Klose king on dramatic derby day

Miroslav Klose struck a stoppage-time winner as Lazio beat ten-man Roma in the Eternal City derby tonight. I Biancoceleste had lost their previous five meetings with Roma - four under current coach Edy Reja - and this match looked to be heading the same way in the electric atmosphere of the Stadio Olimpico when Pablo Osvaldo gave Roma a fifth-minute lead. But Hernanes equalised five minutes into the second half from the penalty spot after Simon Kjaer brought down Christian Brocchi, the defender shown a straight red card. Klose was then denied by the crossbar and team-mate Djibril Cisse's volley rebounded off the post with seven minutes to go, but there was still time for a dramatic winner and for Lazio to stop the rot against their city rivals. The win moved Reja's Lazio up to fourth in the Serie A standings, just one point behind leaders Juventus. "We showed great character," Reja said. "We prepared for this game throughout the week and we have done a good job. Once we equalised, things got easier for us. We have beaten a great team. I think the penalty changed the game as we played better in the second half." Roma had Simon Kjaer sent off early in the second half after he fouled Christian Brocchi inside the area. Reja admitted he thought his side would have to settle for a point after his team were twice denied by the woodwork late in the game. "I thought we would not be able to win tonight," Reja said. "The ball didn't seem to want to go in. Fortunately, it did." Reja had reason to celebrate as he had lost his four previous meetings against Roma. "I had been waiting for this win for some time," Reja said. "Roma struggled more than in previous games but we deserved this victory. We have given great satisfaction to our fans and we have to make the most of our potential and try to improve on last season's position in the standings." Roma coach Luis Enrique felt the result was tough on his players. He said: "It's a pity to lose the game at the death. When we thought we had already secured a point, we got hit by Klose's goal. We could have done much more in the first half but after going in front, we weren't able to play as we know how. Lazio played a good second half. We still have a lot of work to do. We have to learn to play the way we did in our opening 15 minutes for an entire game." Enrique, experiencing his first derby, was without injured captain Francesco Totti and fielded Miralem Pjanic in support of Bojan and Osvaldo. Roma, playing as visitors, could not have asked for a better start. Pjanic fed Osvaldo inside the area and the Italy international took it down on his chest before firing a right-footed shot past Lazio goalkeeper Federico Marchetti. Lazio reacted and Hernanes found Klose inside the area but he fired wide from a good position. Midway through the first half, Roma goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg came off his line to clear Cisse's dangerous cross towards an unmarked Klose. Lazio continued to press forward and Stekelenburg did well to keep out Hernanes' 30-yard bullet strike before half-time. The hosts' efforts paid off in the 50th minute when referee Paolo Tagliavento pointed to the spot after Kjaer fouled Brocchi, earning the Dane a straight red card. Hernanes made no mistake with the spot-kick, placing it out of the reach of Stekelenburg. The goal inspired Lazio, who almost went in front soon afterwards when Hernanes fed Klose and he hit his shot just wide of the far post. Lazio continued to look for the winner and Roma were forced to defend deeply. In the 70th minute, Klose got his head to Cristian Ledesma's corner and his effort beat Stekelenburg but struck the crossbar. Lazio kept the pressure on as Cisse threatened but he saw his right-footed volley hit the woodwork. However, Reja's men received their reward in stoppage time when Matuzalem passed the ball into the area for Klose to fire past Stekelenburg.