A laugh a minute in the swamp that was the San Paolo -- that is, if you aren't a Napoli supporter. All of the partenopei were just holding their breaths, desperate for the win that would keep them solidly in third place, eight above Lazio and one point back of Inter Milan. Genoa, however, had come with the intention of keeping all balls as far away from the net as possible, and they were helped on by a pitch that encouraged the players to slide out of play and into the advertising boards. Balls skipped and slid, leaving drops of water in their wake. For the vast majority of the match, it looked as though scoring would be impossible.
Napoli Vs. Genoa: Napoli Keep Third Place With 1-0 Win, Courtesy of Marek Hamsik
But a late spell of pressure by Napoli paid off. Edinson Cavani couldn't get his head on a close-range shot. Ezequiel Lavezzi saw one saved that was surely going in. And so the weight of Napoli's Champions League dreams fell to Marek Hamsik. Salvatore Aronica sent a beautiful cross in, which Cavani headed to the path of Hamsik. The Slovakian, turned, twisting into the ball with his shoulder to knock it down. Eduardo dove for the ball but couldn't stop the shot from settling into the far corner of the net.
Napoli being Napoli yet again, with one more winner in the last ten minutes of a match. Usually the credit goes to Cavani, but this night, in the raging storm of the San Paolo, full applause to Hamsik, who still managed to keep his hair standing straight in the face of adversity.
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