The home side dominated possession in the first half, Jacopo and Gianluigi offering a two-pronged threat that had Fulham scrambling in defence. But scrambling or not, Fulham kept them out and then struck on the break, Diego doing a tremendous job to somehow keep the ball in play, smuggle it along the base line and then tap it in to put Fulham ahead! Ipswich, not surprisingly, re-doubled their efforts and Mattia was called upon to make an excellent save from a well-struck Jacopo shot. Fulham almost sneaked a second goal just before the break: Federico’s corner was perfectly placed to find Diego’s head on the far post but Diego headed wide. The second half opened with a fantastic save from Tor, pushing a fiercely-struck shot from Federico onto his post and out. The action then switched ends and, to the delight of his many adoring fans on the 8th grade touchline, Gianluigi equalised off a Jacopo assist. Both teams now abandoned any pretence of caution and chances were more frequent. Diego played in Federico: he shot high. Diego turned on a loose ball: he shot over too. Gabriel saw his shot towards the opposite top corner saved and Max shot the rebound over the bar. Giovanni Vittorio hit a beautiful shot from the edge of the area but Tor made another good save. It looked destined to be a draw but then Jacopo made another surging run and, this time, a space opened in the Fulham defence. Jacopo didn’t need to be asked: he drove the ball into the back of the net.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Jacopo 4, Diego 4, Federico 3, Gianluigi 3, Tor 2, Junio 2, Gabriel 1, Mattia 1, Giovanni Vittorio 1