping out of the relegation places. They are currently in 18th place on 24 points, however a tight lower half of the standings could see them jump clear if they can beat visiting 17th team SPAL Ferrara on Saturday.
Notes
Sergiño Dest was absent for AC Milan as the Rossoneri continued circling the drain, this time losing to city rivals Inter by a 1-0 margin in the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday night.
After a hugely successful stay in Ascoli that included two league appearances over the course of a year, Anthony Fontana parted ways with the club by mutual consent at the tail-end of the winter transfer window.
