Cagliari battle back

Goals from Marco Sau and Segundo Ibarbo helped Cagliari come from behind to beat Genoa 2-1.

Goals from Marco Sau and Segundo Ibarbo helped Cagliari come from behind to beat Genoa 2-1 at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium on Saturday to ease their relegation fears. Sebastian De Maio had put Genoa ahead in the third minute before Sau pulled Cagliari level before half-time. Ibarbo scored the winner eight minutes from time to hand his side their first win on the road this season. The victory was Cagliari's first under coach Ivo Pulga, who replaced sacked Diego Lopez earlier this month, and has lifted the Sardinian outfit to 15th place, eight points clear of the drop zone. Genoa are two spots and three points clear of Cagliari despite losing their past four league games. The hosts went into the game looking to end a poor run of form that had seen them win just one of their past seven games. It looked promising for Giam Piero Gasperini's side when they went ahead in the first opportunity of the game. Cagliari goalkeeper Vlada Avramov could not hold onto Luca Antonelli's powerful header and De Maio pounced on the loose ball to drill it into the top-left corner of goal. Genoa could have doubled their cushion in the 24th minute when a swift counter-attack resulted in a chance for Alberto Gilardino, but his goal-bound shot was blocked by defender Davide Astori. The visitors equalised in the 37th minute after the Genoa defence fell asleep leaving an unmarked Sau in the box to lob the ball past Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin. Cagliari pressed forward after the re-start and they could have gone ahead in the 54th minute but Sau's close-range shot went off target. At the other end, Avramov was forced to fully stretch to clear Gilardino's free-kick towards the far post. Cagliari searched for the winner and succeeded when Ibarbo's powerful right-footed volley from the heart of the area gave Perin no chance. The islanders defended deeply and held on without major scares.