Vásquez heads in 86th-minute winner as Genoa grinds past Südtirol in Coppa Italia

There were just four minutes left on the clock when Johan Vásquez found himself completely unmarked to head the ball home by the left post, sending relief through Luigi Ferraris. Genoa 1, Südtirol 0, with a goal that arrived in the 86th minute off a corner kick delivered into the box by David Puczka. It was the reward for a match in which Genoa threw everything at their opponents but for far too long couldn't find a way to break the deadlock in this Coppa Italia clash.

The home side's dominance was evident from the opening whistle. Genoa camped in their opponents' half and began stacking up chances: Tommaso Baldanzi had already given a warning sign by the 6th minute, and before the quarter-hour mark both Samuel Wiafe and Baldanzi himself had tested Alessandro Plizzari without success. Südtirol, well organized at the back, defended and looked to hit on the counter, though without much sustained threat.

The first half ended scoreless despite a flood of Genoa attempts: Cody Drameh, Vítinha, Alessandro Marcandalli and Alex Amorim all tried their luck from various positions, several of them off corner kicks that kept coming again and again without reward. Südtirol barely showed up going forward, managing only a shot from Lorenzo Anghelè that flew well over the bar.

A second half of relentless pressure

The story didn't change much after the break. Genoa kept creating chances (Vítinha, Wiafe, Mario Mitaj, Alex Amorim) while Südtirol answered with isolated flashes, like a shot from Federico Davi that was saved by the visitors' own goalkeeper, or an attempt from Rares Burnete that was also turned away. Substitutions came in from both sides in search of fresh legs: Lorenzo Colombo, Stephan El Shaarawy, Junior Messias, Hamed Traoré and Johan Vásquez all came on for Genoa, while Südtirol shuffled their lineup with Kevin Zeroli, Salvatore Molina, Alvin Okoro and Bjarki Bjarkason.

The goal took its time arriving, but when it did, it was fully earned: yet another corner kick, one that seemed like just the latest in a long line of set pieces gone to waste, and this time Vásquez connected with a header to break the deadlock. Deep into stoppage time, with the score already in their favor, Traoré still rattled the post with a shot that could have extended the lead.

The numbers back up the dominance

Genoa's 27 shots to Südtirol's mere 5 tell much of the story: the home side laid siege but struggled to finish. That gap also shows up in the expected goals figures calculated after the match based on the shots taken: 2.35 for Genoa against just 0.42 for Südtirol, an estimate confirming that the home team created far more than it ultimately managed to put on the scoreboard.

The pre-match outlook had favored Genoa, giving them a 61% chance of victory, with 26% for a draw and 13% for a Südtirol win, alongside expected goals of 1.72 for the home side and 0.69 for the visitors. The final score fell short of those combined goal projections, but the outcome, a narrow Genoa win, matched what had been expected before kickoff.

Genoa moves forward in the Coppa Italia with a hard-fought win, built on a relentless effort that finally paid off with Vásquez's header, while Südtirol leaves Luigi Ferraris with the feeling of having held on almost until the very end against a wave of chances that was, sooner or later, bound to break through.