BOYS FINAL: Portugal - Belgium - PREVIEW

                        PORTUGAL                                                 BELGIUM

With Ale N in excellent form in midfield and with a goalkeeper  (Giacomo) who performed miracles in the semi-final, Portugal look to be in good shape for this year’s title.  Aden, carrying over his good form from the Med Cup, has also been playing well and, in the semi-final, his running and tackling were important. Giuseppe is a menacing physical presence in defence; he kept Manfredi under wraps in the semi-final and Giuseppe can also be a threat coming forward. Andrea will cover well at the back. If Tommy and Jacopo also hit top form, and with good cover on the bench – particularly in defence - it is hard to see Portugal losing this one.

But Belgium are no mugs.

Alex D is only 2 points behind Ale N in the points table and the passing combinations between Alex, Daniel and Antony can, at times, be dazzling. Elias F is often impossible to beat in defence and Jerry can be a match for Giuseppe’s physical strength.

All in all, it is a tough result to call.

Prediction: Portugal 2-2 Belgium

Ambrit Crowned RISA League Champions 2017-2018

We Are The Champions!!!

Ambrit's u14 Boys added the 2017-18 RISA league to their list of achievements after most of them successfully negotiated both Rome's transport system and all four fixtures in Saturday's last round of games.
A 3-1 win over SGBIS B (Lapo assist to Niccolo'; Manfredi 2), a 4-1 win over Marymount (Niccolo' assist to Lapo, Manfredi, Lapo, Niccolo') and a 4-0 win over Southlands (great dribble and goal from Niccolo', Giuseppe assist to Lapo, Niccolo', Manfredi) set up a crucial decider with St George's A.
No problem; a 6-3 win (Manfredi 4, Giuseppe) decided the title and brought Manfredi to a whopping 52 goals this year!

Peter and Federico played on long into the night!

Brazil 4-1 Spain

With a startling inefficiency in fromt of goal today, a profligate Spain blew any chance of catching their opponents after Brazil had notched up three early goals.
First Lapo, then Manfredi, then Lapo again scored as a disoriented Spain (without Niccolo') struggled to find their feet.
The addition of Giuseppe (guesting) in goal settled them down and they constructed numerous chances. They did have the ball in the net twice but the first 'goal' was disallowed for a foul throw and the second because the referee had already whistled for a penalty. Guillermo converted it to make it 3-1 but Brazil sealed Third Place with Michele's well-taken winner.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Paul 5, Federico 3, Guillermo 3, Ale Z 3, Pietro 3 Lapo 2, Michele 1, Manfredi 1,

GIRLS' FINAL: Iran 2-2 Japan (6-5 after penalties)

The girls kept the best game till last - a real cracker under a hot sun today at Ambrit Stadium.
Iran took the lead with an early Lucrezia goal but Annie came forward to equalise shortly afterwards. Iran piled on the pressure but Mari made some fantastic saves from Gaia and Lucrezia and Francesca defended expertly.
It was Japan who almost took the lead when Michelle passed to Carolina but her shot came back off the post. Michelle was now playing really well and made great runs through the centre and down the left, tackled hard in midfield too.
At the other end, Maria Carolina suddenly found herself with a chance with just the goalkeeper to beat but, again, Mari was equal to the challenge.
Japan then took the lead when Michelle rifled in an unstoppable shot from the left. Iran came back again and laid siege to the Japanese goal but it seemed that the ball just would not go in. But then it did! Gaia was first to a loose ball in the area and she made it 2-2.
A tense penalty competition followed where the goalkeepers made a series of good saves and it was left to Eleonora to score the winning goal for Iran!

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Lucrezia 4, Michelle 3, Annie 4, Mari 3, Gaia 2, Francesca 2, Maria Carolina 1, Giorgia 1, Carolina 1.

Portugal 2-0 Brazil

Goals from Ale N and Aden were enough to see Portugal glide past Brazil in a tense semi-final and Portugal now go on to face Belgium in the final.
Ale N wrong-footed Federico for the first goal but Michele almost equalised shortly afterwards. Only a breath-taking save from Giacomo kept the ball out and Giacomo was to make two more crucial interventions later on.
Brazil played without heir usual discipline and hurried shots were often off-target. Giuseppe, in defence for Portugal, closed down the attackers early and Ale, Jacopo andTommy provided good out-balls. Aden's winner came at the end, a breakaway goal as Brazil pushed desperately for an equaliser.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Giacomo 6, Ale N 4, Ale Z 3, Giuseppe 3, Michele 2, Jacopo 2, Cesare 

Japan 3-0 France

Un Giappone aggressivo non concede nulla o quasi alla Francia e passa 3-0, con gol del vantaggio di Annie e doppietta di una scoppiettante Michelle, forse alla sua miglior partita della stagione, imprendibile sulla fascia. Questa forse la mossa vincente del CT giapponese, che ha sfruttato al meglio la velocità della sua giocatrice. Buona prestazione anche per Natalie e Lucy, anche se l'assenza pesante di Matilde ha avuto un grande riflesso sulla partita e sul punteggio finale.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Michelle 6, Annie 4, Lucy 4, Natalie 4, Sofia S 2, Sofia DM 2.

SEMI FINAL: Belgium 6-3 Spain

Two disorganised sides produced a chaotic match today but Belgium did enough to proceed to the final.
Spain began better. Mateo was on hand to score from Guillermo's rebounded shot and Guillermo himself made it 2-0.
But then Belgium began to play and Spain collapsed, losing all composure. Jerry was everywhere, winning tackles and supplying Daniel and Alex who knew how to do the rest.
They banged in 5 goals between them as Spain changed goalkeeper three times without resolving their problems.
Paul pulled one back but Anthony made a cameo appearance towards the end and sealed the result.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Alex 7, Daniel 6, Jerry 4, Paul 1, Pietro dP 2, Niccolo 1

u14 RISA Cup for Boys

Ambrit (Manfredi, Peter, Lapo, Alioune, Paul) took third place in Saturday's RISA Cup at SGBIS.

Ambrit 4-2 SGBIS B
1-0 Lapo ha segnato dal assist Manfredi
2-0 Manfredi
2-1 Own goal
2-2 Deflection
3-2 Manfredi
4-1 Lapo

Ambrit 2-3 AOSR
0-1
1-1 Manfredi
1-2
2-2 Manfredi
2-3

Ambrit 3-1 Marymount
0-1
1-1 Manfredi
2-1 Manfredi
3-1 Alioune

Ambrit 2-4 SGBIS A
1-0 Manfredi
1-1
1-2
2-2 Manfredi
2-3
2-4

SEMI FINALS

Sweden's draw with Belgium means that they finish with the same points total as Spain but, having lost 5-0 in the head-to-head encounter, Spain go through:

Wed May 16, 13.10 AMBRIT STADIUM: Belgium versus Spain

Wed May 23, 13.10 AMBRIT STADIUM: Brazil versus Portugal

Belgium 1-1 Sweden

Two attack-minded sides protected by two in-from goalkeepers clashed at Ambrit Stadium today as the Intramural competition entered its final stages.
Belgium took the lead following some sustained pressure down the right. Anthony tried to dribble through two defenders and, when the ball popped up off a tackle, Daniel was on hand to plant an unstoppable shot right into the opposite corner.
Cristian played very far forward for Sweden and was always available as a target for the outball but Sweden's distribution from midfield was inconsistent. Things improved when Filippo came on and the Swedes attacks grew more threatening.
Their equaliser came when Lorenzo put Jerry under pressure, won the ball and shot past Louis.
Both sides continued to attack but Cristian's shot that came back off the underside of the crossbar (goal?!) was the closest to a winner.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Lorenzo 4, Anthony 3, Daniel 3, Cristian 3, Elias F 2, Max 2, Theo 1, Peter 1, Filippo 1, Elias EZ 1

Amrit Boys take Winners trophy in Champions League (Silver) at MedCup 2018

A proud Ambrit qualified for the Champions League at Medcup this year and came home with the winners trophy in the Champions Silver category.

They played five games on day 1, winning three and losing two - against IS Lausanne and BIS Cairo.

Ambrit lost to Lausanne by two goals and, against Cairo, they would have tied the game but luck was not on their side.

In our last game of the morning , we played and beat Jeddah Prep, our goal coming from Manfredi’s header after an assist by Alessandro. The last two games were played in the afternoon with a rested and confident Ambrit, this time ready to defend their goal at all costs against IS Hannover and Moser Geneva. With a new defensive formation, Ambrit secured their goal in the first half of the game against Hannover with a goal by Manfredi. Knowing they had to win to qualify, they defended well until the end of the game. With Cairo ahead on goal difference, Ambrit did what any other team would have done and put all their energy into winning the last game of the first day against Moser Geneva. A very fast paced game saw Manfredi scoring 2 goals and Niccolo getting 4 in, as well as Jerry with the final goal for a 7-0 win.

On day 2, Ambrit played four games.

Game 1 against Prague was a 2-2 tie, goals from Manfredi and Niccolo. Next up was Berlin, and Manfredi and Niccolo (2) scored again in a 3-1 win.

Ambrit next faced Cairo in an intense return game. Both teams played with great determination and both goalies saved excellent shots and managed to keep the ball out of the net. Unfortunately, in a moment of distraction, Cairo managed to get one in and then defended their goal, giving Ambrit no chance of getting through to equalize.

In the Afternoon Ambrit faced Mashrek from Jordan. Disappointed from their earlier defeat, Ambrit was determined to win this game. Aden led the team by scoring the first 2 goals followed by Manfredi's goal for 3-0 and managed to hank on for a 3-1 win.

Ambrit’s last game on Sunday vs Marbella was a fight for first place in the league. Ambrit won 2-0 with both goals from our co-captain Manfredi, bringing home the 1st place Cup in Champions Silver League.