roma pinch a point published: tuesday 20 november 2001, 23.00cet
brazilian midfielder emerson da rosa's wonderfully-executed overhead kick earned as roma a 1-1 draw with galatasaray sk.
brazilian midfielder emerson da rosa popped up deep into stoppage time with a wonderfully-executed overhead kick to force a 1-1 draw at the ali sami yen stadium in this uefa champions league group b second group stage match between galatasaray sk and as roma.
perez darts in galatasaray were to take the lead in tuesday night's match courtesy of some neat interplay on 22 minutes. hasan sas played the corner short, ayhan akman turned cafu delightfully and the advancing sébastien perez was on hand to blast home from close range, with francesco antonioli desperately trying to avert the inevitable.
dangerous crosses roma did have their moments with gabriel batistuta first losing his footing as he tried to latch on to a superb damiano tommasi cross on 27 minutes and captain francesco totti was only inches away from a batistuta centre four minutes later.
defensive mix-up with only seven minutes to go to the break, the home side went close to extending their lead. ümit karan did the hard work and his pace caused havoc in the roma defence with antonioli and tommasi completely losing their bearings.
capello masterstroke the introduction of antonio cassano was to change things as the young star of italian football began to dazzle, setting up a super chance for cafu on 56 minutes but the brazilian could not add the finishing touch.
brazilian link-up the visitors then fashioned another gilt-edged chance a few minutes later, this time the tireless cafu found aldair, but the 35-year-old veteran skied his header when he had all the time in the world to pick his spot.
antonioli heroics galatasaray were still dangerous and could have so easily wrapped things up on 81 minutes. sergen yalçin chested down a long ball from hasan sas and volleyed immaculately on the turn, only to see his goal-bound effort miraculously tipped over the bar by antonioli.
mondragon mishap his opposite number, faryd mondragon, had looked shaky on crosses all night and emerson took full advantage to pull roma level deep into stoppage time with an exquisite bicycle kick, which dipped under the bar and into the empty net. the home side will feel somewhat aggrieved but all credit to fabio capello's boys for a fighting second-half performance.
