Inter reach Italian Cup semis

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February 03, 2006 10:55 IST

Holders Inter Milan progressed to the semi-finals of the Italian Cup when they beat Lazio 1-0 to complete a 2-1 win on aggregate on Thursday.

Inter dominated the first half of the match at Milan's San Siro stadium.

Defender Marco Materazzi had a header cleared off the line and striker Adriano missed a great chance to score when he beat the offside trap to go through alone against keeper Marco Ballotta but fired wide.

Inter eventually took the lead eight minutes before the interval when Adriano ran into a wall of defenders just inside the area and the ball broke free for Dejan Stankovic to blast home from just outside the box.

Lazio, who had struggled to muster a single shot on goal before the interval, played more adventurously at the restart.

Midfielder Stefano Mauri twice went close to grabbing an equaliser, first unleashing a dipping shot that Francesco Toldo tipped over his bar, then conjuring up an overhead kick from a corner that Toldo smothered at his near post.

Lazio's last chance to haul themselves back into contention came in the final minute of stoppage time when Massimo Oddo's cross dropped kindly for Igli Tare directly in front of goal, but the Albanian striker's header sailed high over the bar.

In the last four, Inter will face Udinese, who knocked out Sampdoria on Wednesday.

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