UNIONE SPORTIVA CREMONESE (Giovanni Zini Stadium)

SERIE B, UNIONE SPORTIVA CREMONESE 2-1 UNIONE SPORTIVA ALESSANDRIA, ATTENDANCE: 6,311

As travel restrictions to Italy were slightly relaxed in March, the seeds for this trip were planted by an FC United of Manchester supporting mate, who suggested to me a trip to Milan to watch their game at the Arena Civica. It was then pointed out to me that there was a full midweek programme in Serie B so, depending how the finalised schedule panned out, that opened up the possibility of a few more games. Suddenly a trip to the Bel Paese became a no-brainer.

When the fixture schedule was confirmed it allowed the opportunity to take in three games and the first of these was South East of our base in Milan, in the city of Cremona.

Cremona is famous as the home of traditional violin making and was the birthplace of Antonio Stradivari, the most legendary instrument maker of them all. Unfortunately the Violin Museum was closed so, after a visit to the Cathedral, followed by some pre-match beers, we headed up to the ground. It was here we had a slight problem.

My mate had left his passport at the hotel so, because of a lack of identification, they refused to sell him a ticket for the match so he had to head back to the bar to drown his sorrows. Luckily a local family having a dinner took pity on him so at least he had some free food a drink to console himself with!

Unione Sportiva Cremonese were founded in 1903 and were inaugural members of Serie A in 1929 but, save for a few seasons here and there, they have spent most of their history below the top flight. Their most recent spell in Serie A was between 1993 and 1996 during which time they also lifted the Anglo-Italian at Wembley, beating Derby County 3-1 to lift the trophy 1993.

Cremonese have played at the Stadio Giovanni Zini since it was opened in 1929, the ground being named after the Cremonese goalkeeper who died during World War I. The ground has been redeveloped in recent years, leaving the capacity at just over 20,000, with the only terracing remaining being behind both the goals. Naturally the home ultras gravitate to the Nord Curva.

This season the I Grigiorossi could be set to return to the top flight of Italian football. As of this evening, there are six games left to play and Cremonese sit top of Serie B. It is very tight at the top of table with just five points separating the top five. The equation was straightforward though - keep winning and there is nothing any other team can do.

The visitors tonight, U.S. Alessandria needed a win for entirely different reasons as they are just a couple of points above the relegation zone.

Luca Strizzolo (28) rolled the ball into the net to give Cremonese the lead, this was at the second attempt after his initial effort was saved. Cedric Gondo received two yellow cards in 14 minutes to reduce the homesters to 10 men just before half time.

However, within a couple of minutes of the restart, Gianluca Gaetano (47) made it 2-0, slotting home after a mazey run through the Alessandria defence. The visitors quickly responded and Simone Palombi (49) fired home an effort which squirmed through Marco Carnesecchi into the goal, definitely a howler by the goalkeeper.

Despite some late pressure, Alessandria never really looked like grabbing an equaliser and the homesters held on to remain top of the table.

The last train back to Milan was at 2130 and the station was an easy 20 minute walk from the ground, so the train was comfortably made meaning there was was time for a few beers before bedtime.

Match highlights can be found by clicking here