BARI (Sep 15, Reuters) - Brazilian Edmundo scored twice as Fiorentina
recovered from a goal down and the dismissal of Italian defender Moreno Torricelli to
defeat Hajduk Split 2-1 in their UEFA Cup first round, first leg match on Tuesday.
With eight minutes left, the Brazilian fastened onto a pass from Gabriel Batistuta in the Hajkuk area and volleyed into the top corner to give the
Florentine club a fortuitous victory.
Until Edmundo had burst through the Croat's defense and calmly walked the ball around goalkeeper Tonci Gabric for his first in the 51st minute, the
Italian side had rarely looked like equalizing Jurica Vucko's first-half opener.
Banned from using their home ground for two matches following crowd trouble in a Cup Winners' Cup semifinal two years ago, Fiorentina were forced to
play the tie in an eerily almost empty San Nicola stadium at Bari with just 10,000 fans present.
The visitors dominated the first-half and almost took the lead in the 17th minute when Australian Josip Skoko saw his 25-metre shot graze the bar.
Vucko made amends for a host of missed chances on the stroke of half-time.
The striker held off defender Giulio Falcone and cut in from the left.
His first shot was well-blocked by goalkeeper Francesco Toldo but the on-rushing forward simply chipped the rebound over the helpless 'keeper
into the net. The same player should have added a second straight after the break but clean through with only Toldo to beat, Vucko hit straight at the goalkeeper.
Edmundo's surprise equaliser, totally against the run of play, failed to lift his side who badly missed their suspended Portuguese playmaker Rui
Costa and never managed to give the lethal Batistuta a clear sight of goal. Instead Hajduk continued to trouble the Florentine defence on the
counter-attack and, in the 73rd minute, Torricelli, signed from Juventus in the close season, was shown the red card for hauling back Vucko on the edge
of the area. Nine minutes later, however, Hajduk failed to deal with a long ball into their area, allowing Batistuta to set up Edmundo for the winner and make
amends for his sending off in a Serie A match last Sunday -- his first official game of the season. But the Brazilian's failure to convert an
easier chance in the last minute may yet prove costly. Hajduk must still fancy their chances of pulling back the deficit and building on an away
goal in the return match.

Fonte: TIFO-Net