PSV 1-2 B. Dortmund

 A pulsating clash unfolded at Ambrit Stadium today, pitting PSV Eindhoven against the formidable Borussia Dortmund.

In a whirlwind of end-to-end action, the indomitable Vittorio emerged as a formidable obstacle for PSV, gallantly thwarting the relentless assaults launched by Maverick and Federico while Rocco and Ashton pressed at the other end countered by the resilient defence of Adrian, Erik, Sam, and the custodian Martti for the German side. The turning point arrived under controversial circumstances, with Rocco winning a penalty amid debate, following a slight brush against Sam's chest in the box. The tension was soon mirrored on the scoreboard, as a throw-in seemed to take a slight deflection before nestling in the net. While PSV players vehemently argued that it was a direct throw, the referee ultimately ruled an own goal against Cristian, the goalkeeper.

With the match poised on a knife's edge, the intensity reached yet another crescendo. Daniele was a tireless presence, seemingly omnipresent – blocking shots one moment, orchestrating play through midfield the next. The midfield duel between Daniele and Rocco emerged as one of the match's highlights.

As the game appeared destined for a draw, a late-game hero emerged in the form of super-sub Antonio C. His pinpoint pass from the heart of midfield sliced through the defensive line, presenting Maverick with a straightforward opportunity to tap it home, clinching a dramatic victory.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Daniele 4, Rocco 3, Vittorio 3, Federico 3, Ashton 2, Maverick 2, Adrian 1, Erik 1, Josh 1, Lucas 1, 

Man City 6-2 Atletico M

 A four-goal difference is hard to justify in a game that was evenly-fought all the way through. City's first goal was not without controversy: referee Corcoran gave a corner when Atletico's defenders were adamant that it should have been a goal kick and, when the corner came in, Jacopo rose to nod a majestic header past Freydis for 1-0. Atletico tried to get back into the game immediately and Lorenzo was unlucky: his first shot came back off the bar and his next shot went wide. City then went 2-0 up: with Jacopo creating confusion in the box, the ball fell to Antoine and he shot home. Jacopo hammered in a third just before the first break.

Lorenzo got a yellow card for a deliberate hand ball early in the second period and Kevin almost pulled a goal back nut Gabriele made an excellent save. But City were missing nothing in front of goal. Given another chance, Antoine didn't say no, lobbing the ball over Samuel for 4-0. Lorenzo continued to test Gabriele and forced two more saves from the ACLI number 1, first from a free kick and then from a shot from the right. Max also shot well but was foiled by Gabriele.

More goals followed in period 3. Lorenzo played in Max and Atletico finally got on the scoreboard. City dampened the enthusiasm immediately though when they were awarded a penalty for handball. Freddie stepped up confidently to restore the four-goal cushion. Max scored again but Francesco had the last word, floating a delicious shot high into the corner to wrap up the victory for City.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Antoine 4, Gabriele 3, Lorenzo I 3,  Francesco 3, Matteo 2, Jacopo 2, Max 2, Freddie 1, Adriano 1,

Final agony for Ambrit as AOSR take the trophy!

 After the ecstasy of a SF derby win on penalties, Ambrit's ACLI team lost out to AOSR in the final but they take away the satisfaction of a good day's work and a good first test for this year's team.

Ambrit's other team - Ambrit 'A' - kicked off their day with a resounding 5-0 win over Chateaubriand in group A, with all five goals coming from an unstoppable Rocco in attack. They followed this up later with a 1-0 win over New School (Giovanni Z) and another 5-0 win over Viterbo (Rocco 3, Giovanni 1, Dimitri 1) to propel themselves safely into the semi-final.

In group B, Ambrit ACLI progressed with a modest 1-0 win over Marymount (Daniele) and a much more precious 1-0 win over AOSR (Kevin), before losing their final group match 1-0 to Acorn. However, a superior goal difference saw ACLI creep into the SF to face their Ambrit rivals! After a typically tense 15' of derby football, the score was still 0-0 and so on to the dreaded penalty shoot-out! Here the standard of penalties was amazing and so too was the standard of goalkeeping, with Giovanni Z and Gabriele outdoing one another time after time. After 8 koicks each, Ambrit ACLI won through!

The final began with a quick and messy goal for AOSR and it was then one-way traffic, with Ambrit dominating possession. But their play was chaotic and needed someone to step on the ball, slow it down and find the killer pass. Somehow, the visitors surviced, flourished and won the the game and the tournament.

Albania 1-0 Holland

 L'Albania esordisce con una vittoria di misura sull'organizzata Olanda, ma - possiamo dirlo - i tre punti non sono stati particolarmente meritati dalla squadra di Aurora. La partita infatti sembrava bloccata sullo 0-0, nonostante le buone azioni offensive dell'Olanda, ben orchestrate dall'ottima intesa tra Alessandra e Margherita, con la spinta di Olivia - velocissima e onnipresente - e la buona guardia nelle retrovie di Naila e compagne. L'Albania non sembrava, come dicevamo, in grado di impensierire la difesa olandese, con Zoe (brava ma troppo isolata) e la pur combattiva Sara, lasciando ad Aurora il possesso sterile della palla. La buona tecnica individuale di Aurora non è sufficiente da sola a fare squadra e oggi la capitana non ha MAI cercato il dialogo con le compagne. Tuttavia, a 4 minuti dalla fine, una punizione vicina alla linea di centrocampo ha permesso ad Aurora di scagliare un tiro potente, che ha superato il portiere e ha regalato la vittoria alle "rosse". Da sottolineare anche le buone prestazioni di Carla e Suleyma, in difesa, di Livia e di Maeve.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Margherita 3, Olivia 2, Alessandra 2, Suleyma 2, Carla 2, Zoe 2, Livia 1, Aurora R 1, Maeve 1, Sara W 1, Anna C, 1 Naila 1.

Atletico M 2-0 Napoli

 No goals in the first period, the best chance falling to Diego - but guest goalkeeper Freydis made the first of many good saves. Atletico opened the scoring in period 2: Lorenzo passed a ball down the right to Kevin and he touched it on to Max; despite the tight angle, Max managed to slide the ball home. Napoli almost equalised immediately but Lorenzo L's shot came back off the post to Nicholas. The captain shot again but Freydis saved low to her right. In the third period, Kevin shot from edge of the area; Luca Tommaso deflected the ball onto the post but, soon after, Max found Kevin with a pass in the penalty area and Kevin rifled it home.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Kevin 5, Max 4, Lorenzo I 4, Luca Tommaso 2, Lorenzo L 2, Diego 1, Adriano 1, Simon 1, Steve 1

YELLOW CARD: Ruben

PSV 2-2 Man City

 An action-packed first period saw Jacopo strike first to put Man City into the lead. But Rocco's tireless running in midfield opened up a lot of chances for PSV up front and Lucas P took advantage to slip the ball past Gabriele for an equaliser. Both sides were full of energy and ideas and City went back into the lead when Francesco forced the ball over the line. Rocco almost evened the scores again but his shot was well-saved from Gabriele. Rocco made chances for Ashton and Lucas but the score stayed at 2-1 until another pass from Rocco put Lucas in again. The g6 striker was calm and collected and scored a deserved equalising goal.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Rocco 5, Gabriele Fi 4, Lucas P 3, Jacopo 2, Alvaro 2, Francesco 2, Matteo 2, Joshua 1

Holland 1-0 Croatia

 Non altrettanto coinvolgente ed emozionante la partita d'esordio delle ragazze: poche occasioni create, molta confusione e due squadre ancora lontane dal trovare la migliore disposizione in campo. Vince Comunque la squadra dotata di una maggiore organizzazione, grazie alla rete siglata da Margherita, brava a seguire una palla piuttosto innocua, su cui però la difesa della Croatia fa una dormita generale.

Bene alcune giocatrici individualmente (tra tutte Alessandra, l'unica oggi a ragionare con il pallone tra i piedi), buona l'attitudine complessiva e ottimo l'entusiasmo in campo. Speriamo di alzare leggermente il livello tecnico, per assistere a partite sempre equilibrate e combattute.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Alessandra 3, Costanza 2, Margherita 2, Olivia 2, Una 2, Emma 1, Clotilde 1, Maeve 1, Marta 1, Naila 1, Megan 1.

Galatasaray 4-3 Dortmund

 An exciting opening match kept the capacity crowd at Ambrit stadium entertained right to the final whistle. Federico put Dortmund ahead in the first period; Daniele played a clever free-kick to him inside the area and Federico buried the ball in the back of the net. Galatasaray equalised through Claudio almost immediately but a lovely passing move for Dortmund saw Daniele release Maverick to make it 2-1.

In the second period, Giovanni almost equalised with a well-struck free-kick but Adrian made a good save. Antonio F then clattered a shot back off the post and Lorenzo was on hand to gather the rebound and dispatch it into the corner to make it 2-2. 

But the final period was decisive and belonged to the Turks. Antonio F scored - 3-2 - and then an unfortunate own-goal made it 4-2 before Antonio C continued his goalscoring vein to haul Dortmund back into the game. But time was running out and Dortmund saw their chance of a point slip by when Giovanni's awkward header bounced to safety off his own crossbar!

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Claudio 4, Federico 4, Daniele 3, Antonio C 3, Antonio F 2, Giovanni V 1, Giovanni Z 1, Sam 1, Lorenzo 1, Maverick 1

RISA GIRLS' TOURNAMENT

 Inzia con un bellissimo successo l'avventura delle ragazze Ambrit quest'anno: la nostra scuola infatti ha ospitato oggi il primo torneo dell'anno per le ragazze delle Middle School di Roma. Vediamo com'è andata:

Ambrit - Chateaubriand 4-1

Il primo match di giornata vede le nostre ragazze impegnate contro la scuola francese di Roma. Senza farsi intimidire dalla statura delle avversarie, decisamente più grandi e muscolose, l'Ambrit si mette a pressare dal primo minuto, senza lasciar ragionare le avversarie, cercando spesso la conclusione, ma senza grande lucidità e precisione. In difesa il trio Lavinia-Naila-Alessandra non lascia passare nulla, ma l'attacco non sfonda. Ci vuole un rigore, per fallo di mano, a sbloccare il risultato: Aurora è fredda dal dischetto e fa 1-0. L'entrata in campo della giovane Angela porta vigore alle nostre, che proprio con la neo entrata trovano il 2-0. Fomentata dalle due reti, l'Ambrit spinge, ma subisce il 2-1, nonostante un intervento prodigioso di Freydis in porta. Niente paura: la coppia d'attacco Aurora-Angela sforna il bis e con un gol ciascuno blinda il punteggio sul 4-1.

Ambrit - St. George's Dragons 3-1

Nel secondo match l'Ambrit trova quasi immediatamente il vantaggio con un'incursione di Erica, oggi onnipresente, ma viene raggiunta dalle avversarie a causa di un pallone mal gestito su cui nessuno interviene. Nel momento più critico della partita un rimpallo fortuito ci regala il nuovo vantaggio su un calcio d'angolo forte e teso di Aurora. La stessa Aurora chiude il discorso con un bel diagonale da sinistra, dopo aver saltato un'avversaria.

Ambrit - St. George's Georgians 0-1

A metà torneo Aurora (4 reti) e Lavinia (colonna della difesa) lasciano la squadra per un impegno. L'Ambrit sembra accusare il colpo, sapendo di dover affrontare le avversarie più temibili. In realtà non corre grandi pericoli, tranne quando le avversarie effettuano le rimesse laterali, poiché dispongono di un lancio potente e preciso. L'attacco Ambrit non riesce a essere incisivo, nonostante diverse occasioni create, e a un minuto dalla fine arriva la beffa: sull'ennesima rimessa laterale, la palla sbatte su un difensore e rotola in rete. Autogol e prima sconfitta.

Ambrit - Acorn 2-0

L'ultima partita del girone, con l'Ambrit già qualificata si svolge con la squadra più giovane del torneo. L'Ambrit, a sua volta, si schiera con la formazione più giovane, un po' per dare occasione di giocare a tutte, un po' per risparmiare le energie per la finale. Il match è di nuovo a senso unico, con due reti siglate da Margherita, e qualche altra occasione creata e non sfruttata. 

FINALE: Ambrit - St. George's Georgians 1-0

Ci siamo, la partita più importante è arrivata. Purtroppo anche Margherita è dovuta andare a casa, ma l'Ambrit ha la consapevolezza di avere un gruppo unito e le armi per vincere la partita. Le avversarie sembrano intimorite dal pressing Ambrit, non riescono a creare pericoli e si gioca a una porta sola. Naila, Alessandra e Anna fanno buona guardia, mentre Erica, Marina e Sara si danno da fare a centrocampo. In attacco Angela fa il suo meglio, con giocate d'anticipo e molto movimento. A pochi minuti dalla fine la svolta della partita: una punizione dal limite piuttosto defilata. Si incarica di batterla proprio Angela, che supera la barriera e piazza il pallone sotto la traversa! Ambrit Campione!!

Grazie a tutte le ragazze per aver partecipato e ai genitori per aver mostrato supporto ed entusiamo!

FINAL: 8S 2-0 7D

 The best game of the tournament was reserved for the final and a sell-out crowd witnessed not only a pulsating match but also the best display of goalkeeping ever seen at Ambrit stadium. With 7D dominating possession and making all the chances, it seemed only a matter of time before they scored. And it seemed that they had scored when Antoine hit an unstoppable shot at Giovanni... but it wasn't unstoppble and Giovanni flew to his left to parry it wide. Next up was Carlo, who caught the ball perfectly to send the ball in under the crossbar... except there was Giovanni again, somehow pawing the ball over the bar. And then came the best one of all: Jacopo picked up the ball on the edge of the area, rounded two defenders and set himself up for the shot, a mere 7m from the goal; he shot to his left, turned away to celebrate the goal but then looked on in disbelief as Giovanni dived to save again!

In between all this, 8V put some attacks together but, again, nothing got past Erin until a series of fortunate breaks saw Diego in some space. The angle looked difficult but Diego drove an impressive shot home: 1-0! Kevin followed up to score a second with the last kick of the game. 

SEMI FINAL: 7D 1-1 8Z (4-2 after pens)

 Rocco put his side ahead in the first period but 7D were quick to equalise, the final ball of yet another attack bouncing off a defender and into the goal. Carlo almost stole the lead for 7D but his shot came back off the post. In the second period, Antoine made a couple of chances for himself and almost scored but the goalkeeper saved well. For 7D, Jacopo was everywhere and Erin superlative in defence. 

SEMI-FINAL: 8S 2-1 6A

 For a while, the 6A dream was very much alive. In the first period, they were the better team: more energy, more desire, more possession... but no goals. In the second period, 8S took the lead through Kevin. No surprise there, Kevin was their most threatening player all day. But 6A hit back almost immediately, Antonio latching onto a loose ball and dispatching it with his usual clinical style. The game ebbed and flowed now, each side probing for a chance to snatch the win. In the end, the winning goal came from a set-piece. An indirect free-kick inside the area and, when the ball was rolled back, Giovanni slammed home the winner.

City land g7 ace!

 Pep Guardiola has long been a shrewd operator in the markets and, earlier this evening, following drawn-out talks, City announced that they have signed Jacopo on a one-year contract for an undisclosed fee!

LIVE: Intramural Teams... follow all the developments....... update No.2

 A bidding war is developing for Claudio in grade 6 ... his agent has been spotted having intense talks in one of Istanbul's top hotels!

Claudio's agent (second from left) at a meeting in Istanbul earlier today

LIVE: Intramural Teams... follow all the developments

 The Captains for the Boys' teams have just been announced!

And Nicolas has plunged straight into the transfer market and bought Diego and Aron - due Napoletani DOC!

Giovanni Z has picked up Antonio on a free transfer from Besiktas... controversial stuff!.. and namesake Giovanni V in defence.

Daniele has gone straight for a goalkeeper and signed Adrian, a solid investment in an experienced 'keeper and he has added Sam to shore up the defence.

Matteo has followed his example: Gabriele F to play in goal (or out!) and Francesco too - another player capable of filling any position.

Adriano has mortgaged the Spanish club and spent a record fee on Kevin+Martino, a formidable-looking team already.

And Vittorio, watching the markets and biding his time, has tempted two fine attacking players to Holland - Rocco and Ashton

TUNE IN LATER FOR MORE NEWS!!!!!

6A 10-0 6T

 Una partita senza storia, già finita dopo il secondo minuto di gioco.

Una vittoria esagerata (anche nei modi), con reti di Lorenzo (2), Claudio (5), Antonio jr (2) e un autogol.

7C 2-1 7R

 Un'altra grande battaglia tra le grade 7 per la qualificazione alla semifinale: la 7R non si è ripetuta e ha ceduto di fronte alla classe della 7C, anche se ciò ha permesso alla 7A di qualificarsi per lo scontro diretto.

Bella la sfida sul campo, vibrante e piena di occasioni. La decide una doppietta di Max, con il momentaneo pareggio di Freddie, contestato violentemente dagli avversari per un presunto pallone uscito lateralmente che ricorda le polemiche recenti dopo Juve-Lazio.