Udinese gave themselves a timely boost of confidence ahead of Thursday’s UEFA Cup quarter-final second-leg decider against Werder Bremen as two late goals from Antonio Floro Flores earned them a 2-0 victory at bottom club Reggina.
Neither side were able to make much headway in the first half, with the hosts having won just three games all season and Udinese looking for their first away success since October. The parameters changed ten minutes after the interval, however, when Maurizio Lanzaro was sent off after bringing down Floro Flores in the area. Maurizio Domizzi blazed the resultant spot-kick over the bar, but Reggina were further hit when Antonino Barillà picked up a second yellow card on 64 minutes.
Despite being reduced to nine men, the Calabresi twice came close to scoring through Franco Brienza, either side of Floro Flores hitting the woodwork, and they won a penalty when substitute Luca Vigiani was felled by Aleksandar Luković. Samir Handanovič saved from Brienza and Reggina were soon ruing that miss as Floro Flores turned in Giovanni Pasquale’s cross with six minutes remaining and struck again in added time to lift the visitors up to 12th.
