GIRLS FINAL: SHAKHTAR 5-3 STUTTGART

Collis contro Collis...

Erin chiama...Megan risponde...

Il campo ci ha detto questo: una finale equilibrata e vibrante, decisa dall'ingresso tardivo in campo di Aurora e dalle prodezze individuali delle sorelle Collis, sorelle avversarie.

Poi la "Lotteria dei calci di rigore" ha visto trionfare la squadra capitanata da Sophie, più fredda e lucida dal dischetto, mentre lo Stuttgart di Sofia si è dovuto accontentare della seconda piazza. Non sempre vince la squadra più forte, almeno sulla carta (infatti l'Inter ha perso la Champions 😂😂😂).

Grazie per un anno di calcio femminile FANTASTICO!

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: 

Erin 3, Megan 3, Alessandra 2, Aurora 2, Suleyma 1, Angela 1, Letizia 1, Ginevra 1, Valerie 1.

BOYS - FINAL: USA 0-1 Romania

 Romania can expect mad celebrations at Bucharest airport tomorrow when they return home with the prestigious Intramural scudetto! After an exciting season, the final was a pretty dour affair, especially the first half where USA were probably the better team. Things got more interesting in the second half though. Lorenzo F won the ball on the left and found Federico wide on the right; his fierce shot squeezed past Martti and USA looked to have taken the lead... or had they? Referee Corcoran was called to the VAR monitor and analysis of the replays suggested that the ball had gone out of play as Lorenzo F dribbled down the line. So still 0-0 and all to play for! Neither team looked likely to break the deadlock... until Claudio decided it was time. He collected the ball on the right and began to move across to the left. Those of us who have watched him all season knew what was coming next... a pinpoint accurate shot into the bottom right of the goal. Game over - o victorie pentru România!

BEST PLAYER POINTS:  Claudio 5, Federico 4, Lorenzo F 2, Lorenzo C 1, Lucas 1, Leopoldo 2, Ashton 1, Rex 2, Piervalerio 1, Martti 1, Raul 1

BOYS: Third place final - Argentina 3-6 Mexico

 A high-scoring roller-coaster of a game today in the scene-setter for the later gran finale. Steve found Jacopo for Argentina's opener and the boys from Buenos Aires made it 2-0 soon after, another fine goal from an in-form Giovanni Vittorio! Just before half-time, Max played his brother in and Maverick made no mistake: 2-1. Maverick tried to return the favour immediately at the start of the second period but Max was caught unprepared and missed a good chance. But team-mate Gianluigi took over and scored the equaliser. The crowd knew they were in for a treat and support flowed in for both teams. Maverick set up Max again but, again, Max didn't convert but then José popped up to bang in the third goal for Mexico. Gianluigi made it 4-2 with a fine solo run and shot; Max got on the scoresheet for number 5 and Carlo completed the rout after Jacopo had pulled back another for Argentina.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Gianluigi 4, Maverick 4, Max 3, Jacopo 3, Carlo 2, José 2, Giovanni V 2, Steve 1

Romania 2-2 Argentina (7-6 after penalties)

 Argentina, devastated by some important absences, put up a great performance today and pushed their fancied opponents all the way to an exciting penalty shoot-out. Argentina opened the scoring when Antoine passed into the penalty area and Sam flicked the ball past Martti. Antoine might have doubled the lead immediately but, with Martti hopelessly out of position, Antoine dragged his shot wide. Claudio tried to equalise before half tie but Noel made a good save. The second half opened with a repeat of this closing action, Noel's save been better this time as the ball curled away viciously. Claudio shot again soon after and this time Piervalerio followed up to poke home an equaliser. Argentina heads dropped, but only briefly. Steve came on to roars of approval and made an immediate impact. His strong rub down the right made space in the middle and Giovanni Vittorio timed his run from midfield perfectly to meet Steve's sweet cross: 2-1 to Argentina! With only seconds left on the clock, Claudio picked out Lorenzo G on the right and the tournaments top scorer slotted home cooly to make it 2-2.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Noel 3, Giovanni V 3, Antoine 2, Steve 2, Lorenzo G 2, Claudio 2, Mostafa 1, Sam 1, Rex 1, Piervalerio 1

France 5-2 Argentina

 Goals from Edo (3), Matteo (1), Lorenzo I (1) and Jacopo (2).

BOYS semi-final: USA 2-1 Mexico

 For a while, it looked like the passion and energy of Mexico might be enough to overcome a colder, more rational USA. Maverick set up his brother for a clear shot on goal but Max's shot came back off the bar. The bar had barely stopped shaking when Carlo struck it again and Mexico changed sides at half time with a feeling that they maybe should have been ahead. In the second half, Federico began to take control of the midfield and USA began to purr. Lorenzo F had a shot saved by Tor and then he went over in the area to clain a penalty. Referee Corcoran waved play on and VAR chose not to intervene. But USA kept pressing and Lorenzo'z next intervention was an assist to Leopoldo, who finished cooly using the outside of his foot to curl the ball home. USA's in-form striker struck again to make it 2-0 and Lorenzo F looked like he had added a third but VAR determined that the ball had not crossed the line when it banged down off the bar. Max stole a late consolation but USA progresses to the final.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Leopoldo 4, Lorenzo F 4, Federico 3, Max 3, Maverick 2, Carlo 2, Tor 1, Filippo 2

Cameroon 3-2 Romania

 Cameroon set a new record today for the number of goals disallowed in a single IM match... four! Despite this, they still managed to beat a Romania team that now faces a SF with the worst possible preparation. Can captain Rex pull his team together in time? We shall see....

Anyway: Lorenzo G kicked off today's action with an early goal that helps to seal his commanding position at the top of the goal-scoring charts. Giulio R thought he had equalised for Cameroon but Referee Corcoran disallowed the goal as Giulio had removed his green shirt before receiving the ball. Diego did equalise immediately afterwards but Cameroon then had a second goal disallowed: after Cristian had finished off Gabriele's assist, it transpired that Cameroon had an extra player on the pitch: no goal! Again however, Diego stepped up immediately afterwards to score and now Cameroon were 2-1 ahead at the break. At the beginning of the second half, Cameroon struck the crossbar to remind Romania that they were in for a torrid 15'. Then, two more disallowed goals for Cameroon! First, Giulio rifled home a shot from the edge of the penalty area but not before he had screamed 'lascia!'. Second, a foul on the goalkeeper was spotted by the referee. But again, Cameroon did score a valid goal. Giulio R's shot was well saved but Gabriele followed up to bundle the ball over the line. The ever-vigilant and ever-dangerous LG was on hand to steal a second goal near the end but the three points went to Cameroon.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Giulio R 4, Gabriele 3, Diego 3, Lorenzo G 3, Piervalerio 2, Rex 2, Cristian 2, Lupo 2

USA 5-3 Mexico

 Captain Ashton got his team off to a fast start, his assist setting up Lorenzo F for the first part of an impressive hat-trick, this one nodded home. Maverick brought a save from Lucas and Lorenzo F brought a save from Tor but Lorenzo was on hand for his second goal when Carlo failed to clear a ball from the box. Leopoldo headed home another goal to make it 3-0 at half-time. Mexico reorganised impressively at half time. Erin passed to Carlo and his cross was well finished by Max to make it 3-1. A second goal almost came when a ball was canoned off Maverick and onto the bar but then it did come when Carlo slammed home a shot from 20m out. Mexico were rampant... briefly.... and then Federico quashed the flames with a fourth for USA. Maverick scored to add some jeopardy again but Lorenzo F has the last word and the last goal. 

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Lorenzo F 6, Federico 3, Lorenzo C 3, Max 2, Maverick 2, Carlo 2, Leopoldo 2, Ashton 1

AICS League, GOLD division: SF, first leg AMBRIT 8-3 Santa Melania

 Having finished fourth in the league, Ambrit looked to be up against it in the semi final as they faced the league winners, Santa Melania - unbeaten in 18 games so far this year... until today! Mr.Alessandro and his team conjured up one of their best performances of the year and, in the opening period, the score flipped from 1-0 to 1-1 to 2-1 to 2-2. But in the second half, Ambrit put their foot to the accelerator and cruised majestically past their opponents and into a 8-2 lead! It should have ended there, but the referee allowed the visitors to pull back a goal in the end when play should really have been stopped for an injury. Let's hope that it doesn't become an important goal later on...! Gola today from Giovanni (3), Filippo (2), Noel, Edo and Diego.

Romania 2-4 Argentina

 With four members of the successful Ambrit Med Cup team on their side, Argentina were always going to be the favourites to win this tie - especially with Claudio absent for Romania - and they did. But it was Romania who took the lead. Currently leading the top-scorer charts, Lorenzo G punished Noel for a careless pass. But it didn't take long for Argentina to draw level. Jacopo played in his captain and Antoine - chasing Lorenzo for the Golden Boot - scored. Jacopo put Steve in just after that but Steve shot over. Steve scored with his next chance though, the assist provided this time by Antoine. A good header by Lorenzo G almost made it 2-2 but Argentina led at the break. In the second half, Sam continued to win a lot of ball in midfield for the South Americans and Jacopo continued to torture the Romanians with his usual dribbling skills. Only Raul was able to stop him with any consistency. Jacopo passed to Steve and Steve grabbed his second of the game. Giovanni set up Steve too but his shot this time rattled back off the bar! Antoine followed up by hitting the post when he should have scored and Jacopo himself scored the fourth. Lorenzo G finished neatly into the bottom corner for a goal that was a consolation to his team but another important one for his personal tally.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Raul 5, Jacopo 4, Sam 3, Antoine 3, Steve 2, Martti 2, Rex 1, Giovanni V 

Celtic 0-0 Shakhtar

 A tactical battle between two well-organised sides today. Goal chances were few and far between; Aurora always looked to be the biggest threat for Shakhtar and, indeed, she was today's player of the match - ably abetted by intelligent play from Sophie and Valerie in midfield. On the other side, Chloe worked hard all over the pitch and drove her team forward to good effect.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Aurora 4, Chloe 3, Valerie 2, Sophie 2, Gracie 2,  Angela 1, Megan 2, Livia 2, Carla 1, Amba 1, Sara 1

Cameroon 3-2 Italy

 After Diego's early goal was disallowed (Cameroon had an extra player on the pitch), Vittoria popped up to score for Italy. Diego almost equalised immediately but Megan made a fantastic save. A last-minute own-goal then saw the teams turn around at 1-1. Diego was not to be stopped though and he got his goal early in the second half. But Italy refused to lie down and Livia brought the teams level with 5' to play. Italy were unlucky not to take home a point... Christian blasted home a winner late in the game.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Christian 3, Antonio 3, Diego 3, Megan 3, Giulio 1, Angela 1, Erin 1, Aurora 1, Sara 1, Livia 1, Vittoria 1

SAM 89 0-2 Ambrit

 A steady performance today from an Ambrit team that always looked in control and never really risked missing out on an important three points. Two first half goals from Giovanni - the first a bit of a goalmouth scramble, the second a clean strike - should really have been added to but the SAM goalkeeper had an excellent game. Edoardo could have scored when the ball came back off the post but he managed to put it wide and the first half ended with a fantastic - and important - save from Mostafa to keep the score 2-0 at the break. In the second half, Ambrit's best chances fell when Leone's free kick was going in but stopped by an excellent save; and then to Gabriel when a beautiful pass from Giovanni sent him clear. Diego brought another great save from the keeper with a long shot and, despite what the home crowd thought ("Ao, ma er 9 fa solo falli!"), Diego was Ambrit's best player on the pitch today: always moving, always tackling, always showing for the ball, always holding up the play and always bringing others into the game: well done!

France 4-3 Italy

A classic of European football served up another absorbing episode today, France coming from behind to topple le azzurre at the end. Italy had taken the lead with a well-worked goal: Alessandra controlled the ball, calmly passed to Sara on the right and Sara scored with a precision shot into the bottom corner. Aurora had two attempts on goal and Gabe had a good shot too before Sara added a second for Italy with another typically cool finish. Almost before celebrations had died down though, Lorenzo pulled one back for France a with a long shot that should have been dealt with and the teams turned around at 2-1. With their plans disrupted by disqualifications/detentions, France drafted in Clotilde at half time and, from a Lorenzo corner, she immediately scored with a well-timed volley to make it 2-2. France then took advantage of their opponents' moment of distraction to make it 3-2... Lorenzo to Freddie to Gabe and in! The action continued: goalscorer Gabe handled in the area... penalty to Italy... taken by Livia... saved by Lorenzo! Did the girls' heads go down? NO! Almost immediately, the ball fell to Una on the right and she scored the best goal of the game with a searing shot that no goalkeeper could have saved. At 3-3, both teams deserved a point but, right at the end, another France corner was squeezed in at the near post, with Anteo getting the last touch on the ball!

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Sara 3, Anna 3, Alessandra 2, Maeve 2, Angela 2, Anteo 2, Lorenzo I 2, Gabe 2, Zoe 1, Livia 1,  Una 1

Stuttgart 0-0 Shakhtar

 Con diverse assenze pesanti, le due squadre si affrontano con tanto agonismo, ma con rare occasioni da gol. Prove robuste delle due difese, qualche "sgroppata" di Angela, una bella traversa di Sophie e poco altro.

Le due squadre che - presumibilmente - si contenderanno il titolo in finale, speriamo riescano a produrre qualcosa in più...

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Angela 3, Sophie 2, Ginevra 2, Greta 2, Una 2, Aurora 2, Alessandra 2, Sofia 1, Valerie 1, Letizia 1.

Mexico 2-1 Cameroon

 A cheeky flick from Maverick opened the Cameroon defence early on and Max scored with an accurate left across the helpless Cameroon keeper. Cameroon's expensive signing - Antonio - was busy in midfield though and, when he got the ball back after his own throw in, he let fly with a shot that was too powerful for Tor to stop. But Cameroon's foothold in the game was loosened again immediately when Gianluigi dribbled through most of their team and shot home for 2-1. The second half was another entertaining few minutes of football but nor more goal were added. Max turned well in teh area but his shot was saved and Maverick hit the bar. Tor made an excellent and important double save to keep out shots from Antonio and Diego.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Antonio 3, Gianluigi 3, Maverick 3, Max 3, Diego 2, Giulio 2,  Tor 2, Christian 1, Gabriele 1, José 1

USA 5-0 Italy

 Federico set up Ashton for goal n. 1 and the teams turned around at 1-0. USA dominated the second half and two goals each from Federico and Leopoldo sealed the win.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Federico 5, Angela 3, Leopoldo 3, Livia 3, Alessandra 2, Sara 2, Anna 1, Vittoria Na 1, Junio 1 

Stuttgart 1-0 Celtic

 Un Celtic rimaneggiato, ma con una super Alessandra in porta, non riesce a portare a casa almeno il punto del pareggio (che avrebbe senz'altro meritato), trafitto da una bordata della solita Erin, molto difficile da contenere.

Lo Stuttgart ha fatto una partita attenta, senza correre grandi rischi, puntando più a difendersi che ad attaccare. Il Celtic invece non è riuscito a "pungere", pur avendo dato l'impressione di poter colpire...

Adesso per il Celtic si fa dura, e per qualificarsi alla finale, potrebbe addirittura non bastare una vittoria nello scontro diretto con lo Shakhtar, che ha due partite ancora da giocare.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Erin 3, Sara 2, Livia 2, Carla 2, Gracie 2, Ludovica 1, Una 1, Giada 1, Caterina 1,  Sofia 1.

Romania 4-1 USA

 The first half was marked by two penalties - one for each side. Junio charged Lorenzo G in the are to give the first one to Romania: LG converted. USA's  penalty was awarded when Lorenzo C's shot, heading for the top corner, was blocked by Claudio's hand: Lorenzo F converted. Romania started the second half brightly, LG striking the post. A shot from Claudio was then deflected past Lucas to give Romania the lead and Claudio added two goals later on. Federico did his best to bring USA back into the game but to no avail.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Claudio 5, Raul 3, Tancredi 3, Federico 2, Lorenzo G 1, Lorenzo C 1, Lorenzo F 1, Lucas 1, Martti 1, Filippo 1, Leopoldo 1, Piervalerio 1

Celtic 3-0 Monaco

 Celtic belied their lowly position in the table today with a second half performance that left Monaco gasping in their wake. The first half was an absorbing and evenly-contested 15' of good passing football, though scoring chances were rare. Both Sara and Carla tested Maeve in the Monaco goal with solid shots but Maeve saved them both. At the other end, Clotilde tested Alessandra but with the same result. After the break, Zoe broke through to shoot but, again, Alessandra saved well. Livia had a chance to open the scoring when Maeve rushed out to block the ball but Livia's attempted lob was too high. But Vittoria, Viola and especially Anna were now working hard to keep the marauding highlanders at bay and they could do nothing to stop Chloe's fiercely-struck left-foot shot from midfield that caught Maeve by surprise: 1-0! Monaco were still in the game though. Clotilde and Camilla were combining well in midfield and Zoe was always a threat going forward but Carla was everywhere in defence - winning ball after ball after ball. Then Celtic who scored again. A poor ball out of defence fell to Livia and she calmly passed to Sara on the right. A good first touch from Sara, a good second touch and a good shot into the corner! Chloe scored again at the death to make it an emphatic victory.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Carla 4, Anna 3, Chloe 2, Clotilde 2, Camilla 2, Maeve 2, Sara 2, Zoe 1, Viola 1, Vittoria 1