Gift Orban endured a difficult afternoon as Hellas Verona fell to a 2-1 defeat against Parma Calcio 1913, remaining bottom of the Serie A table after conceding a late winner.
Parma struck early, taking the lead just three minutes into the match. Mandela Keita intercepted a misplaced pass from the back and fed Adrian Bernabé, who flicked the ball up with his first touch before smashing a half volley from 20 metres into the net.
Verona’s task became significantly harder soon after. In the 11th minute, Orban was penalised for a foul and reacted angrily toward the referee. The official immediately produced a red card, reducing the hosts to 10 men for the remainder of the contest. The situation worsened moments later when Rafik Belghali was forced off injured.
Despite being a man down, Verona showed resilience. Lorenzo Montipò was called into action, producing important saves including a difficult stop from a Gabriel Strefezza corner attempt and a flying effort to keep out a Sascha Britschgi volley. Lautaro Valenti also fired narrowly wide as Parma searched for a second goal.
Against the run of play, Verona were awarded a penalty after Kieron Bowie, making his first start, controlled a long ball brilliantly and was brought down by Alessandro Circati inside the box. Abdou Harroui converted from the spot to level the score, marking his first goal since recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury last year.
Parma dominated possession in the second half and created several chances. Jacob Ondrejka saw a curling effort skim the upright, while Strefezza volleyed over from a corner and later struck the crossbar with a looping right footed attempt. Montipò continued to impress, denying Ondrejka and keeping Verona in the contest as pressure mounted.
However, Verona’s resistance finally broke in stoppage time. Hans Nicolussi Caviglia delivered a floated pass into the area and Mateo Pellegrino rose to head home the winner, sealing Parma’s second consecutive victory.
Gift Orban afternoon ended after just 11 minutes. He managed only three touches and completed two of his three passes before his dismissal capped a frustrating outing for the Nigerian striker as Verona’s struggles at the foot of the table continued.
