Udinese tops Napoli with Di Natale's late heroics
Soccer Betting Lines
02/07/2010 - Udine, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Antonio di Natale scored two goals in stoppage time to complete a hat trick as Udinese beat Napoli, 3-1, on Sunday at the Stadio Friuli.
Di Natale put Udinese in front after seven minutes when he followed up his own penalty miss to fire past Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis, but Cristian Maggio equalized in the 21st minute for the visitors before he picked up a second yellow card for diving right before halftime.
However, Udinese was unable to take advantage of the sending off until stoppage time, when Di Natale scored twice in a two-minute span to help his side snap a seven-game winless skid.
The win moves Udinese two points clear of the bottom three, while Napoli suffered its first defeat in Serie A in 15 games.
Udinese started well and their pressure was rewarded after seven minutes when Kwadwo Asamoah drew a penalty kick after he was held inside the area by Maggio.
Di Natale had his spot kick saved by De Sanctis, but he pounced on the rebound and put his team in front.
Napoli was level in the 21st minute when Marek Hamsik's through-ball picked out German Denis, whose shot was saved by goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, but it followed up by Maggio to even the match at 1-1.
The visitors then came within inches of taking the lead in the 44th minute when Fabio Quagliarella headed a cross from Denis off the crossbar, but less than one minute later, Napoli was reduced to 10 men when Maggio received a second booking for diving.
Neither side really gained an advantage throughout the second half, but the game came to life again in the 89th minute when Napoli's Michele Pazienza had his shot hit the post.
However, Pazienza was responsible for giving away a goal in the first minute of stoppage time when his poor clearance allowed Di Natale to beat De Sanctis.
The Udinese striker then completed his hat trick minutes later when he found the net once again on the counter attack.
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Big 12 Conference betting odds
Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State
Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.
Work left to do:
Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.
Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.
Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.