Fulham 1-1 Man City

 

Man City dropped a valuable two points today and now must beat Chelsea to get to the semi-finals. Antonio was on target early on but his shot bounced back off the crossbar. Fulham took the lead when a corner from the right was cleared but VAR intervened to penalise a handball offence and Giovanni Vittorio blasted home the penalty. Maverick sprang from midfield and found himself one-to-one versus Mattia but the Fulham ‘keeper closed him down. Federico played a lovely one-two with Diego and got a shot off but only into the side-netting. The second half began dramatically with Giovanni V on the scoresheet again… except this time it was an own-goal! Maverick shot, Mattia saved but the ball rebounded off GV and in! Maverick supplied another good assist from the left to Edo, but Edo was off-balance and sliced the shot wide. Diego had a chance later on too, but his header was saved by Martti.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Antonio 3, Federico 3, Maverick 3, Diego 2, Giovanni V 2, Lupo 2, Patrizio 2, Martti 1, Mattia 1, Edoardo 1, Mostafa 1 

Chelsea 2-5 Ipswich

 

After yesterday’s debacle, it was great to see an excellent match today! Ipswich came out of the traps at a sprint - in particular captain Jacopo. He scored the first goal with a fierce right-foot drive after a dynamic solo run; he notched a second, similar goal - but this time with his left foot. And he made it 3-0 with a shot from an acute angle that tricked Carlo in the Chelsea goal. In between, Piervalerio nearly scored for Chelsea with a high lob that Tor managed to touch over the bar and Max came close to a goal too. In the second half, Claudio found some space in attack and banged in two beautiful goals with that deadly left foot. It seemed that Chelsea might mount a comeback but these hopes were dashed when Gabriel turned on a loose ball in the penalty area and hit an accurate shot into the top corner: 4-2. Gianluigi sealed the win with an unstoppable shot and almost added another late goal but, this time, he ded beat Sam in goal but struck the post.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Jacopo 5, Claudio 3, Junio 3, Carlo 2, Gianluigi 2, Gabriel 2, Leopoldo 1, Giulio R 1, Tancredi 1, Piervalerio 1

Liverpool 2-1 Spurs

A very unsatisfactory game. Liverpool took the lead through Antoine when his long shot found its way through a very confused Spurs rearguard. In the second half, Lorenzo I converted a penalty after Steve kicked the ball out of bounds. Lorenzo F pulled one back for Spurs.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Lorenzo I 3, Lorenzo F 3, Antoine 3, Jose 2, Steve 2, Ashton 1, Anan 1, Rex 1, Christian 1, Raul 1, Anteo 1

Empoli 2-1 Roma

 

The next time that these two teams meet will be in the Final - the main course, shall we say - and today they served up a very appetizing antipasto. After some initial sparring, Megan opened the scoring with a perfectly-placed shot that sneaked between the goalkeeper and her right-hand post. Empoli’s equaliser wasn’t long coming though: Caterina picked up a ball on the left, cut inside and rolled an accurate shot into the bottom corner of the goal. Erin almost put her team 2-1 up from a free-kick but the ball glanced off the top of the crossbar. Against Como, Zoe came out and took over the second half and she did it again today! Her first shot was well-saved by Sofia and, as Empoli poured forward, Sofia’s next save kept out a shot from Anna. But Zoe wouldn’t go away and she was on hand to turn in a loose ball after a corner from Erin and Empoli took all three points to finish top! 

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Megan 3, Erin 2, Vittoria N 2, Zoe 2, Caterina 2, Anna 2, Viola 1, Sofia 1, Gracie 1, Una 1 

AICS League: Ambrit 9-3 Forum

 

Up against the league leaders this week, Ambrit won their third game in a row and climb

into first place!

Ottima prestazione anche questo sabato della squadra dell’Ambrit che giocava contro la prima

in classifica - Forum. Il risultato viene subito messo al sicuro con tre goal nei primi 15 minuti di

gara; per il resto, la squadra ha gestito il risultato senza rinunciare ad essere più volte

pericoloso e segnare altri sei goal. In virtù di questa ottima prestazione la squadra sale al primo

posto nonostante una partita in meno.

TEAM: Mostafa; Noel, Tor, Junio, Matteo (capt), Lorenzo L; Lorenzo F, Giovanni, Edoardo,

Diego.

Scorers: Giovanni (3), Lorenzo F (2), Edoardo (2), Lorenzo L (1), Diego (1)

Man City 3-1 Liverpool

 

With Guardiola signing a new contract this week, City were galvanised for this meeting with their recent rivals. Liverpool were missing their captain again but Lorenzo G brought the fight to City early on, testing Edoardo in the city goal twice but failing to score. At the other end, Antonio played in Maverick but Rex saved well. Next time, Antonio himself took on the responsibility of shooting and fired City into the lead. Lorenzo G immediately created another chance for himself but Matteo made a fantastic tackle to keep him out. City went 2-0 up before half time, captain Maverick heading home an accurate throw-in from the right. Immediately after the break, Martti struck to make it 3-0 and the game was over as a meaningful match but Liverpool kept plugging away. Antoine set up Lorenzo G for a chance and Edo made a good save. But Antoine repeated the trick minutes later and Lorenzo G scored this time. But, throughout all of this, Ryan defended really well for Liverpool and the Reds were ably assisted by their on-loan players - Erin, Livia and Clotilde. The latter in particular was extraordinary today. Statistics show that she was 1st for ‘tackles made’, 1st for ‘distance run’ and 1st ‘Passes completed’. Well done Clotilde! 

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Lorenzo G 4, Ryan 3, Antonio 3, Antoine 3, Rex 2, Maverick 2, Matteo 2, Martti 1, Edoardo 1, 

Como 2-1 Atalanta

 

Captain Alessandra organised her troops well today and she herself provided a valuable link in midfield between a defence that was well-positioned throughout and a mobile Suleyma in attack. Clotilde supported her captain well on the right and played some good balls forward while Ludovica was alert and reactive in goal. But it was the opponents from Como who scored first, Chloe latching onto a Carla corner and scoring from close range. Sara found her feet late in the first half and made some threatening runs on the right. Early In the second half she switched to the left, made a run past two defenders, cut  inside to shoot and then stood off the ball to allow an onrushing Chloe to apply the finishing touch: great goal! The Como midfield and defence were having a great day too: Valerie blocked off the centre of the pitch and, behind her, Carla mopped up anything that did get through. The team from Bergamo made a desperate late attempt to claw back a point and Anna scored from a well-struck free kick that was helped past Maeve by a deflection off Greta. 

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Chloe 3, Sara 2, Suleyma 2, Anna 2, Clotilde 1, Ludovica 1, Carla 1, Valerie 1, Alessandra 1, 

Ipswich 2-1 Fulham

 

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

Spurs 3-0 Chelsea

 

A lot of people had Chelsea down as favourites for this one but the Spurs players certainly turned up today and put on a good all-round team performance to take the three points and capture first place in the league table. The first half was slow to take off and Piervalerio’s yellow card was the first really notable event, along with a couple of ultimately sterile combinations between Tancredi and Claudio down the left. Things then exploded into life when Spurs were awarded a penalty for Sam’s handball. Sam was shown a red card… but VAR intervened to commute that to a yellow; Lorenzo F nailed the penalty: 1-0 at half time. The first few minutes of the second half belonged to Christian, in goal for Spurs. He made three fantastic saves: the first to block a sledgehammer of a shot from Carlo; the second to stop a well-placed shot from Claudio; the third to keep out Tancredi from close range. After that, the Spurs outfield took over. Steve had a shot well saved by Leopoldo but his next shot was cleverly dummied by Lorenzo F; Leopoldo was fooled - 2-0. Steve struck again for 3-0.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Christian 4, Steve 3, Sam 3, Lorenzo F 3, Claudio 2, Carlo 2, Piervalerio 2, Tancredi 1, José 1

San Girolamo 0-9 Ambrit

 Oggi prestazione degna di nota della squadra Ambrit che nonostante inizio di partita con un uomo in meno pronti e via dopo cinque minuti 3 a zero.per il resto della partita la superiorità tecnica e fisica ha fatto sì che la squadra segnasse altri sei goal senza subirne uno Ottimo lavoro tattico di tutti e anche del portiere che ha salvato la sua porta con due gesti tecnici di nota.

Ambrit 8-1 Hell Valley

 

Despite the final scoreline, Ambrit’s opening match in the AICS league hung in the balance until mid-way through the second half. Ambrit started well and had the visitors pinned back for most of the first half but goals were slow to come. Diego played in Edoardo with a lovely pass but Edo’s shot was saved. From a corner, Edoardo found Diego but Diego shot wide and, 2’ later, he hit the crossbar with another effort! Edoardo shot over with his next try and Giovanni shot wide too. Still 0-0! Finally Ambrit did score with maybe the best goal of the game: a long ball found Lorenzo F on the left and he beat the goalkeeper with a delicious lob! Ambrit continued to attack and Edoardo played in a great cross from the right which Giovanni somehow failed to touch in. Giovanni shot wide again a minute later and all these missed chances looked like coming back to haunt Ambrit when their opponents hit the bar with their first attack of the game and then equalised with their second attack! But Ambrit were unperturbed and Diego continued to lay off nice passes: Giovanni almost managed to profit but his shot was just wide. Then, just before the half time break, Diego played in Lorenzo F on the left; Lorenzo’s speed took him past the defender and he calmly beat the goalkeeper again for goal number two.

It took Ambrit 15’ of the second half to score the third - Giovanni - and begin to feel comfortable. Tor added a fourth with an amazing shot almost over his shoulder from the corner of the pitch to the opposite corner of the goal. Giovanni ‘stole’ the fifth, backheeling Matteo’s goal-bound shot into the corner; Edoardo scored the sixth, at the end of an exciting breakaway run; Giovanni number seven and Edoardo the eighth. All through the game, Mostafa was a reassuring presence in goal and made two excellent saves; Noel, Junio, Lorenzo L and Matteo defended solidly.

Liverpool 4-2 Chelsea

 

Anfield celebrated three points today as Chelsea had to bow to a superior Liverpool, driven by Captain Lorenzo I in fine form. Chelsea scored first when Claudio latched onto a sloppy pass out of midfield and slotted the ball into the corner with his trusty left foot. He nearly doubled the lead immediately but Rex made the first of many good saves - in the first half alone, two more from Claudio and one to stop Carlo too. Lorenzo I equalised with a well-struck free-kick but Chelsea re-took the lead before half-time: Carlo’s shot was saved by Rex but the rebound fell to Giovanni and he calmly chipped it over a diving Rex. But this time the lead lasted only seconds; Lorenzo I scored with just the second touch after the re-start with a high shot that caught Sam napping. But Sam made it up for it just before the break, making a brilliant save low to his left to foil Lorenzo G. Early in the second half, an industrious Antoine forced Sam into another save and Claudio did likewise to Rex. Lorenzo I came onto a pass from Lorenzo G but his shot was deflated off Carlo and over. Then Lorenzo I scored a jewel of a goal. Collecting the ball on the left, he dummied the defender and turned inside to execute a delicate chip into the far corner of the goal. Antoine supplied the assist to Lorenzo I for his fourth and final goal.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Lorenzo I 6, Claudio 3, Rex 3, Sam 2, Antoine 2, Carlo 2, Filippo 1, Ryan 1, Giovanni M 1

Como 0-2 Empoli

 

A quiet first half ended with Anna shooting over the bar but maybe that was a warning that Como should have heeded. In the second half, Empoli had a new energy and Zoe was on fire. Three times she found herself with shooting opportunities and three times her shot was a little too high. But the fourth time, no! Receiving a pass from Anna, she slotted the ball home confidently to put the Tuscans ahead. Como attacked now with new energy themselves. Livia put the Empoli under constant pressure and Valerie made some exciting runs with the ball. But Empoli coped well - Viola stood out in defence - Como left spaces for Erin to exploit… and she did. Rounding two opponents, she then passed to Zoe who gleefully accepted the invitation to seal the victory with her second goal.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Zoe 4, Valerie 3, Livia 2, Erin 2, Anna 2, Viola 2, Gracie 1, Carla 1

Spurs 2-2 Fulham

 Another London derby today and, though it maybe was not the best quality match of recent times, it nonetheless provided lots of entertainment for a packed stadium as the teams fought for superiority right to the end. An early chance fell to Fulham but Diego wasn't yet warmed up and he missed quite badly, He made amends minutes later though with an excellent assist for Federico but the Fulham captain shot high over the bar. Then it was Spurs turn to put Fulham under pressure and, just as they looked to have forced the ball over the line, Lorenzo C 'took one for the team', handling to keep the ball out and getting a red card for his trouble! José took the resulting penalty and scored... but VAR stepped in to order a re-take because of Lorenzo F's encroachment and this time José's kick was saved by Mattia! The last chance of the half fell to Spurs captain Steve but he too shot over.

The second half was lit up early on by an incredible triple save from Mattia! He blocked shots from Steve, Lorenzo F and Freddie and then recovered to make even a fourth save soon after. The first goal of the game came off a hotly-contested Fulham throw-in. The ball ricocheted into the Spurs goal off a defender but Spurs were adamant that the thrower was standing on the pitch. The referee didn't see it, nor did VAR. Diego could have made it 2-0 almost immediately off a Federico assist hew missed and then but Spurs used the earlier 'wrong' as motivation. Freddie played in Steve and he drove a fierce shot past Mattia. Then Lorenzo F started to finally get the better of on-loan player Erin. He passed to Ashton but Mattia made another good save. Next time though, Lorenzo F took the shot himself and scored: 2-1. The last word went to Diego though. He took a pass on the left fron Lorenzo L and shot the ball back diagonally to tie the game at 2-2.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Mattia 5, Federico 3, Steve 3, Lorenzo F 2, Diego 2, Raul 2, Freddie 2, Lorenzo L 1, Mostafa 1.