Roberto Inglese, granted his first start in Chievo colours since his arrival in 2010, cancelled out Eder's seventh minute opener as Rolando Maran's side contrived to share the spoils with Sampdoria at the Stade Bentegodi.

Samp make an early breakthrough

With Inglese having squandered a cut-back minutes earlier, Samp broke swiftly down the other end and fashioned a seventh minute opener. Eder sprung the offside trap with Carlo Carbonero, whose importance to this Sampdoria side has grown over recent weeks, threaded a delicious disguised pass through to the nimble attacker who slotted the ball under Albano Bizzarri to net his ninth goal in his last 11 outings.

Chievo, the buoyancy that surrounded the side at the beginning of the campaign having dissipated over the last month, were struggling to impose themselves on proceedings as the metronome Fernando facilitated play from deep. Eder slalomed his way into the Chievo penalty area on 16 minutes but was expertly foiled by Dario Dainelli as he shaped to shoot.

Riccardo Meggiorini, barren since he starred in the Flying Donkey’s 4-0 demolition of Lazio in August, tried his luck from distance but the ball sailed over the frame of Emiliano Viviano’s goal.

Chievo slowly began to grow in propulsion as the game crept towards the 20th minute mark, with Valter Birsa linking promisingly with the front two of Chievo. So divine was one move that Inglese appeared poleaxed by the deftness of Meggiorini’s flick and miscued his control.

Confidence was oozing out of Inglese’s pours during the opening quarter of an hour as he swivelled on the perimeter of the penalty area and unleashed an effort into side netting. This evening marked the forward’s first start in Chievo colours since he arrived in Verona some five years ago.

Scarce, though, were the hosts’ forays behind enemy lines and when Meggiorini finally did ghost in-behind the stringent Samp backline the linesman swiftly raised his flag.

Samp seemed content in allowing the home side to hoard possession and utilise the pace of Eder, deployed on the left, and Luis Muriel upfront. 

Hosts move up the gears

But with ten minutes remaining in the half, Chievo’s monopoly of the ball soon paid dividends. The aforementioned Inglese controlled Meggiorini’s meek cross and the Italian prodded the ball past a hapless Viviano.

The equaliser provoked some response from the visitors as they reimposed themselves on the game. Inglese, however, went close again; a chance eerily similar to the strike that cannoned into the side of the net earlier in the half.

Angelo Palombo was introduced for the inconspicuous Ivan at half-time as Walter Zenga tried to stem the flow of Chievo’s attacks but Rolando Maran’s side began the second period with similar intent. 

Meggiorini, again, received possession on the left and dinked a lovely centre towards Lucas Casto whose left-foot volley was impeccably thwarted by the thigh of Daniel Mesbah.

Tensions began to simmer when Maran was ordered to the stands after voicing his dissent over the referee’s decision to wave away appeals for a stamp of Meggiorini. Perparim Hetemaj then went into Claudio Gavilluci’s notebook for a hare-brained lunge in midfield.

Fabrizio Cacciatore was then presented with a golden opportunity to stab a dagger through the heart of his parent club when he rose highest from Birsa’s free-kick to head agonisingly wide.

Chances had been at a premium for the Blucerchiati throughout, though Muriel, scarcely involved on the evening, fashioned perhaps Samp’s best chance on goal when he jinxed into the danger area and drew fingertips from Bizzarri. 

A nailbiting finish

The threat had stemmed from the flanks for the hosts’ all evening and it was to little surprise that Alberto Paloschi, who replaced the goalscorer, wasted another golden opportunity when he headed wide from close-range. He was, however, forced to contort his body to summon his header, but Chievo continued to probe.

The game edged towards its winter as Maran, highlighted by the introduction of Luca Rigoni with eight minutes to play, seemed reluctant to chase a second. 

Ervin Zukanovic almost gifted his former employers the three points deep into stoppage time, however, when his ill-advised jump allowed Paloschi an effort at goal.