10 May 2013
Ivo Pulga’s side have experienced mixed fortunes on their travels this season, registering four wins, six draws and eight losses which have produced 18 of the club’s overall points tally of 43.
Despite enjoying a successful campaign on home soil, there has been a notable drop in Cagliari’s defensive and offensive performance levels on the road. The team have found the back of the net on 18 occasions away from home, compared to 23 at the Stadio Is Arenas and have also shipped a greater amount of goals (30-24).
The Rossoblu failed to hit the ground running in the initial stages of the Serie A season after a sluggish start saw them accumulate just two points from the opening six games. This disappointing run of results included unsuccessful trips to Genoa (2-0), Palermo (1-1) and Milan (2-0).
However, Pulga’s men soon found their feet and responded strongly by achieving victories in each of their four championship outings in the month of Ocotber, featuring 0-1 away wins over both Torino and Sampdoria.
The October elation was short lived as the Sardinians then went two months without a triumph in the league, claiming just two of a possible 27 points and slipping to three 4-1 away defeats in the space of four matches. The sequence of results read: Fiorentina (4-1), Inter (2-2), Udinese (4-1), Parma (4-1).
The new year failed to spark a change in fortunes after a frenetic final ten minutes in the capital saw Lazio find the back of the net twice to run out winners as they overturned nine-man Cagliari’s advantage.
However, defeat at the Stadio Olimpico provided the stimulus for an impressive 13-match run that featured seven victories and just one defeat. These 26 points assured there were to be no last-minute relegation jitters in the camp as the club climbed from 18th to a position of mid-table security.
After a 1-1 draw in Bergamo against Atalanta, Cagliari registered back-to-back successes in mainland Italy, first against Roma (2-4) and then Pescara (0-2).
Despite a highly commendable string of results on their home patch in recent times, the Sardinian outfit have been unable to use that positive momentum to gain points on the road. They travel to Turin without an away win in five games, having found the back of the net just twice in these encounters.
