Lazio earn point at Samp

Lazio defender Lorik Cana's late equaliser denied Sinisa Mihajlovic a winning start to his tenure as Sampdoria coach.

Lazio defender Lorik Cana's late equaliser denied Sinisa Mihajlovic a winning start to his tenure as Sampdoria coach on Sunday. The hosts looked to be heading for an important win after substitute Roberto Soriano had given Samp a 67th-minute lead only for Cana to rescue a 1-1 draw for the Romans deep in stoppage time. Sampdoria played with 10 men from the 46th minute after Nenad Krsticic was shown a straight red card for a two-footed tackle on Cristian Ledesma. But Lazio failed to make the most of their numerical superiority and in the end will have been relieved to take home a point. The result halted a run of three straight defeats for Sampdoria, but was not sufficient to lift the Genoa outfit out of the relegation zone. Lazio remain winless on the road this season, and are eighth in the standings. Mihajlovic, a former Samp and Lazio player, took up the reins atthe Genoa side on Wednesday after the club dismissed Delio Rossi following a dismal start to the campaign that had seen them win just two out of 12 games. The hosts should have taken a 34th-minute lead when Manolo Gabbiadini fed Nicola Pozzi in the area. His shot towards the far post beat Lazio goalkeeper Federico Marchetti but was cleared by Abdoulay Konko. Before half-time Sergio Floccari forced Samp goalkeeper Junior Costa into a full-stretch save with a right-footed strike from 30 yards. Samp were dealt a blow one minute into the second half when Krsticic was sent off, but Mihajlovic's troops reacted and came close to breaking the deadlock on the hour mark. Angelo Palombo warmed the hands of Marchetti with a stinging drive from outside the area. Samp's efforts paid off seven minutes later when Lazio failed to clear their lines and Soriano headed the loose ball past Marchetti. Samp defended deeply but Lazio finally broke through with seconds remaining. Floccari fed Cana in the box and he struck a shot into the bottom left corner to silence the crowd at the Luigi Ferraris stadium.