Italy on Tuesday won a friendly at Ukraine 2-0 despite fielding an experimental squad and playing the last quarter hour with 10 men
Giuseppe Rossi put the Azzurri ahead after a brisk start from the hosts and substitute debutant Alessandro Matri secured the Azzurri's win after the dismissal of newcomer Davide Astori with a double booking.
Emiliano Viviano, who stood in for star custodian Gianluigi Buffon, seemed to dither when defender Yaroslav Rakitskiy hit the post with a bouncing shot, but reacted well on 15 minutes to
deflect a firm angled shot from Artem Fedetskiy.
Italy's first telling effort on 25 minutes was a central shot from Rossi, who three minutes later pounced on a loose ball after Alberto Aquilani fired onto the back of Alberto Gilardino.
After half-time, Rakitskiy threatened Viviano again with a taut free kick, while Yevhen Seleznyov on 65 minutes attempted a harmless overhead shot before Astori's dismissal.
Substitute Marko Devic tried again from the left side of the box, but Italy were deadly on a counter attack with 10 minutes left as substitute Sebastian Giovinco set up Matri with a deft heel touch and the striker laid in by the left post.
Coach Cesare Prandelli tried several new players after a 1-0 win at Slovenia that Friday pushed Italy close to qualification to Euro 2012.
I saw the boys fight orderly. I was glad to see them react despite the difficulties," Prandelli said. Rossi played a good game. He was in the right spots. It was the first game we played with this lineup and sometimes he and Aquilani were too close to each other."
The Azzurri command Group C with 13 points from five games, holding a five-point lead on chasers Slovenia and Serbia halfway through the qualification phase.
They play their next qualifier at home to Estonia in early June.
As co-hosts with Poland, Ukraine have already qualified for the Euro 2012 finals being played next year from June 8 to July 1.
Giuseppe Rossi put the Azzurri ahead after a brisk start from the hosts and substitute debutant Alessandro Matri secured the Azzurri's win after the dismissal of newcomer Davide Astori with a double booking.
Emiliano Viviano, who stood in for star custodian Gianluigi Buffon, seemed to dither when defender Yaroslav Rakitskiy hit the post with a bouncing shot, but reacted well on 15 minutes to
deflect a firm angled shot from Artem Fedetskiy.
Italy's first telling effort on 25 minutes was a central shot from Rossi, who three minutes later pounced on a loose ball after Alberto Aquilani fired onto the back of Alberto Gilardino.
After half-time, Rakitskiy threatened Viviano again with a taut free kick, while Yevhen Seleznyov on 65 minutes attempted a harmless overhead shot before Astori's dismissal.
Substitute Marko Devic tried again from the left side of the box, but Italy were deadly on a counter attack with 10 minutes left as substitute Sebastian Giovinco set up Matri with a deft heel touch and the striker laid in by the left post.
Coach Cesare Prandelli tried several new players after a 1-0 win at Slovenia that Friday pushed Italy close to qualification to Euro 2012.
I saw the boys fight orderly. I was glad to see them react despite the difficulties," Prandelli said. Rossi played a good game. He was in the right spots. It was the first game we played with this lineup and sometimes he and Aquilani were too close to each other."
The Azzurri command Group C with 13 points from five games, holding a five-point lead on chasers Slovenia and Serbia halfway through the qualification phase.
They play their next qualifier at home to Estonia in early June.
As co-hosts with Poland, Ukraine have already qualified for the Euro 2012 finals being played next year from June 8 to July 1.
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