Juventus Pay Spot Penalty As Rosenborg Snatch Draw
TRONDHEIM, Norway, September 25 (AFP)
Norway's Rosenborg were thanking their lucky stars Tuesday when they salvaged a 1-1 draw in a Champions League Group E clash with Juventus of Italy.
The Italians from Turin had dominated the match, hitting the woodwork three times before Alessandro Del Piero finally scored what looked like a winner after 84 minutes.
Del Piero, one of the survivors of the team that won the 1995-96 European Cup Final in coach Marcello Lippi's previous stint in charge, finished well to cap a fine individual performance.
But within four minutes the side from Trondheim squared the match when Bent Skammelsrud converted a penalty after goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon had committed a foul.
Lippi had dispensed with the three-pronged attack he had used in the 3-2 victory over Scotland's Celtic last week, leaving Chilean Marcelo Salas on the bench and pairing Trezeguet up front with Del Piero.
Del Piero instigated the first real move of the night when his short diagonal pass put in Gianluca Zambrotta on the left wing and the Italian international midfielder's shot drifted just wide of Rosenborg goalkeeper Arni Arason's left-hand post.
Lippi, compensating for the absence of suspended Dutchman Edgar Davids and Czech Pavel Nedved, had played Uruguayan Fabian O'Neill alongside Alessio Tacchinardi in midfield.
And the Latin American nearly created an opening when he tumbled under a challenge in the penalty area but Dutch referee Jan Wegereef refused Juve's appeals.
Rosenborg's best effort of the first period came when former Celtic player Harald Brattbakk's shot deflected off a Juve player and drifted over the bar with goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon out of position.
The Norwegians replaced Roar Strand with Odd Inge Olsen at the interval but Juve still looked the more likely with Del Piero's shot turned behind by Arason.
The visitors from Turin then came the closest yet to scoring when a fine move involving Del Piero and Trezeguet ended with O'Neill crashing a shot against the crossbar.
That marked the end for O'Neill with Lippi playing his Salas card but Del Piero was in fine form, hitting the woodwork and then forcing another save from Arason at the expense of a corner with a trademark freekick.
Frode Johnsen was cautioned, joining Juve's French defender Lilian Thuram in the book as the Scandinavians sought to stave off wave after wave of attacks from Juve while Zambrotta also earned a yellow card.
Lippi produced another change with Enzo Maresca replacing Cristian Zenoni while his Rosenborg counterpart Nils Arne Eggem took off Janne Saarinen and Dagfinn Enerly, bringing on Stale Stensaas and Bent Johnsen.
Orjan Berg became the next name in the book and again Juve struck the woodwork with Zambrotta this time the unlucky man.
But just as Lippi was beginning to despair up popped Del Piero with his goal. But it was short-lived relief for the coach as Skammelsrud levelled.
Juve, whose defeat of Celtic was down to a highly dubious penalty, appealed in injury time when Salas tumbled but this time the referee would not bail them out.
