Lazio 1 : 1 Siena - Draw not good enough for Lazio
Posted Wednesday, May 02, 2012 by PA
Lazio's hopes of finishing third in Serie A are hanging by a thread after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Siena.
Mattia Destro gave the visitors a surprising 26th-minute lead before Cristian Ledesma converted a penalty shortly after the hour mark to equalise.
The Biancoceleste desperately sought a winner but could not find a way past Siena goalkeeper Gianluca Pegolo.
The result lifted Lazio to fifth in the standings, two points behind third-place Udinese and Napoli, who are fourth.
The top three teams in Serie A qualify for the Champions League but there are only two games remaining in the season.
Siena climbed to 13th place with the point.
Lazio were hindered by injuries and suspensions and came into the game on the back of Sunday's 2-0 loss at Udinese, their third in four games.
Captain Tommaso Rocchi could have put his team ahead in the third minute, but his powerful volley from 12 yards went just wide.
Rocchi then saw his close-range attempts kept out by Pegolo as Lazio looked more dangerous, but Siena took the lead with their first attempt on goal.
An unmarked Destro got his head to Andrea Rossi's cross and his powerful effort beat Lazio goalkeeper Albano Bizzarri.
Lazio reacted and Abdoulay Konko nodded Ledesma's cross over the bar.
The hosts suffered a setback before half-time when a muscular injury forced Rocchi off, with Libor Kozak on as his replacement.
Lazio almost equalised early in the second half when Javier Garrido fed Antonio Candreva in the area, but his 10-yard strike was saved by Pegolo.
The referee then pointed to the spot after Francesco Bolzoni brought down Candreva in the area.
Ledesma stepped up to take the resulting penalty and struck the ball towards the far post as Pegolo dived the other way.
Lazio could have gone in front in the 80th minute but Pegolo kept out Stefano Mauri's diagonal shot from the heart of the area.
With seconds remaining, Pegolo again denied Lazio the victory when he stretched to clear substitute Emiliano Alfaro's header from Ledesma's cross.
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