Romania 4-2 Italy

 What looked early on in the match to be an easy victory for Romania turned into a bit of a scramble towards the end as Italy finally found their form. Half time saw the Romanians with a comfortable 3-0 lead, with goals from Lorenzo G (2) and Pier Valerio. It could have been more, but Erin cleared ball after ball out of defence and Aurora was, as usual, courageous in goal. Sara came on at half time and added some lucidity and calm to the Italian attack, and her passes brought Livia more into the game. Then, half-way through this second half, Megan had the ball in the net but referee Corcoran had already blown his whistle for a free kick... he should really have played the advantage. From the free kick, Rex was penalised for a handball on the line but Claudio saved the penalty! But nothing could stop Italy now as they drove forward in search of a goal. Powered in particular by Vittoria N's energy, they had Romania on the run and it was Vittoria who got the goal. Romania had barely kicked off when Italy stole the ball again and Livia rounded two defenders and rolled in a second goal. At 3-2, anything now looked possible and Claudio decided it was time to come out and play. First he tried a long shot that almost found the target and then he played an assist to Lorenzo G who gratefully accepted the gist and completed his hat-trick.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Vittoria N 4, Claudio 3, Livia 3, Erin 3, Lorenzo G 3, Sara 2, Megan 2, Aurora 1, Rex 1

Shakhtar 0-0 Stuttgart

 Sono mancate le reti, ma non le emozioni nella partita di oggi, con due squadre molto fisiche e molta voglia di portare a casa un bel risultato. Difese attente, qualche tiro da fuori, soprattutto per le tedesche, e un palo clamoroso delle ucraine, di Angela, a portiere battuto...

Insomma, per lunghi tratti la partita ha offerto un buon livello tecnico, con duelli anche parecchio accesi, come il derby casalingo tra Erin e Megan. Il pareggio finale è forse il risultato più giusto.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Una 4, Erin 3, Angela 3, Alessandra 2, Valerie 2, Aurora 2, Suleyma 1, Letizia 1, Megan 1, Ginevra 1, Sophie 1, Sofia 1, Aissatou 1.

USA 3-1 Argentina

 No shortage of goalmouth action today as these two teams went at each other from the off. Lorenzo F tested Giovanni Vittorio in the Argentinian goal with two early shots - one an acrobatic bicycle kick - but GV was equal to them both. In between though, USA took the lead when Leopoldo's well-struck free kick went in, helped by a small but crucial deflection off Jacopo. USA double their lead before half time, this one coming from a shot driven in by Federico and going in off GV. Argentina's attacks lacked coordination though and their passing was poor. Steve did have a chance but Lorenzo C made a great blocking tackle, and Jacopo did have a shot that came back off the post.

Early inn the second half, captain Antoine played in Steve again but Steve was off balance when he shot and the ball trickled wide. Jacopo hit the post again, this time from a free kick, and then he had two more shots saved by Lorenzo C - now in goal for USA. At the other end, Giovanni Vittorio made a good save to keep out Federico but it was Argentina now dominating possession and territory. Jacopo played in Steve... another wide. Jacopo took a throw-in to Antoine and, finally, Argentina got on the scoreboard when Antoine's mis-hit shot went in! For a while, it seemed that Argenina might grab a point... but then Federico hammered home a third goal for USA and, when Steve chased down a ball in the hope of pulling one back for Argentina, he mis-timed a final lunge for the ball and took Lorenzo C's knee instead. Red card for Steve (misses next game), defeat for Argentina and three points for Ashton's team.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Federico 3, Jacopo 2, Junio 2, Leopoldo 2, Lorenzo C 2, Lorenzo F 2,  Giovanni V 2, Filippo 1, Giovanni M 1, Noel 1, Mostafa 1, Steve 1, Ashton 1 

Romania 5-1 Mexico

 The absence of Tor today left Mexico without a first-choice goalkeeper and they paid the price. With Martti in goal for the Romania, Rex's team never looked like losing. Rex himself was a whirlwind of activity all through the game and good possession was constantly supplied to Lorenzo G and Claudio going forward. A first goal-  converted by Claudio - was canceled when referee Corcoran noted an extra player on the pitch. But not to worry, Romania were soon on the attack again and Lorenzo G and Claudio notched a goal each before the break. More of the same in the second half. Max and Maverick combined well on occasion; Gianluigi threatened too but Romania held firm, underpinned by Raul 'insuperabile'. Two more goals for Lorenzo and one for Pier Valerio, with Max grabbing a consolation goal late on.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Lorenzo G 5, Martti 4, Rex 3, Claudio 3, Piervalerio 2, Gianluigi 2, Raul 2, Max 1

Stuttgart 2-1 Celtic

 Una partita epica, rocambolesca, molto fisica quella giocata oggi all'Ambrit Arena!

Tante ragazze hanno espresso un calcio di buon livello, rendendo difficile per i giudici valutare una ragazza migliore in campo. Infatti, da una parte e dall'altra, si è combattuto a viso aperto. 

Nel primo tempo è stato lo Stuttgart a fare la partita e il Celtic principalmente a difendersi, eppure nei contropiede la squadra scozzese è stata da subito pericolosissima, con una Sara in grande forma, capace di dialogare con Livia e di far partire in velocità Chloe. Proprio in una di queste occasioni Sara è riuscita con una bella azione personale a portare in vantaggio la sua squadra: tiro di destro rasoterra che bacia il palo ed entra in rete.

La reazione delle tedesche non si fa aspettare: da un rilancio un po' pasticciato della difesa del Celtic la palla arriva a Suleyma, che non ci pensa due volte e spara in rete in maniera imparabile. 

Quello che avrebbe potuto essere un colpo al morale del Celtic si rivela invece la scintilla che accede la partita: le ragazze capitanate da Chloe attaccano con grande convinzione, mentre sui numerosi ribaltamenti di fronte Erin prova alcuni tiri dei suoi, non trovando la porta.

La partita si risolve a due minuti dalla fine, quando astutamente Una batte un calcio d'angolo potente al centro dell'area, che rimbalza su un difensore e rotola in porta. Una sconfitta amara per il Celtic, che avrebbe meritato almeno un punto, ma che avrà sicuramente la possibilità di rifarsi nelle prossime partite.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Sara 4, Suleyma 3, Carla 3, Una 2, Greta 2, Erin 2, Chloe 2, Amba 1, Isabella 1,  Gracie 1, Livia 1.

USA 4-0 Cameroon

 

A crazy and chaotic first half produced a lot of excitement but few chances and it finished 0-0. Federico did have a good shot well saved by Christian and he also set up Lorenzo F with a great chance but Lorenzo could only crash the ball off the bar from up close. 80 million-euro-man Antonio was busy for Cameroon but the US midfield/defence worked hard to limit his incursions - Gabriele and Ashton quick to intervene - while Junio did a job on Diego. In the second half USA, well-organised by captain Ashton, pushed on and Federico set up Lorenzo for the first goal. Federico himself almost scored but Lupo made a great block. At the other end, Cameroon had very few chances though Christian did get a shot in from the right after a solo break upfield. The USA continued to dominate though and would have scored two more except for some great defensive work from Ryan who blocked two clear goals. When Filippo scored the second though, the floodgates opened. Federico added a third with a savage strike from 20m out and Lorenzo F notched a second.

Best Player Points: Federico 4, Ashton 3, Lorenzo F 3, Ryan 2, Junio 2, Antonio 2, Leopoldo 2, Diego 1, Gabriele 1, Christian 1

France 2-3 Romania

 The classic 'game of two halves', with the first half belonging to France. After Mattia had made a miraculous save early on to keep out Lorenzo G after a lovely Claudio assist, Edoardo followed up a rebound to continue his amazing scoring streak (17 goals for Ambrit so far this season) with a simple tap in. Mattia then made another great save... another Claudio assist, this time to Rex, coming to nothing. Romania kept pounding away and Pier Valerio had the next chance but Mattia saved again. France took advantage of Mattia's good work and Edo scored again when he got onto the end of a Lorenzo I assist. The game followed a similar patter at the start of the seconf half: yet another Mattia save, keeping out Lorenzo G again after yet another Claudio assist. Another Pier Valerio shot... another save! But finally, Claudio did score; he dribbled right to left across the penalty area and planted a low drive back into the bottom right corner. Two late goals from Lorenzo G saw Romania snatch the three points though France probably deserved a draw.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Claudio 5, Lorenzo I 4, Mattia 3, Rex 2, Raul 2, Lorenzo G 2, Pier Valerio 2, Edoardo 1, 

Shakhtar 2-1 Monaco

 Un'ottima prestazione dello Shakhtar, ben coordinato da Sophie, sconfigge un Monaco molto rimaneggiato, date le importanti assenze di Maeve, Anna e Vittoria.

Il campo ha dato ragione alla squadra ucraina, in cui si sono messe in luce Alessandra, autrice della prima rete dopo un clamoroso slalom, Sophie - tutta grinta e corsa - e Angela, con una prestazione a tutto campo, incluso il secondo gol del momentaneo 2-0.

Sulla sponda francese Zoe ha guidato il centrocampo, coadiuvata da una Clotilde come al solito molto dinamica. Tuttavia il gol di Zoe non è bastato al Monaco per arrivare al pareggio e i primi tre punti del torneo vanno allo Shakhtar. 

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Angela 3, Alessandra 2,  Sophie 2, Zoe 2, Clotilde 1, Aurora 1, Viola 1, Letizia 1.

Argentina 4-2 Italy

One of the classic series in world football produced another fascinating episode today at Ambrit Stadium. Italy's players were focused from the start while Argentina struggled to accustom themselves to the three-touch rule. An Italian cross into the box was blocked by an injudiciously raised arm and referee Corcoran pointed to the spot. Megan slammed the ball home confidently from the spot. Buoyed by the breakthrough, Italy poured forward and a slick move down the left saw Angela passing to Livia to shoot home a second goal! In the second half,  Argentina slowly got to grips with the situation and their tackling and passing vastly improved. But Italy almost went 3-0 up when Livia fired in another great shot that Giovanni V barely managed to deflect onto the crossbar and out! But Argentina took over possession now and the shots rained in. Giovanni M shot wide; Jacopo shot wide; Steve scored... 2-1. Jacopo shot wide; Jacopo's shot was saved by Aurora... and again! And Antoine scored... 2-2. And Antoine scored again... 3-2. Livia almost equalised towards the end but Mostafa sealed the win with a fourth.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Livia 2, Erin 2, Aurora 1, Jacopo 1, Giovanni M 1

AICS league: Borgo Amigo 2-14 Ambrit

 Another big win for Ambrit today, now established as group leaders and now awaiting details of the second half of the season, where matches are likely to become much less one-sided!

Today's scorers: Edo 5, Diego 3, Giovanni 1, Lorenzo L 1, Matteo 1

Teachers 3-2 Grade 7

 Another win for the teachers today but, again, they had to work for it! Grade 7 attacked from the start and Claudio hit the post with a shot from a narrow angle on the left. Matteo hit the bar just 1' later and the teachers looked to be struggling. Lorenzo had the next chance when he evaded Mr H to set up a one-on-one versus Mr Martin but then he dragged his shot wide! Just before half-time, the teachers looked like they had scored: Mr Gabriele scored but a VAR review and an honest admission from the scorer ruled out the goal for handball.Claudio tested Mr Martin again but the teachers did score before half time... Mr Gabriele again! 

G7 began the second half slowly and gave Mr Gabriele space to advance on the left. He got a fierce shot away: Martti made a great save but the ball fell to Mr Alessandro at the far post and he tapped in for 2-0. But now g7 started to dominate. With the 80 million Euro-man - Antonio - now in midfield, they moved the ball around very well and Claudio struck a typical low shot into the bottom corner to make it 2-1. As pressure continued, Mr Martin then made a fantastic double save from Claudio and Diego but then the teachers broke away and scored a third goal: Mr Gabriele again. The game's final drama was played out at  the other end. Ms Giulia was pulled up for a push on Diego in the penalty area and Diego himself stepped up to bury the ball past Mr Martin. G7 celebrations were brief though, brought to a halt by the final whistle.

Teachers 5-3 Grade 6

 Grade 6 kicked off the new year with a very impressive display, pushing the teachers all the way in an exciting 8-goal thriller. The teachers began slowly and shipped two early goals to Filippo and Piervalerio. The teachers grew into the game though and Mr Alessandro's header from a Mr Martin corner was just over. Mr Guarnieri was in a no-nonsense mood today though and he sprung out of midfield to halve the deficit after 10' of play. But g6 was determined to change sides with a healthy lead and Piervalerio restored the two goal advantage just before the break. Ms. Giulia came on at half time and that allowed the teachers to rearrange the team favourably. Mr Guarnieri took advantage and scored again to make it 3-2. G6 was still playing good football though, with Lorenzo F and Filippo pushing forward effectively and Lupo keeping things tidy in midfield. But the teachers leveled the match with just 6' left on the clock, Mr Alessandro smashing home a fierce drive into the top corner. Mr Guarnieri then put the teachers ahead for the first time, slipping a perfectly-placed shot past a defender and into the bottom corner. As g6 committed to attack in a search for the late equaliser, Mr Martin won a ball in midfield and, when his shot smashed back off the bar, Mr Alessandro was on hand to tap home the rebound.

Spring Intramural 2025: FIGC announces the captains of the Girls' teams!

Stuttgart	Monaco	Celtic	Shakhtar
Red :::	Blue :::	Green :::	Yellow :::
Sofia S	Maeve B	Chloe F	Sophie M

 GIRLS AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET:

Zoe Vittoria N Anna Megan Erin Suleyma

Alessandra Aurora Gracie Livia Caterina Carla

Spring Intramural 2025: FIGC announces the captains of the Boys' teams!

Argentina	USA	Cameroon	France	Mexico	Romania
Antoine	Ashton	Christian	Freddie	Max	Rex