Luciano Spalletti was delighted to have quietened Napoli's critics after Fabian Ruiz's 94th-minute strike saw off Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico and propelled the visitors to the Serie A summit.
After Lorenzo Insigne had opened the scoring, Pedro's superb late volley looked to have denied Napoli a crucial victory, only for Fabian to curl in a brilliant last-gasp winner to put Spalletti's men ahead in an enthralling title race.
Napoli's return of 18 points from their eight league matches in 2022 is the best in Serie A, as they bid for a first Scudetto since the Diego Maradona era, while the late goal condemned Lazio to just their second home defeat of the league campaign.
Spalletti, who joined in with his players' wild celebrations after the goal, said after the contest Napoli deserved the victory, but he seemed more concerned with quietening those who have criticised his men.
"I think overall the team deserved the victory," he told DAZN.
"I want to underline that everyone keeps moaning that this team doesn't have character, it's soft, it's sluggish; I want to hear them say that now.
"This team definitely has character. We lost to Barcelona [4-2 in Naples] after getting a result at Camp Nou, it was my fault because I told them to take that approach.
"I see an ugly atmosphere around this team, people trying to say we lack character. I want to see them say that now.
"We got knocked down, we got straight back on our feet again and poured forward to find the winner. I don’t think it's a bad thing to say this was a deserved victory."
Fabian has now scored the most goals from outside the box in this Serie A this season, with all six of his strikes coming from range. Moreover, the midfielder has now netted as many goals this term as he did in the 2019-20 and the 2020-21 campaigns combined.
CONCACAF President to visit Jamaica next week
President of the governing body of football in the region, CONCACAF, Victor Montagliani, will be visiting Jamaica starting Wednesday October 16, 2024 for two days.
On his visit to Jamaica he will meet with the President of the Jamaica Football Federation, Michael Ricketts, the Prime Minister of Jamaica The Most Honorable Andrew Holness, and also the Minister of Sport, The Honorable Olivia Grange.
Montagliani will also watch some matches in the Jamaica Premier League.
“We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani to Jamaica. This is a momentous moment for us,” Ricketts said.
“The last time he was here was for the FIFA Football Summit in Montego Bay in 2018. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with CONCACAF,” he added.
JPL outfit Dunbeholden FC partnering with Dinthill Technical High School to provide counselling to players involved in fracas with match official
In an unfortunate event this September, two players from Dinthill Technical High School were banned from taking part in any Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) competition for one year, while a third was suspended for three games following an incident involving match officials at the end of a daCosta Cup match against McGrath High.
Reports stated that players were involved in a confrontation with the referee after the game, and it was alleged one of them physically assaulted the official.
Maalick Whyte and Shamair Hutchinson have both been banned from participating in any ISSA-run competitions for one-year, effective September 26, 2024, while Tyrese Gowe, was hit with the three-match suspension.
The Linstead-based school was also placed on a three-year probation and faces the possibility of suspension should its players breach the disciplinary code of conduct within the period of probation.
This incident also led to the Jamaica Referees Association members taking strike action, resulting in the postponement of matches across both the Manning and Dacosta Cup competitions.
Jamaica Premier League outfit Dunbeholden FC, club of Tyrese Gowe, is one of the groups trying to find ways to prevent this from happening again and have acted through their partnership with Counsellors Corner.
“The Management of the Dunbeholden Football Club thought it prudent to get involved in finding solutions and ways to help student athletes to becoming future stars and role models for their peers," the club said in a statement on Friday.
“Dunbeholden Football Club does not condone such behaviors in any way and, while we sympathize with the Dinthill family, we, through our partnership with Counsellors Corner will be partnering with Dinthill Technical High School to offer counselling to the students involved and also other student athletes as well as the wider school community,” it continued.
The club also announced that they are in the process of partnering with other schools, churches and companies in St. Catherine to try and decrease incidents of this nature from happening again.
Bielsa takes responsibility for misfiring display in shock Peru defeat
Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa shouldered full responsibility for his side's shock 1-0 defeat to Peru in their World Cup qualifying encounter.
Peru, winless in their previous nine matches, stole the points in the 88th minute when Miguel Araujo headed Piero Quispe's cross beyond the grasp of Sergio Rochet.
The Blanquirroja earned their first win over Uruguay since 2017, with the triumph moving them above last-placed Chile following their late defeat to Brazil.
Uruguay had a string of chances to take the lead in the first half, with Liverpool's Darwin Nunez and Manchester United's Manuel Ugarte coming closest.
But the Peruvians started brightly after the interval, with Edison Flores unable to guide his effort on target before Sergio Pena rippled the side-netting on the hour-mark.
With the match appearing to end all square, the Estadio Nacional de Lima was sent into raptures when Araujo was picked out to seal a memorable triumph for the hosts, powering home his first international goal.
Uruguay managed an expected goals (xG) tally of just 0.36 compared to Peru's 0.78, recording eight efforts with only three of those on target.
Despite dominating possession throughout the contest, Bielsa acknowledged that his game plan restricted his players from making a difference in the final third.
“I honestly feel responsible," Bielsa said.
"Due to the players we had in the midfield and in the offence, for such a small proportion of goal chances we created in the second half."
Uruguay's defeat sees them remain in third place in the qualifying standings, four points behind leaders Argentina.
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