Brazil 2-1 Italy

Santiago's price tag didn't weigh too heavily today as he put two goals past a brave Italy team to make sure of the three points for Brazil. In a fast game that swung from end-to-end, both defences played well and kept chances to a minimum. A handball in the Brazil area 5' from full time allowed Carolina to pull her team closer and Brazil hung on nervously for the last few minutes.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Santiago 5, Myla 4, Carolina 4, Jonah 2, Abby 2, Louis 2, Bernardo 2, Camila 2, Athena 1, Alice 1, Isabel 1, Daniel 1, Michael 1

Yellow: Santiago, Daniel

Australia 1-1 Russia

 Una partita spettacolare, molto combattuta e divertente da vedere, è quella che abbiamo visto oggi all'Ambrit Stadium. Due formazioni agguerrite, determinate a cercare la vittoria, che hanno duellato - pallone su pallone - sino alla fine. Il pareggio, forse, è il risultato più giusto per quanto visto in campo, con le difese in grande evidenza: Abby da una parte e Maya dall'altra non hanno quasi mai sbagliato un intervento.

Veniamo alla cronaca: la Russia, nonostante l'assenza del capitano Rose, parte forte con Irene, Sofia e Carolina ad azzannare ogni pallone: proprio su una punizione guadagnata da Sofia, Carolina trova il vantaggio con un tiro potente. La reazione dell'Australia non si fa attendere molto, ma le molte iniziative di Alice, Martina, Isabel e Athena vengono bloccate da Maya e compagne, mentre sul fronte opposto Abby tira giù la saracinesca e non lascia passare nulla. Quasi allo scadere del primo tempo Isabel trova una percussione fantastica e un gol di prepotenza, con la palla che s'infila sotto la traversa. Il pareggio resiste anche nel secondo tempo, benché le due squadre tentino fino all'ultimo il colpo vincente.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Isabel 4, Abby 3, Athena 3, Maya 3, Irene 2, Alice 2, Carolina 1, Sofia P 1, Aali 1, Martina 1.

Belgium 0-0 Germany

 Germany's 30-million Euro player was missing today and it was a dour encounter with neither team imposing itself and neither deserving more than one point. Germany had the best of the early exchanges, Mattia shooting just over the bar and Theo forcing an excellent save from Cosimo at close range.

Theo struck the bar early in the second period but then Belgium began to take over. Nothing was getting past Carlo and Leo in defence and then Rocco passed to Giorgio and he struck a strong shot just wide. Adriano had a great chance from a corner but wasn't quite ready for it and he too shot just wide. Giorgio struck a fantastic volley from the edge of the area and was unlucky to see it crash back off the bar. Theo had another shot at the other end but Rocco blocked it well.

The same players were prominent in the final period, Theo bringing another save from Cosimo and Adriano providing another assist for Giorgio who shot just wide again.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Theo 6, Giorgio 6, Carlo 5, Leo 5, Rocco 2, Mattia 2, Daniele B 1, Adriano C 1

Netherlands 1-1 Spain

Antonio looked dangerous for Netherlands in the first period and it was his beautiful curling shot that almost broke the duck but then struck the post instead. A nice move then saw the ball move from Ruben to Vittorio to Lorenzo but the shot was wide. Trym was booked for a tackle on Vittorio but the free kick was blocked.

Spain came into the game more in the second period and Matteo fired in a good shot just over the bar. At the other end, Vittorio forced a good save from Seb but the score was still 0-0 at the second change-over.

Seb was in action again early in the third period, pulling off a great save to thwart Lorenzo, and Lollo curled another shot just wide 1 minuite later. But his next shot, low down to the near post, did sneak under Seb to make it 1-0. And it was almost an immediate 2-0, but Sebastian blocked Ruben's shot and Daniele P cleared a follow-up shot off the line. But Spain were quick to react. In their next attack, Cameron finally got past Giulio and shot home. Spain could then have stolen all three points when Cameron broke through again but, this time, he shot too early and Giovanni saved easily.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Lorenzo 5, Cameron 4,  Antonio 4, Sebastian 3, Vittorio 2, Giulio T 2, Gianmarco 1, Emilio 1, Giovanni Z 1, Ben 1, Sam 1, Ruben 1, Daniele P 1, Matteo 1

Mexico 2-1 Bolivia

La partita tra Messico e Bolivia, derby sudamericano, inaugura il secondo Intramural dell'anno e la sfida dimostra quanto sia cresciuto il calcio femminile all'Ambrit: lo spettacolo è stato godibilissimo e arricchito da tante belle giocate da entrambe le parti. Ha vinto la squadra più organizzata e aggressiva, nonostante un giocatore in meno. La prima rete nasce dai piedi di Emma, vera dominatrice del centrocampo, che tira dal limite dell'area e trova la sfortunata deviazione di Lavinia. Nella seconda frazione il Messico continua a dominare, grazie alle folate offensive di Sara ed Emma, ben supportate da Clara e dall'ottima prova difensiva di Ella. Le Boliviane, nonostante il grande sforzo di Camila, Aurora e Olivia, faticano a trovare spazi e anzi rischiano un rigore per un sospetto mani di Vittoria in area. A due minuti dalla fine, Sara riceve palla, controlla bene e insacca con un destro incrociato. La reazione della Bolivia arriva troppo tardi, con la bella rete di Aurora, inutile ai fini del risultato.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Emma 5, Sara 5, Ella 4, Aurora 3, Clara 3, Lavinia 1.

Belgium 3-1 Italy

Two of Europe's top teams kicked off the Spring Intramural with an evenly-contested match at Ambrit Stadium. An early Italy attack put Carolina through with one defender and the goalkeeper still to beat. She beat both of them with a good first touch and a calm finish into the corner.

Belgium woke up. Some neat midfield passing brought the ball to Adriano and, when he spotted Carlo in space, the seventh grade ace scored to make it 1-1. Carlo was playing further forward today and his decision was rewarded when he pounced on a loose ball to release another shot past Myla in goal: 2-1 at half-time.

Belgium continued to press. Alberto shot over the bar and then under, but Myla was there with a great block and she repeated the feat twice more before the game ended. Sofia was having an excellent game in defence too, though she did almost score an own goal and was relieved when the ball struck the bar.  Carlo almost scored a third but Myla saved and then Captain Bertie did score when his shot took a big deflection.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Carlo 6, Alberto 4, Myla 3, Athena 3, Carolina 3, Bertie 2, Sofia 1, Rocco 1, Leo 1, Giorgio 1, Isabel 1 , Adriano C 1, Maya 1 

Teachers 3-1 Intramural Champions

The teachers team re-asserted their authority and superiority with a convincing win over a willing team of students at a packed Ambrit Stadium on Friday. Carolina gave the teachers an early fright with a shot that crept wide but it was the teachers who took the lead when Edoardo put Dan clear with a quick pass and the English ace made no mistake. Max found Edoardo on the right of the penalty area and his shot should have made it 2-0 but Myla made an incredible save to keep the students in the game. Cameron's first contribution was a shot that went narrowly over and Francesco shot over for the teachers too. Giulia was having another fantastic game and, when she found Max with a clever pass out wide on the left, the second goal seemed a certainty... but Myla astounded everyone with another miraculous save! The game was still open; Vittorio forced Chad to make a timely save and then Giulia blocked another Vittorio shot before Edoardo gave the teachers some breathing space with a second goal. Now the students threw caution to the wind and Giulia took advantage, turning a Max pass around the goalkeeper and just inside the near post: 3-0. The students kept plugging away - Theo put Vittorio in again but Chad made a great save - and they finally got their reward with a goal from Cameron right at the end. 

Grade 7 1-1 Teachers

Grade 7 came flying out of the traps and pinned the teachers back in the first few minutes. Gianmarco shot wide and Sara and Vittorio had shots well saved by Mr Chad before the teachers put together a lethal counter-attack that saw Max latch onto a through ball from Matteo and calmly lob the goalkeeper to make it 1-0 against the run of play. The lead didn't last long though: a clearance on the left canoned off Emilio and gave Mr Chad no chance: 1-1. The rest of the match was an even contest but clear scoring chances were rare.

Grade 6 0-6 Teachers

 The teachers began 2022 with a comfortable win over a valiant team from grade 6. I Maestri were never really threatened and the statistics tell the story: 82% possession, 15 shots on goal, 9 on target and 6 goals (two each from Max, Edoardo and Dan). G6 managed three shots in the entire game and will need to improve before they come back next year as the g7 team to give the teachers a closer run for their money!

 

CALCIOMERCATO GIRLS

 Di nuovo qui in diretta per un'altra giornata di Calciomercato, questa volta le ragazze!

Il primo giro è un'asta nascosta sulla giocatrice più ambita: Carolina, contesa tra Belen e Rose, va alla Russia per 46 milioni! Alice viene acquistata per 65 milioni da Athena!

Eccoci alla altre ragazze: Maya alla Russia per 20 milioni, si sta muovendo bene Rose...

Offerta segreta per Camila, che va alla Bolivia per 58 milioni!

Emma Torralba fa gola a tutte le squadre, la spunta Myla per 35 mln! Bel colpo. A lei si aggiunge anche Sara, altri 35 mln.

Vittoria alla Bolivia per 36 mln, Sofia alla Russia per 25, Isabel all'Australia per 31 mln.

Ultime assegnazioni per Clara al Messico, Aurora alla Bolivia e Martina all'Australia.

CALCIOMERCATO - BOYS

 Eccoci insieme per la diretta del Calciomercato maschile dell'Intramural!

Quest'anno si inizia con un nuovo format: ogni capitano farà un'offerta segreta per due giocatori che desidera e poi si apriranno le buste! Cifre incredibili, follie!!! Santiago al Brasile per 90 milioni! Ottima mossa della Germania che si assicura Ale per 30 milioni, mentre i gemelli Massi finiscono uno alla Spagna (Cameron, 50mln) e uno all'Argentina (Dylan, 26mln), che si aggiudica anche Pedro! Il Belgio scommette su Giorgio (30mln), la Spagna punta su Emilio (10mln)...

Eccoci alle aste vere e proprie: Zach, molto conteso, finisce all’Argentina per 17 mln, mentre Lorenzo va all'Olanda per 22mln. Molte scommesse su Alberto e Carlo, che finiscono al Belgio, rispettivamente per 34 e 32 mln, mentre Mattia viene preso dalla Germania in "saldo" a 12 mln (che colpo!). 

L'Olanda si assicura un ottimo portiere con Giovanni (24 mln) e un solido centrocampista come Vittorio (39 mln). 

Le altre offerte completano il Tabellone delle squadre. Lucas all'Argentina, Rocco al Belgio, Daniel e Ryan al Brasile, Adrian e Daniele B alla Germania, Giulio T all'Olanda e Gianmarco e Daniele P alla Spagna.

ACLI League (2007/2008): Forte Bravetta 4-3 Ambrit

 Ambrit finished 2021 unbeaten but begin the new year with an unexpected defeat. After going behind to an early goal, the team regained their balance and Bertie equalised with a brave header past the onrushing goalkeeper. The home side regained the lead after 16' but, once again, Ambrit equalised - Vittorio's goal sending the teams in level at half time.

Immediately after the break, Ambrit took the lead for the first time when Vittorio struck again, this time his shot crashing in off the underside of the bar with a helpless goalkeeper looking on. But the team - playing 7 against 8 - was looking tired and the home side took over the midfield. First came the equaliser and then the final goal that decided the encounter.

TEAM: Theo, Bernardo, Vittorio, Jonah, Zach, Mattia, Bertie