Mission accomplished for Juventus Women.
Their goal was to start 2023 by reaching the quarter-final stage of the Coppa Italia and they did so with a convincing victory over Brescia on Sunday, following up their win over Cittadella in recent days. Next up for Joe Montemurro's side in the cup will be a contest with Chievo.
Juve went into the match against Brescia with a few changes from the Coppa Italia opener against Cittadella, with some players rested ahead of the league campaign's resumption and opportunities given to younger players. Elisa Pfattner was one of those selected and she grabbed her opportunity with both hands.
The start of the match was short on excitement, but Juventus stayed in firm control of proceedings. Lisa Boattin saw an early effort deflected out for a corner as she attempted to break the deadlock, but it was one of few attempts in the early going. There was no deflection, however, on Pfattner's cross in the 14th minute, which completely fooled the opposition goalkeeper and ended up in the net to give Juventus a valuable advantage that they took into the half-time interval.
The second period began in a similar way to how the first ended, with Juve failing to really lift their intensity. They were punished on 57 minutes when Luana Merli brought the home side level, finishing well after being played in for a one-on-one.
Montemurro's side were measured in their response and bided their time for an opportunity to strike. That chance came with just under 20 minutes to play, when Boattin crossed with pinpoint accuracy for Linda Sembrant to finish and give Juventus a 2-1 advantage.
Having gone close to adding a third with a splendid strike from the edge of the box, Valentina Cernoia was the provider on 86 minutes, sending in a corner that Cristiana Girelli headed into the net. Boattin then put the result beyond all doubt in stoppage time, with a fantastic volleyed finish.
The 4-1 victory continues an impressive start to 2023 for Juve Women, who can switch their focus to the return of Serie A action when they welcome Sassuolo to Vinovo on 15 January.
Coppa Italia Calcio Femminile A-B, - 3ª giornata- Fase a gironi
Brescia - Juventus 1-4
Campo Sportivo “Mario Rigamonti”, Buffalora (BS)
Domenica 8 gennaio 2023, ore 14.30
Marcatori: 13’ pt Pfattner (J), 12’ st Merli L. (B), 26’ st Sembrant (J), 40’ st Girelli (J), 45’ st Boattin (J)
Brescia: Lugli, Ghisi, Brayda (Cap) (38’ st Farina), Merli C.(16’ st Bianchi), Fracaros (16’ st Viscardi), Galbiati, Ripamonti (38’ st Barcella), Perin, Merli L (31’ st Pasquali), Hjohlman, Magri. A disposizione: Ferrari, Pedrini, Fracas, Lonati. Allenatore: Ashraf Seleman
Juventus: Pedersen, Rosucci (Cap) (1’ st Gama), Girelli, Caruso (21’ st Cernoia), Boattin, Grosso, Beerensteyn, Pfattner (29’ st Bertucci), Sembrant (29’ st Schatzer), Duljan (21’ st Bonfantini), Forcinella. A disposizione: Aprile, Cantore, Lundorf, Zamanian. Allenatore: Joseph Montemurro
Arbitro: Alberto Poli
Assistenti: Marco Munitello, Simone Milillo
Ammoniti: 32’ st Ripamonti (B)
Prossimo impegno
Campionato Serie A femminile TIM, 13° giornata – girone di ritorno*
Juventus - Sassuolo*
Domenica 15 gennaio 2023, Campo Ale & Ricky, Vinovo (TO), ore 14.30