Kieron Bowie sent a timely reminder to new Scotland boss Sebastien Pocognoli, showcasing his striking prowess with a first goal for Sassuolo in a pulsating 3-2 showdown against Juventus under the Sunday night lights of Serie A.
Bowie, 23, hasn’t represented Scotland since coming off the bench in injury time during last October’s 2-1 qualifying win over Belarus at Hampden, and was left disappointed in the summer when he was left out of Steve Clarke’s squad for the World Cup in North America.
However, he is hoping he has done enough to impress new boss Pocognoli ahead of his inaugural squad announcement on Tuesday, with the former Hibs man looking to put an end to his 11-month international exile by being named in the Belgian’s squad for the Nations League games with Slovenia, Switzerland and North Macedonia.
Bowie celebrates his first goal for Sassuolo against Juventus in the Serie A on Sunday night.placeholder image
Bowie celebrates his first goal for Sassuolo against Juventus in the Serie A on Sunday night. | Getty Images
And he did his chances no harm at the weekend, as his Sassuolo side, who started fellow Scotland international Josh Doig at left-back, pulled off a massive win over Juventus with two late goals at the Mapei Stadium. After a goalless first half, the hosts took a shock lead through Sebastiano Esposito when the 24-year-old slotted home beyond Gianluigi Vicario in the 65th minute to put Alberto Aquilani’s side into the lead.
They were pegged back late on though, when winger Edon Zhegrova levelled with just eight minutes remaining. The scoring was far from done, though, and Bowie was able to bag his first goal for his new club since his loan arrival from Hellas Verona in the summer with just seconds of the 90 minutes remaining.
After being introduced to the game as a substitute in the 71st minute alongside Darryl Bakola, the teenage midfielder beat Gleison Bremer to a loose ball before driving at the Juventus defence and laying it off for Bowie on the edge of the area. The Scotland international made no mistake, side-footing the ball into the bottom corner to send the home crowd into raptures as they looked to have stolen a late victory.
However, in the first minute of injury time, a neat one-two between Zhegrova and Randal Kolo Muani saw the Kosovan smash home from distance to score his second of the game and rescue what appeared to be a late point for the Turin giants.
There was to be one final sting in the tail for Luciano Spalletti’s side though, and it was the home side who took the victory when Vasilije Adzic, who is spending the season on loan to Sassuolo from Juventus, scored a stunning curled winner with just 20 seconds of injury time remaining. The Montenegrin neglected to celebrate, but was mobbed by his teammates as they sealed a famous win against the Old Lady.
Billy Gilmour started for Napoli as the Italian side got back to winning ways with a 1-0 win over Bologna at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.placeholder image
Billy Gilmour started for Napoli as the Italian side got back to winning ways with a 1-0 win over Bologna at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. | Getty Images
Elsewhere, Billy Gilmour helped Napoli snap a run of three consecutive defeats as Massimiliano Allegri’s side won a narrow game against Bologna 1-0 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Starting his second successive game, the ex-Brighton man performed well in the middle of the park. Still, it was his midfield partner Stanislav Lobotka who stole the show, notching the game’s only goal in the 66th minute to shoot the Italian giants into 10th place.
Scotland teammate Lewis Ferguson captained the opposition in the absence of Lorenzo De Silvestri, who started on the bench but was unable to turn the tide against Napoli as Bologna’s poor start to the season continued. The Rossoblu have won none of their first four league games, and currently occupy 16th place in the Italian top flight, level on points with Parma, Monza and Genoa.