hamšík the napoli hero as slovan sunk published: thursday 2 october 2014, 21.17cet šk slovan bratislava 0-2 ssc napoli slovakia captain marek hamšík scored one and made the other on return to his homeland to help the italian side to all three points.
by rastislav hribik from štadión pasienky
• napoli top group i after comfortable win against slovan • marek hamšík scores one and makes the other on return to homeland • substitute gonzalo higuaín scores napoli's second a minute after coming on • visitors make it two wins from two; slovan without a point • next games: slovan v sparta praha, young boys v napoli (23 october)
ssc napoli's slovakian captain marek hamšík scored one and made the other on a return to his homeland to give his side a deserved group i win against šk slovan bratislava.
having picked up just one victory in their last nine games in all competitions, the home side were visibly nervous in the opening minutes. the visitors dominated the pace, controlled the ball and within minutes created openings. duván zapata fired off target while jonathan de guzmán saw one effort well saved by dušan perniš and another blocked by a defensive body.
seydouba soumah was left isolated up top for slovan, however his hard work helped him set up lester peltier but the rare opening was shut down swiftly by converging napoli defenders. it was hamšík who broke the deadlock on 35 minutes, the midfielder leaping high above perniš to meet kalidou koulibaly's ball and head the opener.
slovan were much more energetic after the interval and were far more successful in attack. three half chances all fell to marko milinković, but the no11 could not take advantage of any. hamšík was at the heart of it as the italian club doubled their advantage and sealed the points, laying a cross on perfectly for gonzalo higuaín which allowed the argentinian to nod in just a minute after entering from the bench on 74 minutes.
he may have masterminded their team's defeat, but when slovakia captain hamšík departed with 11 minutes to go he received a standing ovation from the home crowd, his manager rafael benítez looked equally pleased after seeing his side earn their second win of the section from two games.
