CREMONA - A bitter defeat for Cremonese, beaten 1-0 at home by Juve Stabia on Saturday 24 October. Marco Bellich's 24th-minute goal decided a match in which the grey-and-reds dominated possession but failed to find a cutting edge. This loss confirms a difficult start to the season, with the team sitting 17th in Serie B on six points, having recorded one win, three draws and three losses from seven games.
Pecchia's side controlled the game for long periods, finishing with 55% possession and twenty attempts on the opposition goal. Only six of those were on target, thwarted by six saves from visiting goalkeeper Vuković. The manager set his team up in a 4-1-4-1, with Nasti as the lone striker supported by Jari Vandeputte and Tommaso Berti, who scored in the previous 3-1 loss at Pisa on 17 October.
The winning move came on a counter-attack, with Fabio Maistro setting up Bellich for the close-range finish. Cremonese responded by increasing the pressure, but Pecchia's second-half substitutions, including the introductions of Salvatore Elia and Federico Bonazzoli, the top scorer this season with three goals in five appearances, could not alter the scoreline. The only yellow card was shown to Juve Stabia's Leonardo Candellone for time-wasting in stoppage time.
The defeat leaves Cremonese in a difficult spot in Serie B. The team is now 17th in the standings with six points from seven games, thirteen points behind leaders Palermo. Their form over the last five matches reads two wins, one draw and two losses, with the last two ending in defeat. Their overall record shows six goals scored and ten conceded, for a goal difference of -4. Striker Federico Bonazzoli, with three goals in five appearances, remains the top scorer this season.
The next challenge comes quickly on Tuesday 27 October, an away trip to face second-placed Mantova. The team must react swiftly in a packed schedule. The match at the Stadio Danilo Martelli kicks off at 20:00 local time. To climb the table, Cremonese will need to find more consistency after a mixed run of recent results, which includes the 0-0 draw with Arezzo on 10 October and the 1-0 victory over Juventus on 2 October.
