Cagliari and Ternana end the first half tied, 1-1, thanks to goals from Deiola and Partipilo.

Ranieri immediately threw Pavoletti into the fray, choosing Zappa on the left instead of Azzi, with Di Pardo on the right, and Lella fourth in midfield. Ready, go and Cagliari passes: Pavoletti opens right for Nandez, cross from Leon and, on the other side, Deiola comes out. 1-0 after 4', all too easy.

And in fact Ternana, slowly, reorganizes itself, takes the field and, in the 12th minute, equalizes: Di Pardo doesn't trigger the offside and Partipilo makes it 1-1. Cagliari deflates, risks again on a slightly high left foot from Favilli , and is no longer able to give playable balls to the two forwards.

That wasn't enough, in the 31st minute a heavy card for Dossena, who will miss Perugia through disqualification. The half ends with Deiola moved to defense for a 3-5-2 that produces no results.