Samp held to first draw of pre-season by Trapani

After racking up four wins in their opening four friendly matches, Sampdoria had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Serie B outfit Trapani today.

Walter Zenga opted to ring the changes following yesterday’s 3-0 win over Triglav but there was little action of note until the 42nd minute, when Basso brought down Mesbah in the box. Soriano sent Nicolas the wrong way from the spot to give Samp the lead.

After waving goodbye to president Massimo Ferrero, who departed by helicopter from Pinzolo’s second pitch during the interval, the Blucerchiati came back out for the second half looking for another, only to find themselves pegged back shortly before the hour mark. Montalto fired home from the edge of the box to make it 1-1, becoming the first player to score against Sampdoria in pre-season so far.

t was to be a lively end to the game, with Mesbah having a goal chalked off for offside, Okaka shooting just wide and Trapani keeper Nicolas denying Pereira and then Muriel a potential winner as it finished all square.

The players have been given tomorrow morning off and will report for training at 17:30.

Sampdoria line-up (4-3-1-2): Brignoli (Falcone 77); Pereira, Salamon, Coda, Mesbah; Ivan, Palombo (Krsticic 62), Duncan; Soriano (Wszolek 70); Bonazzoli (Muriel 62), Okaka.