Werder 3 - 1 Goteborg

In una delle ultime partite-chiave che daranno accesso a solo due squadre alla finalissima del primo Intramural il Werder supera anche il Goteborg in una bella e vibrante partita. Nel primo tempo le Svedesi erano andate in vantaggio con una bella punizione di Joanna, non trattenuta dal portiere, ma l'ingresso della stella tedesca Julia (oggi Player of the Match), ha cambiato volto alla partita. Nonostante infatti le belle prestazioni della solita Asia e di Olivia, Julia è riuscita a mettere a segno una tripletta, sufficiente per superare e - probabilmente - eliminare il Goteborg dalla competizione. Inutile ma molto bello un tiro di Joanna nel finale che costringe Daria a un'altrettanto bella parata a una mano.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Julia 9, Joanna 5, Asia 5, Olivia 2.

BOYS SOCCER TOURNAMENT AT AMBRIT: Grades 5 & 6

Ambrit's 6th graders got to the final but suffered their second defeat of the day at the hands of Southlands. However, this is an improving team and no-one is improving faster than today's Player of The Match, James Hua!

Results & Scorers
Ambrit 99 1-4 Southlands (Andrea S)
Ambrit 99 3-1 New School (Simone, Andrea S, Giovanni)
Ambrit 99 2-1 Rome Inter (Simone, Luca dV) SF
Ambrit 97 2-5 Southlands (Emilio, Simone) FINAL

BOYS SOCCER TOURNAMENT AT AMBRIT: Grade 7 & 8

Despite losing their opening match to St George's, Ambrit went on to win the tournament, beating Southlands 4-3 when Francesco T scored the winning goal in a penalty shoot out after the teams were still level at the final whistle.
Results & Scorers
Ambrit 97 0-1 St George's
Ambrit 97 4-1 Southlands (Marco T 2, Francesco T, Ale Zippo)
Ambrit 97 6-1 New School (Marco T 3, Jakob 3)
Ambrit 98 1-0 Marymount (Oliver)
Ambrit 98 1-2 Rome Inter (Jacopo)
Ambrit 97 2-1 Ambrit 98 (Ale Zippo, Jakob; Jacopo) SEMI FINAL
Ambrit 97 4-3 Southlands (after penalties)

Today's Best Players: Enrico, Ale Zippo, Oliver

Barcelona 5-3 Lyon

Tightly organized and working perfectly together as a team, Darien's Catalan champions brushed aside the challenge of Lyon to reach the final.
Emilio snatched the first goal and Francesco T put them 2-0 up. A beautiful long pass from Matteo found Simone in front of the goalkeeper and his quick-thinking lob made it 2-1 before half time.
Francesco T struck again in the second half with a cracking shot into the top corner but Matteo pulled the score back to 3-2 and the momentum seemed to be swinging to the French.
But hen Francesco G cracked one in to make it 4-2 and the French heads went down. Caue got away on the right, finding a gap in the Lyon defence after Kei was sent off and Caue scored to make it 5-2.
Matteo pulled one back but that was his last act in this first Intramural of the year.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Francesco T 7, Emilio 6, Darien 4, Simone 3, Gregorio S 1

Besiktas 4-0 Ajax

With Werder Bremen safely qualified for the final, Besiktas won this important game in the race for the other final place.
Captain Elif was in fine form and put her team 1-0 up early in the game. Besiktas dominated and won two dangerous free kicks. Aurora (today's player of the match) took both and struck them well: the first was well saved by Isabel, the second hit the post.
Elif then struck the bar with a good shot: the Dutch were living dangerously.
EWlif then played in Aurora but she took too much time on the ball and the chance vanished. Besiktas continued to press but Isabel made two more good saves to keeep them at bay.
Aurora opened the second half with a good goal. Elif made it 3-0 with a beautifully-taken opportunity and Aurora wrapped it all up with her second. Compliments too to the opposing captain - Carlotta - who harried, chased, passed and tackled all the way through but with no reward.
Player of the Match Points: Aurora 9, Elif 4, Emma Z 3, Carlotta 2, Isabel 2, Allegra 1

FC Basel 0-4 Bayern Munich

The Germans advanced to the final, powered by captain Jakob (today's Player of the Match) who scored all four goals in a comprehensive victory.

The Swiss had started well, Rocco's early shot going close. Andrea and Francesco S combined well too to produce two early chances for Francesco but both went wide.

Then Giovanni exchanged passes with Jakob but Enrico was first to the ball. He kicked it away but it bounced off Jakob and in: 1-0.

Andrea was first to react but shot wide and then Jakob missed an easy chance to go two in front. Who knows though how the match would have finished had Andrea's header gone in just before half time instead of coming back off a post.

In the second half Jakob scored three more: one after a mistake in midfield by Alex and two of good passes from Giovanni.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Jakob 8, Leo 6, Francesco S 4, Giovanni 1, Oliver 1, Andrea 1.

Barcelona 2-1 Panathanaikos

The nerves were palpable as these teams lined up for the start of a game which would see one of them eliminated. Barcelona needed a victory; a draw was enough for the Greeks. The Spanish delivered, the Greeks go home.

Barcelona began strongly. Francesco T had an early shot saved by Marco. Then Gregory passed to Mattia (today's Player of the Match) and he sent Emilio in for a shot but it went wide of the right post. Darien then found Mattia and he produced another good pass, this time to Francesco, but it was another wide.

Francesco T had another chance soon afterwards when he found himself through with just Marco to beat, but he scooped it over the bar. Emilio had another chance too, but Marco saved this one also.

Panathanaikos created nothing until Marco came out. He got on the end of a corner and his header was brilliantly saved by Francesco Gallo.

The Catalans finally went ahead just before half-time: the goal was scored by Francesco T.

They then went 2-0 up in early in the second half when Mattia's shot was deflected past Max.

Panathanaikos upped the tempo in a desperate bid to save themselves from elimination. Luca dV forced a save from Francesco T and then shot another one wide. Then Ludo scored from a Camilla cross but it wasn't enough: Barcelona go into the semi finals.

Best Player Points: Mattia 8, Marco T 4, Francesco G 3, Gregory 3, Darien 2, Nicholas 1

Barcelona 1 - 3 FC Basel

La partita ha inizio con un tiro in porta di Andrea Manzella che prende il palo, dando palla al Barcellona che avanza verso la porta avversaria. Miracolosa parata di Francesco Gallo su un tiro sempre di Francesco Sciotti (oggi Player of the Match). Rimessa laterale, Francesco Sciotti segna il gol dell' 1-0 con Francesco Gallo che lascia la porta libera. Bellissima parata di Enrico che protegge la porta per rimanere in vantaggio. Difesa dominata da Rocco (anche lui Player of the Match), che non lascia passare niente e nessuno. Un'altra rimessa laterale battuta da Andrea Manzella diventa un ottimo passaggio a Francesco Sciotti che raddoppia. Mitico salvataggio di Emilio che leva palla a Francesco Sciotti che intanto palleggiava. Passaggio ad Andrea Manzella che non se la sente di tirare e la passa a Francesco Sciotti che tira e segna il 3-0. Il Barcellona mette Francesco Traietti tra i pali che para un gol fatto. Julia segna un gol da opportunista su un bellissimo assist di Francesco Gallo, dando speranza invano al Barcellona.

Scritto dalla nostra nuova inviata, Camilla.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Rocco 6, Francesco S 6, Enrico 4, Francesco G 2, Mattia 1, Andrea 1, Nawin 1

St George's Tournament

Well done to all our players who battled away under a steady downpour all morning. The heavy, waterlogged pitches were practically unplayable but here are the results and scorers:

Grade 6 (Best Player: Luca Cerri)

St George's 7 - 2 Ambrit (Andrea, Simone)

Rome Inter 0 - 3 Ambrit (Antoine, Simone, Camilla)

New School 3 - 1 Ambrit (Giovanni)

Grade 7 (Best Player: Francesco Sciotti)

New School 3 - 1 Ambrit (F. Gallo)

St George's 4 - 2 Ambrit (F. Sciotti, F. Gallo)

Rome Inter 2 - 5 Ambrit (F. Sciotti 3, L. Gallo, Alex H)

Grade 8 (Best Player: Marco Troina)

IS Milan 6 - 3 Ambrit (Jakob 3)

USFARome 5 - 5 Ambrit (F. Traietti 3, Jakob, Marco T)

Southlands 8 - 1 Ambrit (Marco T)

Ajax 1 - 1 Goteborg

Partita vibrante tra le due formazioni femminili scese in campo ieri. Il Goteborg ha potuto avvalersi delle ottime prestazioni di EmmaZ in porta, una presenza accordata in virtù dell'assenza pesante del capitano Joanna e accettata con grande sportività dalla squadra di Carlotta.

L'Ajax è stato sicuramente più tonico e reattivo in campo, grazie alle folate offensive di Camilla e alla verve di Carlotta, ma il vantaggio conquistato con il gol di Sofia è sfumato per un'ingenuità difensiva che ha consentito al Goteborg di pareggiare su rigore trasformato da Asia (ieri ancora una volta Best Player) in forma straordinaria. Nel secondo tempo l'Ajax ci ha riprovato con insistenza, ma Emma ha salvato tutto il salvabile.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Asia 10, Sofia 4, Carlotta 4, Camilla 3

Ambrit Girls 6 - 0 SGES Girls

Sotto una pioggia battente le Ambrit Girls hanno dato una severa lezione alle loro principali avversarie di quest'anno, le pari età della St. George's (ieri prive delle loro due migliori giocatrici). Nel primo tempo l'Ambrit soffre un poco le condizioni atmosferiche e il campo pesante, benché Sofia in attacco lotti come un leone. Il sospirato vantaggio arriva con un siluro di Aurora, che s'infila sotto al sette. La goleada non è tuttavia matura e le nostre ragazze faticano a dialogare e a trovare l'ultimo passaggio. Nel secondo tempo la pioggia finalmente concede una tregua e la tecnicità delle Ambrit Girls viene fuori: molti tiri, molto più fraseggio a centrocampo e un punteggio che rispecchia l'andamento della partita, dominata dall'inizio alla fine. In rete ancora due volte Aurora, due centri anche per Julia e un ultimo, bellissimo gol al volo, di Sofia.

Da segnalare l'eroico quanto imparziale arbitraggio di Mr. Antonio sotto al diluvio, e la grandissima prova di responsabilità del capitano di ieri, Elif, che giocando in difesa non ha mai permesso alle avversarie di avvicinarsi alla porta e ha meritatamente conquistato la palma di Best player.

BOYS SOCCER: St George's 1 - 1 Ambrit

Ambrit's seventh graders (+ Emre & Enrico) came away from St George's with a hard-earned draw after a tough match played under difficult conditions on a heavy pitch.

Ambrit played especially well in the first half, often fearlessly

taking the game to their bigger opponents.

Oliver called the shots in midfield and managed to punch holes in the home defense, sending Felix, Emre and Francesco Gallo into dangerous positions.

This eventually led to a series of corners and free-kicks for the visitors, the last of which Ludo lined up carefully on the edge of the box. He then drilled a beautiful shot under the crosbar to give Ambrit a well-deserved lead.

The defense, meanwhile, was playing outstandingly. Alex and Ale dB were solid inthe middle and captain Ludo tackled ferociously on the right. But Luca on the left and Enrico in goal (today's Players of the Match) performed miracles to keep Ambrit infront at half time.

Ambrit struggled a little bit more inthe second half and St Georg's equalized. However, Francesco Sciotti woke up and gave Ambrit more options going forward. Enrico made two more excellent saves to add to the four he had made in the first half.

Interviwed after the game, manager Corcoran said: "Yes, I am very proud of the lads. This is one of the best performances from an Ambrit team in ages. A real gutsy performance. They battled all day".

Bayern Munich 5 - 2 FC Basel

Strengthened by reinforcements from the Girls Soccer Club, Bayern Munich swept to a clear victory in the end but were pushed all the way by an equally determined FC Basel.

Jakob first half goal was the only thing separating the teams going into the second half. And Jakob struck again almost immediately, cutting inside to his right foot and scoring with an explosive shot after Oliver (today's Player of the Match) had fed him a useful ball. But Basel reacted and Andrea played a beautifully-judged one-two with Francesco S and scored. But the Germans restored their margin with another lovely goal. Oliver exchanged passes with Camilla and fired the ball from the left touchline into the far corner of the net, taking enrico by surprise. Francesco S then scored yet another nice goal, lobbing the ball first over a defender and then over the advancing goalkeeper: 3-2.

But Swiss hopes of salvaging a point were dashed again by Oliver. Receiving a ball again from Camilla, he hit a quick snapshot, this time from the right touchline, and surprised Enrico again. Jacopo scored again to seal the win.
A special mention for Lena - solid all through the game: to Carlotta who had a great first half; and to Camilla who had an absolutely outstanding game.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Oliver 12, Ale dB 3, Francesco S 2, Jakob 2, Andrea 2

Ambrit Girls: la rivincita!

No, le Ambrit Girls non hanno perso il vizio di vincere e hanno subito vendicato la sconfitta subita in amichevole giovedì scorso dalle "giganti" della St. George's. Quando in palio c'è la Coppa, quando la competizione diventa ufficiale, ecco uscir fuori la grinta e l'orgoglio! BRAVE!

Veniamo alla cronaca: l'Ambrit ha presentato due squadre, così come la St.George's, con la

differenza che le squadre Ambrit erano molto bilanciate, mentre la St.George's aveva una squadra molto forte (A) e una squadra meno competitiva (B).

Scontato quindi il derby inglese (10-0 per la squadra A), mentre il derby Ambrit è stato deciso da una straordinaria prova di Hanna tra i pali, e dall'ottima intesa tra le "baby stars" Julia, Allegra e Camilla.

La partita decisiva è stata dunque quella tra la nostra squadra B e la St. George's A, una partita tiratissima, in cui ogni singola giocatrice ha tirato fuori il meglio di sé aiutando le compagne. La difesa, ben coordinata dall'eccellente Isabel, ha resistito nel primo tempo, anche grazie a un eccezionale marcatura a uomo effettuata da Margot sulla gigante attaccante avversaria. Olivia e Isabella hanno creato una diga di fronte alla difesa e i pochi palloni che l'hanno superata sono finiti tra le braccia sicure di Hanna. Nel secondo tempo, quando ormai le forze iniziavano a mancare, ecco che il trio delle meraviglie ha confezionato due meravigliose azioni in velocità che hanno portato in rete prima Allegra

(con uno stupendo pallonetto) e poi Camilla (bellissimo il tocco con cui si è liberata al tiro), entrambe imbeccate dagli assist di Julia. Sul 2-0 a nulla è servito il bel gol della St. George's: l'Ambrit ha conquistato la partita e il trofeo, vincendo facilmente contro la squadra B per 7-0.

La Ambrit A, inaspettatamente, ha incontrato maggiori difficoltà, specie nel tiro e nel controllo palla. Dopo la sconfitta nel derby, le nostre ragazze hanno dato un secco 3-0 alla SGES B, mentre si sono dovute arrendere per 3-1 contro la SGES A, giocando tuttavia un'ottima partita.

Calorosa l'accoglienza riservata a Flaminia, rientrante in squadra dopo aver cambiato scuola a settembre.

Da segnalare infine la presenza del capitano della squadra, Joanna, che pur infortunata ha voluto portare il suo incitamento alle compagne ed essere presente per questo primo, vittorioso trofeo dell'anno.

Ecco i risultati al completo:

Ambrit A - Ambrit B 0-3 Best Players: Hanna - Carlotta

SGES A - SGES B 10-0

Ambrit B - SGES A 2-1 Best Player: Allegra

Ambrit A - SGES B 3-0 Best Player: Flaminia

Ambrit B - SGES B 7-0 Best Player: Julia

Ambrit A - SGES A 1-3 Best Player: Asia

Ambrit Girls Win the Season's First Tournament

Congratulations to the Ambrit Girls who won the soccer tournament at Ambrit on Saturday morning.
Ambrit B 3 - 1 Ambrit A
The group was split into two teams and played the derby match early on. Ambrit B came out on top. The first goal was a gem. Julia beat a player, passed to Camilla and her pass found Allegra in space. Allegra scored and then turned playmaker when she set up Camilla for the second goal before half time. Allegra then added a third goal in the second half before Ambrit A were rewarded for perseverence, Aurora sending in Carlotta for the consolation goal. Other noteworthy performances came from Hanna and Asia.
Ambrit A 3 - 0 St George's B
Ambrit A waited until the second half to dismantle St George's B. Carlotta scored, Elif hit a post, Aurora scored, hit the bar and hit a post and Carlotta scored again with an outrageous lob.
Ambrit B 2 - 1 St George's A
This was the crunch match and it was extremely hard fought by both sides.
The first match finished 0-0 but only because Hanna made an incredible save from point-blank range.
Ambrit's attitude in the second half was fantastic. They ran and ran and ran. The tackled, passed and fought like tigers. Allegra put them in front when she chased a good pass from midfield, beat the goalkeeper to the ball and clipped it over the diving goalkeeper into the back of the net.
Camilla followed up with a second goal, outstanding because of the way she received the ball, turned it expertly onto her right foot and shot it confidently into the back of the net.
St George's tried valiantly to get back into the game, scoring one goal but in the end they couldn't breach Ambrit's staunch defence a second time.
Ambrit B 7 - 0 St George's B
A tired set of players nonetheless continued to play good, solid, skilful football and goals from Camilla (3), Julia (2), Allegra and Margot sealed the win.
Ambrit A 1 - 3 St George's A
St George's could take some consolation from this win in what was an even match. They went into a 2-0 lead but were pegged back to 2-1 by Aurora's well-taken goal.

Fenerbahce 3 - 2 Lyon

Fenerbahce finally exploded into action in their last game of the tournament and left this year's Intramural Championship with a bitter-sweet thought of what-might-have-been.
It was the French team that went 1-0 up when Matteo scored early on and things looked dark for the Turks. But Idriss led the charge and his determination and battling spirit presented him with an opportunity to score and he didn't waste it.
Then Andrea Sgambati went on a run down the right and, though forced wide by the defender, crashed the ball into the top corner to leave his side in the unaccustomed position of leading.
But it was no illusion and, when Miki sent Dariush in on the left, the captain made it 3-1.
The second half was marked by some amazing saves from both goalkeepers and an amazing miss from Ale B: anyone who saw it will never forget it! Matteo managed to pull one goal back but Fenerbahce took the three points.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Danyal 8, Luca S 4, Davide 4, Antoine 2, Miki 2, Andrea S 1

St. George's girls 5 - 2 Ambrit Girls

Prima o poi sarebbe dovuta arrivare un sconfitta, e ieri è successo. La prima sconfitta delle Ambrit Girls in (a memoria) 5 anni!
Tuttavia non è avvenuta in maniera del tutto "pulita" e limpida, come dovrebbe sempre accadere.
Le nostre ragazze, una squadra dalle grandi potenzialità ma ancora giovane e poco esperta, si sono trovate di fronte a delle avversarie più grandi per età e fisico, e hanno pagato nel primo tempo il nervosismo e il timore di affrontare delle vere e proprie liceali. A questo si aggiunga l'utilizzo di alcune regole (come l'offside!) del tutto impreviste, che hanno smorzato anche quelle poche belle azioni del primo tempo. Insomma, la prima parte della gara è stato un vero disastro: 5-0 per le avversarie e pochissima lucidità in campo.
Nel secondo tempo si è vista un'altra squadra, più combattiva, più concentrata, che non ha subito gol e ha messo in difficoltà le avversarie, accorciando le distanze prima con un bel contropiede di Camilla e poi con un'ottima punizione di Carlotta (ieri Player of the Match). Peccato non aver capito da subito come affrontare la gara!
Ma ci sarà tempo già da sabato, quando le temutissime Ambrit Girls potranno giocare in casa, su un campo che conoscono a memoria...

Ambrit Boys 10 - 5 St George's Boy

The Boys got their season off to a late but successful start with a resounding win over rivals St George's. Except for a period of panic in the second half, the boys in white were dominant and mixed a good passing game with some solid defending. Enrico made some good saves, Rocco had an excellent first half and two of the goals were real gems: Marco's lob from half-way to make the score 7-2 and the last goal - blasted in by Francesco after some beautiful links with Marco (today's Player of the Match).

SCORERS: Dariush 2, Jakob 3, Marco 4, Francesco

Lyon 5 - 2 Bayern Monaco

Simone grabbed four more goals today in a 5-2 win over the German champions and moved Lyon into a dominant position at the top opf the table.
Matteo set up Simone for the first goal and then Matteo himself added the second from a powerful free kick after a push by Jakob.
In the second half, Davide made a powerful run in midfield and had a good shot saved by Ale and Simone blasted the rebound over from 2 meters out!
Jakob made it 2-1 after a good passing move involving Leo and Oliver but Simone made a great run into space and scored when Matteo picked him out again.
The same Matteo/Simone combination worked again for goals number 4 and 5 and Jacopo squeezed one in fore the Germans.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Matteo 12, Simone 3, Davide 2, Oliver 2, Kei 2,

Fenerbahce 1 - 3 Panathanaikos

Fenerbahce's miserable run of results continued today despite them taking the lead on the stroke of half time when Dariush took a quick free kick to Andrea Sgambati and his clever flick left Marco stranded.
Marco (today's Player of the Match) came out of goal in the second half and had an immediate effect. He got on the end of two corners, once with his left foot and once with his head, to change the scoreline first to 1-1 and then to 2-1. He picked up a ball wide on the left just inside the half-way line, cut inside onto his right foot and let fly a screaming shot which the goalkeeper could only flap at.
The match finished 3-1, despite a valiant effort from Miki who rounded three players before releasing a good shot that was well saved by Antoine.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Marco 10, Miki 5, Andrea Sg 4, Andrea O1, Luca SG 1

Werder 1 - 0 Besiktas

Francamente in campo si è vista una brutta partita, con due squadre molto confuse e poco organizzate. A poco servono la classe e la velocità in un campo congestionato dalle giocatrici, dove spesso la difesa prevale sull'attacco e non ci sono quasi tiri in porta. L'unico gol che decide la partita arriva infatti su un pallone non trattenuto dal portiere, su cui si avventa Julia e riesce a piazzare nell'angolo. Per il resto solo buona volontà e qualche timido tentativo di rimonta del Besiktas. Non è un caso che i giudici abbiano avuto grande difficoltà nella scelta del best player, e le loro scelte siano cadute su tante diverse giocatrici, ma con nessuna che abbia veramente convinto.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Wei Lu 4, Lena 4, Allegra 4, Line 4, Hanna 2, Julia 2, Margot 1.

Werder 2 - 0 Ajax

A game that was full of energy but low on scoring chances finished with the German champions ahead thanks to some clinical finishing from Player of the Match, Julia Audinet.
Julia scored in the first half and the Dutch team had no reply. In the second half, she set up Line with a good chance but her shot went slightly wide. Camilla went on a great run and nearly equalised but then - gol sbagliato, gol subito - Julia scored again at the other end.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Julia 7, Line 5, Camilla 4, Daria 4, Isabella 1

Besiktas 4 - 0 Goteborg

Taking advantage mercilessly of un under-strength Goteborg, Elif's team hammered home four goals and gave warning to the other teams that they are out to win this tournament.

The captain grabbed the first goal after winning the ball on the half-way line. Allegra made it two with a beautiful high curling shot into the top corner. Allegra then set up Emma Z for the third goal and Elif made it 4-0 in the second half.

If it hadn't been for Asia (today's Player of the Match) in the Swedish defence, the score might have reached double figures.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Asia 9, Allegra 6, Emma Z 3, Olivia 2, Elif 1

Panathanaikos 2-3 FC Basel

A lively game today, distinguished by the high quality of headed goals and lots of players who played well up to their standard.

Basel took the lead when captain Rocco took a good free-kick and Andrea rose like an eagle to head it home. The Greeks struck back with another lovely header, Ludovico's corner finding Marco in the box. But Marco's team still went in at half time a goal down after Francesco caught them on the break and hammered home a good shot.

Panathanaikos had two early chances in the second half - a Ludovico shot and another Marco header and then they equalised when Marco played a ball over he defence and Ludo scored with a cheeky back-header over Enrico's outstretched arms.

Enrico played well today though and made a fantastic save off a powerful Marco drive which was even slightly deflected.

Panathanaikos did not deserved to lose, but they did - caught by another Francesco break.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Andrea M 6, Max 6, Marco 4, Enrico 2, Alex 1, Francesco 1, Ludovico 1

Barcelona 1-2 Lyon

What a match! The first half was an even and the second half was even worse.

The only action of any note before the break was Barcelona's goal, scored by Francesco T who followed up his own penalty which had been blocked by Player of the Match, Marco Sgambati.

The penalty was awarded for a shirt-pulling offense by Matteo T and Ale Z was booked for dissent.

The second half saw early shots from Francesco G and Simone and then Simone scored the equalizer following a crisp passing move between Matteo and Gregorio.

Francesco T hit a post, Caue missed an easy chance, Emilio hit the same post but it was current leader of the Top Scorer list, Simone, who scored the winning goal when Matteo T found him in space once again.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Marco S 8, Caue 4, Simone 4, Emilio 3, Matteo T 2

Bayern Munich 4-1 Fenerbahce

After a scoreless first half, Emre must have wondered how it all went wrong after he put his side 1-0 up only to finish on the bad end of a 4-1 final scoreline.

A quiet first half nonetheless saw a fascinating tussle between Giovanni and Miki, with Giovanni (today's Player of the Match) trying all his tricks to get past the resolute 8th grader.

Dariush had one of the game's earlier chances when Luca Cerri fouled Emre to concede a free kick on the edge of the box but Dariush's attempt was blocked.

Jakob tried a wild shot later on and then Ale B threw himself at the feet of Giovanni to block a dangerous move. Andrea S tried a shot on the turn too but the sides were level at half time.

The Turks went ahead early i the second half. Luca S won a tackle on the left, rounded a player and passed to Emre in a good position who slotted the ball home confidently.

But the lead didn't last long. As the German's attacked, three defenders converged on Jakob, leaving Giovanni free on the right. Jakob passed to him and he cracked it into the top corner.

Jakob was now on fire. A high cross reached his head in the box and he headed the ball to Oliver who headed again but Ale made a good save. Jakob then pulled a shot wide but made no mistake two minutes later: 2-1. Jakob then scored two more to complete another miserable afternoon for Fenerbahce.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Giovanni 8, Jakob 6, Luca S 2, Miki 2, Leo 2, Ale B 1

Werder Bremen 2-0 FC Goteborg

Despite having todays's Player or the Match (Asia) in their team, Goteborg went down to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Lena's imperious Germans.
A cagey first half saw few chances falling to either team. One of these saw Cosima alone in front of goal but she was tackled by Margot who seemed to come from nowhere to clip the ball away. Lena then had a long shot pawed away by Olivia P in goal, but Lena's follow up shot was too strong for Olivia to save. The Germans could have been two goals up before half-time, but Asia made a saving tackle on Julia and broke down numerous other attacks.
The second half saw a much more Joanna as she tried to lead her team forward by example and by good passing. She also had two good chaces to equalise through free-kicks on the left edge of the box but she shot to the right each time.
The final blow for the Swedes came when Cosima tried to clear her lines but could only watch helplessly as the ball ricocheted off Olivia M and into the back of the net.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Asia 12, Olivia P 4, Joanna 2, Lena 2, Emma 1

Fenerbahce 0-1 FC Basel

This was a game that got off to a promising start with both sides trying to play good, passing football but it was a game that, in the end, fizzled out due to the domination of two well-organized defenses.
The only goal of the game came when Francesco S worked himself into a position near the left corner flag, from where his 'tiro-cross' struck a defender and left Andrea S stranded.
Earlier, Andrea M had come close on the other side of goal and the Turk's only real first half attempt was Emre's long free-kick.
In the second half, Dariush sent Emre in for an early chance but he pulled his shot just wide of the left post and Andrea M wasted a good chance for the Swiss.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Luca 6, Rocco 5, Andrea M 4, Emre 3, Miki 2, Ale B 1.

Lyon 6 - 5 Panathanaikos

Another high-scoring game saw the French champions claim another three points and move into first place in the table, leaving the unlucky Greeks to wonder how they could score five goals and still lose.
Panathanaikos went 1-0 up within seconds as Ludovico took advantage of some confusion in the Lyon defence. It didn't take Simone long to equalise though, continuing on from his five-goal spree in the first game. Panathanaikos struck again through Max, a simple tap-in from a well-struck corner and Marco Troina put his team 3-1 up with a long shot into the left-hand corner. Marco played a real captain's part today, shoring up the defence when necessary and moving forward to score when needed up front.
But then Matteo T, todays Player of the Match, woke up. He played a great ball to Marco Sgambati but Marco shot wide. The next time, Matteo took the shot himself and scored but Panathanaikos went 4-2 up when Luca dV rolled a nice pass to Ludovico for his second goal of the game.
Seven-man Lyon came out blazing for the second half. Matteo scored immediately and then another of his mazy runs ended with a pinpoint pass to Simone in the box. The pass was a little over-hit but Simone controlled it well, spun around and struck the bar with a left-foot shot. Matteo went on another run and this time he found Ale Z with the final pass and Zippo pit the teams level at 4-4.
The same move was repeated immediately but this time Max made a brilliant save from Ale. Matteo had another couple of chances and his goalkeeper, Andrea Sgambati, made a very well-timed run out of his box to break up a promising Greek attack. Then Matteo scored to put the French team ahead for the first time. Panathanaikos looked tired but Marco stepped up to save them, slotting a well-struck shot low into the bottom left: 5-5.
But then, seconds from the end, Ale Z put Simone through with just Max to beat. Max could have stopped him but, instead of advancing, he retreated and Simone accepted the invitation to beat him with a well-judged cross-shot.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Matteo 10, Max 4, Marco T 3, Marco S 2, Kei 1, Simone 1

Ajax 3 - 2 Besiktas

Prima vittoria per l'Ajax di Carlotta, grazie a una buona prestazione di squadra e ai fondamentali apporti di Camilla (Player of the Match, autrice di una doppietta) e del portiere Malika. La partita per le olandesi era iniziata "in salita" dopo lo svarione di Karlin tra i pali, che non aveva saputo intercettare un facile tiro di Elif. Una buona reazione aveva poi portato al pareggio del capitano, Carlotta, con un buon sinistro da fuori area. Il secondo tempo ha veramente acceso la partita, con molte occasioni da una parte e dall'altra: l'Ajax ci è sembrato più organizzato in difesa (buone prestazioni di Isabel e Cyrielle) e più abile nello sfruttare palloni inattivi e ripartenze, con la velocità di Camilla e Sofia; il Besiktas invece, pur essendo squadra di grandi talenti, ha creato confusione con ripetuti cambi di portiere e non ha saputo sfruttare le numerose occasioni. Il gol del 2-2 momentaneo è stato segnato ancora da Elif, con un tiro alto che ha ingannato il portiere con un rimbalzo maligno. Buone anche le giocate di Aurora, sempre abile al tiro e di Emma e Anjali in difesa.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Camilla 12, Malika 4, Carlotta 2, Emma 2, Anjali 1

Bayern Munich 2 - 0 Barcelona

Vorsprung durch technik...und taktiken!
The Spanish champions were no match for their German counterparts in any part of the pitch today. Outplayed technically and tactically, their failure to deploy an out-and-out attacker saw them waste possession too often.
Bayern, on the contrary, defended and attacked as a team. In the first half in particular, Ale dB (today's Player of the Match) made a series of excellent saves, came off his line when needed, communicated well with his defence and distributed the ball accurately to an active midfield. Oliver played another controlled match in his anchor role and passed well to Jakob and Giovanni who made intelligent runs all day.
Jakob put his side up off a pass from Giovanni. Giovanni himself shot wide just after that, using his right foot when he needed to use his left. Ale dB made an early save from Francesco Gallo, Jakob turned a header just over the bar and then Ale dB came quikly off his line to deny Francesco T.
Francesco G then ran the whole pitch , beating three players, but Ale dB made another save at the end of it all. Francesco G followed up and nearly scored from an incredibly tight angle.
Then, just before half time, Giovani nabbed the second goal as Gregory and Darien got in each others' way.
There were lots more chances in the second half but the scoreline remained the same. Jakob played a lovely one-two with Giovanni but shot high; Oliver played Giovanni in but Darien saved; Francesco T shot one over and had another blocked by Ale dB; Darien saved two more, one from Giovanni the other from Jakob and then Caue spurned Barcelona's best chance of the half.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Ale dB 12, Gregory 4, Jakob 3, Jacopo 1, Giovanni 1

BBQ Inter-Class Cup

Grade 8 won this year's BBQ Inter-Class Cup with victories over each of the younger classes. The sixth graders put up a good fight and took a point off the seventh graders and the seventh graders came second overall.

Grade 6 vs Grade 7-----RESULT 3-3
Simone put the youngsters into an early 1-0 lead but Grade 7 equalised when Julia turned a dangerous cross into her own net with Aurora ready to pounce on the far post. Idriss then handles the ball in the area and Ludovico tucked away the penalty. Simone scored again after Emilio and Julia played a nice one-two and the teams went in at half time at 2-2.
FrancescoG put Grade 7 ahead again with only a few minutes left in the second half but Grade 6 kept fighting. Simone came close again - he hit the crossbar - but Grade 6 finally equalized through a late own goal.

Grade 6 vs. grade 8-----RESULT 3-8
Though tired out after their earlier game, Grade 6 gave the veterans an early fright as Andrea S sent them into a two-goal lead! However, Allegra's own goal opened the floodgates and strikes by Matteo, MarcoT, Jakob (2), Marco S, Ale Z and Darien put them 8 - 2 up. Andrea completed his hat-trick to round off the scoreline.

Grade 7 vs. grade 8-----RESULT 3-4
The decisive match saw two more players grabbing a hat-trick - one for each side. FrancescoS made the score 1-1, 2-1 and 3-2 but Jakob made it 2-2, 3-3 and 4-3. The other goal was scored by Ale Z.

Overall it was a very enjoyable morning and PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT was Grade 7-'s goalkeeper MAX.

Lyon 8 - 4 Basel FC

Era da molto tempo che non si vedeva una partita così ricca di spettacolo, gol e ribaltamenti di fronte! Un Basel organizzato e ben reattivo si è dovuto arrendere alla furia di un attacco stellare - Toti-Calento - capace di realizzare in coppia ben 7 gol. Nuovo record assoluto di realizzazione nella stessa partita, 5 reti, per il talento emergente del MS soccer team: Simone Calento (oggi Player of the Match).

Il Basel ha combattuto colpo su colpo, è andato avanti 2-0 nel primo tempo, per essere poi raggiunto e superato 3-2 dalla tripletta di Simone. È tornato avanti grazie ai contropiede spietati di Francesco e Andrea. A quel punto Matteo è "salito in cattedra" e ha guidato la squadra alla vittoria finale, dilagando nel punteggio nei minuti finali.

Peccato per la squadra guidata da Rocco, che non meritava un punteggio così severo: speriamo sappia rifarsi nelle prossime partite.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Simone 6, Matteo 5, Andrea M. 5, Francesco S. 5.

Goteborg 3 - 1 Ajax

La seconda partita del torneo femminile offre spettacolo e bel giuoco, con tantissime ragazze che brillano per qualità e determinazione. Difficile per i giudici valutare tante e così belle prestazioni.
Veniamo al match: la squadra di Carlotta inizia forte, dando l'impressione di poter colpire con la velocità di Camilla, Carlotta stessa e Sofia, ma il Goteborg schiera un'ottima difesa ben regolata da Asia e un centrocampo solido gestito da Isabella e Cosima. Presto le Svedesi colpiscono in contropiede con un'azione persistita di Joanna. Le Olandesi provano con alcune belle azioni del capitano, che fallisce un apio di occasioni ghiotte, ma il calcio è crudele e l'Ajax viene trafitto ancora in contropiede da Joanna. Sul finire del primo tempo Sofia accorcia momentaneamente le distanze con una bella azione orchestrata insieme a Clara. Nel secondo tempo il Goteborg mette in cassaforte il risultato con i terzo gol di Joanna, oggi Player of the Match, e mantiene invariato il risultato anche grazie alla brava e sicura Olivia tra i pali. Ottimi gli spunti di Camilla che, pur senza grande fortuna, ci ha oggi mostrato qualità tecniche e agonistiche davvero notevoli. Bella anche la prestazione di Isabel, che è riuscita in più di un'occasione a neutralizzare le cavalcate di Cosima e Joanna.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Joanna 10, Camilla 8, Asia 1, Clara 1, Sofia B. 1.

Barcelona 4 - 0 Fenerbahce

A disorganized Fenerbahce team was turned inside out by the Spanish Champions in today's match.

The first chance fell to Mattia but he was taken by surprise and lifted the ball over the bar. Mattia went on to have an excellent game though and was involved in the build up to the first goal, scored by Francesco Gallo.

Next Miki, who played well in defence, almost scored an own goal but Barcelona did go 2-0 up before half-time when Francesco T (today's Player of the Match) slipped the ball past the advancing goalkeeper.

The Turkish team had a brief rally early in the second half. Emre made one of his mazy runs on the right but, when the ball found its way to Dariush on the left, he shot over. Emre later played a good ball through the defence but it was a few centimeters too long for Andrea S.

The result was put beyond doubt when Francesco clipped a 20 meter shot in off the underside of the bar, bringing gasps of appreciation from the crowd, and Mattia added a fourth goal near the end, getting on the end of Francesco's well-judged corner kick.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Francesco T 10, Francesco G 4, Mattia 4, Emilio 3

Il sondaggio dice B&B!

Nonostante gli esordi non siano stati eccezionali (Bayern sconfitto e Besiktas fermato sullo 0-0), i nostri appassionati cyber-spettatori hanno risposto così al nostro sondaggio. Le squadre di Elif (21% totale) e Jakob (34% totale) sembrerebbero le più quotate per la vittoria finale, ma attenzione: sappiamo tutti che la palla è rotonda e può finire in qualsiasi rete...
Il Panathinaikos, forte della vittoria nel primo match, si piazza al secondo posto tra le preferenze maschili, seguito dal Barcelona.
Tra le ragazze più equilibrio, con Ajax, Werder e Goteborg quasi sullo stesso livello.
E ora... buon Intramural a tutti, la sfida è aperta!

Bayern Munich 3 - 4 Panathinaikos

The 21st edition of the Ambrit Boys Intramural got off to a roaring start with a seven-goal thriller, Marco's Greek champions winning by the odd goal.
And yet it was Bayern who got off to a stronger start, going 1-0 up with possibly the best goal of the day. The ball was moved quickly around from Luke to Oliver to Jakob to Giovanni and into the back of the net.
The Germans nearly scored again immediately but Max's outstretched leg was enough to block the ball. Jakob had a chance too but was again foiled by Max. Then, just before half-time, Ludo did some good work on the right, the ball broke to Marco and the score was 1-1.
The second half exploded into life immediately. Ludo took a throw in to Marco waiting in the box and his nonchalent backward flick wrong-footed the goalkeeper: 2-1.
Bayern came back: Jakob had a shot saved but then, two minutes later, Oliver picked him out with a surgically-accurate long pass and he cut inside onto his left foot and scored. He had another chance immediately afterwards too, but this time Max made another good save.
There was no let-up in this fast-paced game. Marco found Ludo in the box with a good pass and Ludo kept his head to turn the ball calmly past the goalkeeper and Panathinaikos were ahead again. But not for long! Jakob played a captain's part and equalised again. Maybe the teams would settle for a draw? No!
After Ale dB had fouled Luca outside the box, Marco stepped up and blasted a free kick which seemed to be going in until Oliver blocked it on the line. And then, in the dying minutes, Marco found Alexios free at a throw in and, with a surge of Greek pride, Alexios lobbed the ball into the back of the net to win the game.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Ludovico 8, Marco T 5, Jakob 4, Max 2, Oliver 2

Besiktas 0 - 0 Werder

Il XXI Campionato Intramural ha inizio a reti inviolate, con una partita piacevole e molto combattuta tra due squadre chiuse e brave in difesa, che hanno lasciato davvero pochi spazi alle azioni offensive. Il Besiktas ha schierato a sorpresa Emma Z. tra i pali, puntando sulle ripartenze del capitano Elif e della piacevolissima sorpresa Lavinia, che in un paio di occasioni ha addirittura sfiorato il gol decisivo. Il Werder si è affidato all'esperienza di Lena e alla classe di Julia, schierando in porta Daria, che quasi allo scadere ha compiuto un mezzo miracolo, salvando un gol certo su azione da calcio d'angolo ben impostata da Aurora. La vera mattarice della partita è stata però l'esordiente Allegra, vera diga sulla quale si sono infrante quasi tutte le azioni del Werder. Unanime la decisione dei giudici nell'attribuirle la "palma" di Player of the Match.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:

Allegra 12, Lavinia 5, Aurora 2, Julia 1, Hanna 1.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH

Player of the Match awards will be decided by a panel of experts, each of whom nominates his best three
players of the match.
These players receive 4, 2 or 1 points and the player receiving most points is declared 'Player of the Match'.
All points awarded are also used to determine a 'Best Player of the Tournament' classification.