ACLI league (2007-2008): Vigna Pia 1-4 Ambrit

 A good test for Ambrit today as the covid quarantine reduced us to 7 men against 8 in a closely-fought contest at Ambrit Stadium.

Early pressure from Ambrit caught the home team off guard and when Ambrit won a corner, Pedro drilled it low and hard and the goalkeeper fumbled the ball at the near post: 1-0! Vigna Pia came back and won a free kick but Theo was alert and tipped a dangerous shot over the bar. In a frantic 2' spell, the Vigna Pia keeper denied first Santiago, then Ale and then Santiago again with a header, before they broke quickly and stole a lucky equaliser.

This was a delicate moment and the game could have swung either way but, in a sweeping passing movement, the ball went from Ale to Pedro to Ruben and the g7 ace banged it home! This was just reward for Ruben who chased and harried the opposition defence all day and was always available for his team mates. Re-energised, Ambrit continued to attack and another corner brought another goal, this time Santiago first to the breaking ball to plant a solid shot beyond the keeper. In this first half, the solid tackling and forceful running of Pedro on the left and Santiago on the right was fundamental.

The second half was another story. Ambrit looked tired, Vigna Pia dominated possession but, led by a majestic Carlo in defence - ably assisted by Giulio - Ambrit repelled all attacks and Ale closed the scoring with a typically sweetly struck shot from 20m.

TEAM: Theo; Carlo, Giulio; Pedro, Ale, Santiago; Ruben

Friendly Match (2009/2010): Vigna Pia 13-4 Ambrit... and Gabriele Saves the Day!

 Ambrit came up against an extremely well-drilled team today and, despite the scoreline, they gave a good account of themselves and learned some useful lessons.

Vigna Pia, a team that trains three times a week and has been playing together for four years, were merciless from the start and they rifled in three early goals before Ambrit had even woken up.

On their first foray forward, Ben fed a good pass to Sara and her control and finish were exemplary to make it 3-1. This was not Sara's first contribution and her running, positional and passing were top notch all day long: complimenti!

Vigna Pia came straight back to score two more but Tommaso kept up Ambrit's spirits with a well-struck shot to make it 6-2 at the first break.

In period 2, Gabriele - already playing very well in goal - really began to shine. He made save after save... after save... after save and some of them were truly outstanding, none more so than when he flung himself to his right to push away a shot that nobody else would even think of stopping! He then topped it off by saving a penalty, though his defenders were less alert and Vigna Pia banged in the rebound. The teams went in for the second interval 2 at 9-2. 

In the last period, Ambrit were tiring but Kendi was still a rock in defence. She dealt with every ball and every tackle with authority and inspired her team mates to try harder.

TEAM: Gabriele; Trym, Vittorio, Kendi; Tommaso, Ben, Adam; Sara, Aali; Rubem, Carlo

Zenit 3-0 Juventus

 A few drops of rain and a covid quarantine weren't enough to stop Zenit from racking up their first win and keeping themselves in the running for a semi-final place.

Oliver almost opened the scoring but Theo made an incredible last-ditch tackle on the line. Daniele B made it 1-0 just before the first break and Daniele P had a good chance to double up but shot over the bar.

In the second period, Zenit continued to dominate possession. Juve played well in defence, with Theo, Ralf and Martino all making lots of tackles and  Gianmarco and Adriano playing on the break. Gabriele made some good saves and came out bravely to stop Daniel, but the Zenit man's shot finished in the back of the net.

In midfield, Adam, Hugo and especially Antonio worked hard to keep Juventus pinned down. Daniele B scored his second goal late on to seal a valuable win.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Daniele B 5, Theo 4, Daniele P 3, Gabriele 2, Daniel 2 (Y), Ralf 1, Martino 1, Gianmarco 1, 1Antonio 1, Hugo 1

Man. United 1-1 Ajax

 Decimate da quarantena e assenze, Ajax e Manchester United si sono affrontate per l'accesso alla finale, già conquistato dal Chelsea durante il morning break. La partita è stata molto combattuta ed equilibrata, il punteggio finale di 1-1 lo dimostra. Al vantaggio di Maya, che approfitta di un'ingenutià colossale di Aali ed Emma, ha risposto la stessa Emma con un bel tiro da fuori.

Il pareggio, tuttavia, favorisce solo una delle due formazioni, che - in virtù della differenza reti - si qualifica per la finale di questo primo Intramural: il Manchester United. Il capitano, Maya, è riuscita a portare a termine uno splendido lavoro nel motivare e guidare i talenti della squadra e ora racconglie con merito i frutti di questo impegno.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Emma 4, Maya 4, Camila 3, Martina 1, Zim 1, Rose 1, Ella 1.

Chelsea 2-1 Inter

 These two teams played out an exciting match under persistent drizzle at Ambrit Stadium this morning.

Chelsea took the lead when Sofia was the most alert and pounced on a breaking ball to poke it through a crowd of players and into the back of the net. Inter responded immediately and Sara almost scored from a narrow angle but Belen made a great clearance off the line. But Sara didn't give up and she equalised soon afterwards with a lovely looping lob over Myla in goal. Both defences were solid - Vittoria and Bianca versus Kendi, Belen and Abby - but Chelsea were relentless coming forward and Carolina was always dangerous. In the 15th minute she saw a shot thunder back off the post and then, in the next action, she planted a well-struck shot pas Aali to make it 2-1. Chelsea came closest to scoring again, with wides from Carolina and Kendi and two good saves from Aali who was making her debut today.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Carolina 3, Sara 3, Vittoria 2, Belen 2, Sofia 2, Isabel 2, Bianca 2, Kendi 1, Abby 1, Aali 1, Clara 1, Athena 1

Napoli 0-4 Dortmund

 Napoli wave goodbye to the Autumn Intramural after a crushing performance from Dortmund at Ambrit Stadium today.

Dortmund were always in charge and, even when well ahead, they never took the foot off the pedal and strangled every Napoli initiative with a high press on their defence. Ale opened the scoring with the last kick of the first period and, early in the second period, Ben kept his team in the game with first a tackle and then a block in his own area to keep out the hungry Dortmund attack. Dylan unleashed a left-footed shot to make it 2-0 and Ake almosty made it 3-0 but Victor made a great save. Napoli's only attempt was a glancing header from Nikos that went slightly too high.

In period 3, Ale scored again early on and Nikos did force a good save from Sebastian. Adam rounded off the scoreline with a simple tap-in.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Ale 7, Dylan 5, Seb 2, Jonah 2, Adam 1, Ben 1, Rocco 1, Pedro 1, Matteo 1

ACLI league: Ambrit 13-3 Mentana Calcio

 Ambrit were quick out of the traps again this week and had 5 goals on the board in the blink of an eye. Ale's assist to Santi for goal 1 was repaid by Santi to Ale for goal 2.Two more assists from Ale set up Vittorio and Zach and Zach made it 5-0 after less than 10 minutes. Santi hit the post and Alberto followed up to make it 6-0 and Ale rounded off the Ambrit scoring just before half time. The visitors pulled one back from a free kick.

Mattia came on and added the eighth just after the break and then he shot well from the right and Santi buried the rebound when it came back off the post. Mentana were playing better in this second half and made it 9-2. But Mattia scored again off a Santi throw-in and then he set Santi up for his third and fourth. Mentana put a third on the board and Alberto made it 13-3 with a lovely shot from 20 meters out.

TEAM: Theo; Bernardo / Jonah, Vittorio, Giorgio; Santiago / Mattia, Alberto / Ale; Zach / Bertie

ANSPI League: Santos 0-0 Ambrit

Ambrit's younger team got their season off to a good start today with a hard-fought match at Santos. Ambrit settled down quickly and Captain Vittorio showed his experience with a sterling display in defence, in midfield, in attack... all over the pitch. Giulio was his partner in defence and, together, they kept the opposition down to a minimum of chances. The teams changed over for period 2 at 0-0.

It was in the second period that Ambrit took over the midfield and controlled the game. Ruben wreaked havoc on the right and played in some great crosses that should have been better exploited. Tommaso was totally in charge on the left, blocking all opposition attacks and playing shrewd passes forward. Ben was feeling his way into the game and his tackles and passes became ever surer as the game wore on. Sara harried the opposition defenders and she was always ready to pounce on the smallest mistake. Oliver ran himself ragged and never gave the opponents a chance to relax.

Mentana did break through at one point and seemed sure to score but Vittorio C made a miraculous save... and then he was quickly up and back in position to make another superb save immediately afterwards! Vittorio dP then fired a rocket from midfield and the Santos keeper also made an incredible save to keep it out.

In the third period, Ambrit continued to dominate and Vittorio dP hit the crossbar twice! A goal just wouldn't come but this was a very positive start by all concerned!

TEAM: Vittorio C; Giulio, Vittorio dP; Tommaso, Ben, Ruben, Oliver, Sara

Juventus 4-0 Liverpool

 After a scoreless first half with little incident, Juventus opened the scoring when Gianmarco followed up to score a shot from Cameron that was parried by Lucas right into his path. Vittorio from a free-kick then picked out Cameron at the far post for a second goal (did Tiago get a touch?) and Juve were cruising. Liverpool needed a reply and Mattia almost supplied it but he was foiled twice within a minute by Bernardo in goal. Lorenzo tried hard up front but Theo was insuperabile.

In period 3, Adriano might have put the result beyond doubt but Lucas made a miraculous save. Lorenzo struck the post with a free kick at the other end and then Lucas made a great save from Cameron. But Cameron was back immediately to score the third and Vittorio's deflected shot rounded off the scoreline.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Theo 4, Cameron 4, Bernardo 2, Vittorio dP 2, Emilio 2, Lucas 2, Lorenzo 1,  Mattia 1, Giulio 1, Leo 1, Gianmarco 1

ACLI league: Santa Caterina 0-13 Ambrit

 An easy win today against a young team without the experience to fend off a hungry Ambrit outfit that now moves to the top of the ACLI classifica.

There is an old saying in football "you can only beat the team that is in front of you" and that is what Ambrit did today, disposing of an inferior opponent with a minimum of fuss and no messing around. Our defence was rarely troubled and our midfield and attack created numerous chances and converted a lot of them. Santiago led the way and his six first half goals set the team up for a 7-0 lead at half time, the other one being an own goal.

In the second half, Mattia, Alberto, Bertie (2), Zach and Ale added their names to the scoreboard.

AMBRIT: Bernardo; Vittorio / Jonah, Theo, Giorgio / Carlo; Alberto / Ale, Pedro, Santiago / Mattia ; Zach / Bertie

Zenit 2-2 Napoli

After a sterile first period, it looked like Zenit would get their first win of the season when Zach scored two goals in period 2. The first came when Daniele took advantage of a goalkeeping error and provided the assist to his captain; the second when Zach forced his way past two defenders and shot hard to the centre of the goal. Napoli got back into the game though when a controversial VAR decision awarded them a penalty and Pedro converted.

Pedro was involved in the period 3 equaliser too, setting up Louis for a confident finish. Nikos had a golden chance to make it 3-2 but somehow missed the open goal but then he set up Pedro for another great chance but Pedro's shot was well saved by Giorgio. At the other end, Louis made a great goal-line clearance,  Daniele came close with a header and Carlo shot wide but the score remained unchanged.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Louis 5, Zach 4, Daniele B 4, Giorgio 1, Nikos 2, Trym 1, Pedro 1, Michael 1, Alex 1, Antonio 1

Liverpool 2-2 Dortmund

 Ben made an early save from Emilio but, when Mattia played Lorenzo in, Ben was too slow off his line to stop the opening goal. Lorenzo returned the favour shortly afterwards, supplying the assist for Mattia to make it 2-0. Still in the first period, Ale went on a mazy run and knocked it to Dylan to make it 2-1 and Ale himself equalised with a fierce drive from the left to make it 2-2 at the interval.

No change in the second period, thanks especially to a fantastic block from Rocco to keep out a Lucas free kick. And no change in period 3 either, with Seb making a good save towards the end to keep out Lorenzo.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Ale 5, Jonah 3, Lorenzo 3, Lucas 3, Rocco 3, Dylan 3, Mattia 3, Giovanni Z 2, Sebastian 1, Emilio 2

ACLI league: Ambrit 4-3 Palidoro

 Ambrit's senior team got the season off to a great start with a well-deserved win on Saturday morning at Ambrit stadium.

Zach shot an early goal from a tight angle on the right to settle the nerves and Vittorio made it 2-0 after 12 minutes with a cunning corner that sneaked directly in. A five-minute period of panic however undid all the good work and Palidoro scored first from a corner - the striker was left totally unmarked and headed home - and then from a shot that rebounded off Vittorio and went in: 2-2. But Ambrit collected themselves and finished the first half with an Alberto goal and a Santiago save to turn around with a 3-2 lead.

Jonah came on for the second half and made a fantastic clearance off the line with Bernardo already beaten. But Palidoro did equalise when a long shot somehow evaded everybody and rolled into the net. Both teams now attacked, looking for the winner. Bernardo was left alone on two occasions to face down opponents and he won the battle both times. Them, with just 5 minutes left to play, a Pedro shot was deflected high into the air and, when it came down beside the far post, Santiago was on hand to nod it home.

Carlo and Vittorio were outstanding in defence today and Pedro, particularly in the first half, governed the centre of midfield with authority.

TEAM: Santiago (Bernardo); Bernardo (Giulio), Carlo, Vittorio;  Alberto, Pedro, Mattia (Jonah); Zach (Santiago)