Giampaolo rues Samp misfortune: “We need to hang in there”

Speaking to the media following Sampdoria’s 2-1 loss away at Cagliari, Marco Giampaolo rued his side’s bad luck after an error from Emiliano Viviano gifted the hosts all three points.

“He misjudged the bounce, he perhaps should have opened up his foot to get more on the ball. He’s earned us points in many other situations. These things happen,” the Sampdoria coach said.

“Things aren’t going our way at the moment. Three of our last four defeats have come in the last few minutes. Tonight’s result is just because of an unfortunate incident. But it was positive to see the team’s reaction.”

Giampaolo warned that Cagliari would be tough opponents before the game, and they proved to be just that: “They were on top of us very early on. They harnessed their physical strength, but we managed to get back at them.”

“We need to overcome this bad luck we’ve been having,” he continued.

“Against Roma, we conceded the third goal 30 seconds from the end. In the Milan game we had a fair goal disallowed.”

Giampaolo admitted that periods of this kind can be demoralising, but calls on his side to stay strong.

“Winning gives you that extra strength. We need to hang in there.”