Ireland 4-1 Germany

Ireland destroyed Germany today with an exhibition of free-flowing football that sent a clear message to all of their rivals.

Alex dF put the Germans into an early lead with a good goal on the turn but that was the high point of the match for the Germans. Jonathan almost equalised when Ale dB's excellent save from Joshua shot fell to him, but his shot hit the post.

Ireland dominated the second half. An impressive Luca Cerri made it 1-1 with an overhead kick and then Leo sent in Jonathan to make it 2-1. Joshua extended the lead and then struck again after an excellent solo run through the German defense.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Jon 7, Luca C 5, Joshua 4, Cesare 2, Andrea Ooi 1, Ale dB 1, Davide 1

Ambrit 2-1 DSR (GILRS)

Anche per le ragazze Ambrit una bella vittoria sulle "colleghe" della scuola tedesca, ma con qualche sbavatura che dovrà essere corretta e migliorata per i prossimi impegni. Nel primo tempo il Mister ha sperimentato una squadra nuova, con Allegra in difesa (eccezionale il suo primo tempo) e Giulia sulla fascia sinistra (anche lei bravissima, sempre in movimento e reattiva). Nonostante una certa superiorità nella manovra, l'Ambrit non ha trovato molto spazio, sovrastata dalla fisicità delle avversarie. Sul finale di tempo Camilla, ben servita da Livia, ha trovato la rete del vantaggio su un tiro rimpallato dal portiere. La reazione tedesca non si è fatta aspettare: tiro potente dalla distanza, con pallone che ha colpito la traversa e si è schiacciato sulla riga. Fiuuu....

Nel secondo tempo il Mister cambia tutto, o quasi, inserendo Lavinia in porta, Chiara, Livia e Francesca in difesa, Dalia in attacco e Anjali sulla fascia. Le uniche a rimanere in campo sono Julia e Sonia, sempre molto costanti nel ritmo. L'Ambrit continua a creare occasioni, senza rischiare molto, ma non riesce a trovare il gol della sicurezza, finquando la n.10 avversaria, lasciata colpevolmente troppo sola, trova un bellissimo tiro dalla distanza su cui nulla può il nostro portiere: 1-1. La partita si accende, il Mister inserisce di nuovo Camilla e Giulia, l'Ambrit si butta all'attacco correndo qualche rischio (una buona uscita e una buona parata di Lavinia) e finalmente gli sforzi vengono premiati quando Julia lancia Camilla a rete, che tutta sola non sbaglia.

Players of the Match: Julia e Camilla.

Ambrit 5-4 DSR (BOYS)

Ambrit won the match today but still need to work harder on their team play and movement if they hope to win any serious tournaments this year.

They went down to an early goal when a static defense failed to react to a high ball from a throw-in and the DSR No. 7 rose to score the opener. Without playing particularly well, Ambrit narrowed the gap through a messy Francesco S goal but DSR took the lead again when the No. 10 was left totally unmarked in midfield and was able to place an accurate shot past Ale. Then it was 3-1 to the Germans 5 minutes later as Ambrit continued to slumber. Oliver hammered home a fiercely taken free kick to narrow the gap and Ale made a splendid save from a well-lobbed shot, allowing his team to go in at half time losing by just one goal.

Francesco S struck again early in the second half: 3-3. But the Germans kept the pressure on and took the lead yet again. Finally though, Ambrit were playing a bit better. Leo had steadied the ship at the back and Oliver's passes were more accurate. Ambrit equalised with another Francesco S goal conjured from an innocuous situation on the end-line. Then, with 5 minutes left, Ambrit were awarded another free-kick and Oliver fooled the goalkeeper. Pretending to whack it, this time he pulled back on the shot and chipped it in off the bar to give his team a much-needed win.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Francesco S

England 6 - 1 Spain

L'Inghilterra demolisce la Spagna e - forse - le sue aspirazioni di vittoria in questo torneo.

L'inizio della partita sembra piuttosto bilanciato, con l'Inghilterra che si porta in vantaggio quasi subito e viene ripresa sull'1-1 da un bel gol di Alessio. Nemmeno il tempo di festeggiare, e Oliver riporta in vantaggio la sua squadra con un bellissimo contropiede concluso con un destro fulminante all'angoletto. Da quel momento in poi la Spagna è andata totalmente in confusione, incapace di reagire e trovare le soluzioni giuste. L'Inghilterra ha avuto grandi spazi in contropiede, specie nel secondo tempo quando Francesco - forse il più pericoloso dei suoi - si è messo a giocare da... libero! Tra le reti inglesi da segnalare il bel gol di Tim, servito da un delizioso lancio di Oliver, oggi Player of the Match.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Oliver 8, Idriss 7, Tim 2, Lorenzo 1, Tommaso 1, Marco 1, Francesco S. 1.

Germany 2-1 Spain

Without Francesco Sciotti, World Champions Spain crashed to defeat in a dour match against the Germans.

Captain Alex's lob put his team ahead and Luca del Vecchio made it 2-0 with no reaction from the Spanish. Alex dF could have made it 3-0 but Sam Cole came close to a goal too after a good run and a high shot.

Spain pulled one goal back in the second half, thanks to a fine flowing move from Marco to Sam to Antoine. But the Germans hung on to take three valuable points.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Alex H 4, Alexis 3, Luca DV 3, Marco 2, Danyal 2, Sam C 2, Alex dF 1, Fabio 1, Kei 1, AledB 1, David 1

France 3-2 Ireland

The shadow of Thierry Henry loomed over Ambrit Stadium as Ireland took on France, a crucial game for the former World Champions after losing their first two matches.

A scoreless first half was notable for some fine goalkeeping from both Christian and Danilo and the second half began with a cracking goal from Giovanni after the ball was moved quickly from Francesco G to Mattia J. Ireland equalised quickly through Leo after a sustained period of pressure but Francesco G put Giovanni through again and he scored after his first shot came back off the bar. Francesco himself made it 3-1 on the break and Emilio pulled one back after Leo chested the ball down to him on the edge of the area. Some fine performances today from Mattia J in a new defensive position, from Andrea Ooi and especially from Christian.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Christian 8, Andrea Ooi 3, Jonathan 3, Giovanni 3, Mattia J 1, Emilio 1, Andrea S 1, Joshua 1

Italy 5-2 Spain

World Champions Spain crashed to a humiliating defeat at the hands of Italy despite plaing the better football for much of the game.
Italy however did have most of the early chances, with Max playing Simone in on the left three different occasions but, each time, Antoine was alert and snuffed out the threat.
Max then lost the ball in midfield to Alessio and his quick pass set up Francesco S for the opening goal. Francesco then turned creator, setting up Kei for a rare goal and a two-goal lead.
But Italy reacted quickly: Max set up Simone for a goal and then Simone returned the compliment and the score was suddenly 2-2. Half-time.
Upon the restart, Kei tied himself up in knots and Max nipped in to score. Spain never really recovered. Despite some great work by Antopine in goal, Simone added two more goals - the second a beauty which he conjured up out of nowhere - and Spain find themselves needing a win next Friday.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Antoine 6, Simone 6, Francesco S 2, Ale P 2, Jiaqi 1, Marco 1, Alexis 1, Max 1, Kei 1

Holland 2 - 0 Sweden

Una partita bella e appassionante come non la si vedeva da anni! Questo il primo pensiero dopo aver assistito a Olanda Svezia, il cui punteggio ha un valore relativo rispetto al bel gioco visto in campo. Tutte le giocatrici si sono espresse a un ottimo livello e meriterebbero tutte un punto almeno; se non tutte lo hanno ricevuto è segno che i punti a disposizione dei giudici erano davvero finiti!

L'inizio della partita è tutto in favore della Svezia, con Camilla e Giulia scatenate in attacco, che danno l'impressione di poter segnare una valanga di gol. Tuttavia la difesa dell'Olanda dà spettacolo e blocca qualsiasi iniziativa avversaria, in particolare grazie all'eccellente prestazione di Joana in porta e di Valeria pronta a chiudere ogni spazio. Fondamentale il ruolo di Olivia, che questa volta non si è limitata a difendere, ma si è anche proposta in avanti creando quella superiorità necessaria a smarcare le compagne.

La partita si sbilancia dopo il vantaggio dell'Olanda in contropiede con la bella conclusione di Emma. La Svezia prova a premere, Camilla non trova la rete dopo un splendide azioni personali in cui brucia tutta la squadra avversaria; ma come spesso accade nel calcio, chi si butta in avanti finisce per scorprirsi dietro: la seconda rete di Emma giunge proprio allo scadere del primo tempo. La Svezia è costretta a metter Camilla in porta per l'infortunio di Livia (colpita duto per ben tre volte nel match - vera sfortuna!), ma la spinta offensiva non si placa, con Giulia che compie dribbling a ripetizione, pur non trovando la rete.

Insomma: una partita appassionante, come speriamo ce ne siano in futuro. Brave ragazze!

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Olivia 7, Emma 5, Joana 4, Valeria 2, Giulia 1, Camilla 1, Livia P. 1.

Germany 2-1 France

Quel dommage! Another defeat for France and the former European Champions are now staring elimination in the face.

Without F. Gallo for most of the first half, Les Bleus nonetheless kept the score to 0-0 (thanks also to some good saves from Christian) until Alex dF knocked in a rebound after a good run and shot from captain Alex H. But Francesco then marked his entry immediately with a brilliantly taken goal at the near post off a Robin corner to make it 1-1.

As the second half progressed, the French often dominated the play but the last pass was usually wasted or late. The Germans were always dangerous too though and Luca dV was unlucky when his shot rebounded off the post into Christian's arms. The result remained in the balance right to the end, when Mattia M got a lucky break in a tackle with Sam (who had a great game in defense - always in the right place at the right time) and found himself with just the goalkeeper to beat... and he beat him.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Sam S 6, Robin 3, Luca dV 2, Christian 2, Alex H 2, Francesco G 2, Mattia M 2, Ale dB 2

International News: Firat declares for Italy!

In a shock announcement yesterday Firat Etim's agent announced that, thanks to an Italian grandmother, Firat will now be available to play for Italy. Cesare Prandelli, Italy's coach, said he was ecstatic about the news and hoped to include Firat in his next squad for the crucial matches against Spain and England. (Reuters).

Portugal 4-3 Sweden

Giulia E scored three goals today and still managed to finish on the losing team thanks to four goals from Julia A.
In a huely entertaining game, the score went from 1-0 for Sweden to 2-1 for Portugal, then 3-2 to Sweden and 4-3 to Portugal.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Julia A 6, Livia P 4, Camilla 4, Priscilla 3, Giulia 3, Anjali 1

Ireland 4-0 England

A clearly superior Irish team played a weakened England off the park in a highly entertaining game today.
None of the Irish players kept possession for too long, making the ball do the work and maximizing their one-man advantage. Emilio scored the first goal when he accelerated away from two defenders and slipped the ball into the corner of the net.
Joshua made it 2-o before half time.
England made a brief recovery after the break and might have cut the Irish lead but Ludo's shot came back off the post and English heads went down. Luca Cerri chipped a ball over the English defense and Emilio scored again to make it 3-0. Joshua got his second goal too when a neat turn left him with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Excellent performances by many of the Irish team, especially Leo and Andrea.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Andrea Ooi 6, Leo 5, Emilio 3, Joshua 2, Idriss 2, Ludo 1, Tim 1, Tommaso 1

Portugal 2 - 0 Holland

Con questa partita ha avuto inizio il torneo femminile, purtroppo ancora una volta ridotto a tre sole squadre per mancanza di giocatrici.
Il Portogallo ha vinto abbastanza agevolmente, anche per la pesante assenza di Olivia nelle file dell'Olanda, ma la verità è anche che l'Olanda non è stata organizzata e determinata quanto lo è stato il Portogallo, squadra in cui Julia e Sonia hanno dialogato, pressato, segnato, aiutate da una difesa che ha funzionato molto bene: Ginevra e Orsola (ottima new entry) con Lavinia, sempre più sicura tra i pali e non solo.

Nell'Olanda invece Poco o nulla ha funzionato: la bravura di Allegra è stata troppo intermittente, Emma non ha trovato gli spazi e il passaggio soliti, Valeria - pur autrice di una buona gara - è stata troppo sola in difesa e le nuove leve - Livia e Gaia - sono state poco supportate dalle compagne, come se già sapessero cosa fare e come comportarsi.

C'è ancora tempo per migliorare, recuperare e trovare quell'organizzazione che porterà due squadre su tre alla finale dell'Intramural.

Player of the Match points: Lavinia 4, Orsola 3, Ginevra 3, Julia 2, Joanna 1.

Spain 6-3 France

Sacre bleu! World Champions Spain let France come at them but then hit them repeatedly on the break and in the end cast them aside with little difficulty. Marco opened the scoring and the second goal was the result of a neat combination between Alessio, Marco and Francesco S.
Sciotti struck again when Francesco G lost the ball in midfield. Les blues finally got it together and pulled one back before half time when Robin passed to Giovanni and he played in Francesco G.
Spain crushed the slim French hopes in the second half with two quick goals from Marco and Sam Cole, both laid on by Francesco S.
Francesco G set up Giovanni for a goal but Sam Cole restored the four goal margin and Francesco G's final goal did nothing to change the result.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Sam Cole 5, Francesco S 5, Antoine 4, Giovanni 2, Danyal 2, Marco 2, Robin 1

Ambrit Girls 2 - 2 Deutsche Schule

Buona prestazione delle ragazze sul campo della Deutsche Schule, anche se il finale è un po' amaro per le nostre, che vengono riacciuffate sul 2-2 dopo essere state in vantaggio per 2-0.
L'Ambrit parte bene, con Camilla sicura tra i pali e Cosima in attacco. A centrocampo il trio Sonia-Julia-Allegra e in difesa Isabella. Si corrono pochi rischi e sul finale di primo tempo Cosima riesce a trovare lo spunto e la forza di mettere in rete una palla non trattenuta dal portiere avversario.
Nel secondo tempo l'Ambrit continua a gestire bene il gioco, bersagliando la porta tedesca con regolarità, ma il portiere nega il raddoppio in più di un'occasione con grande bravura. Finalmente un bel tiro teso di Camilla s'insacca nell'angolo, dopo una serie ripetuta di belle azioni.
A questo punto finisce la partita dell'Ambrit e inizia un'altra partita, in cui la concentrazione scende vistosamente, e le tedesche - che notoriamente non mollano mai - prendono fiducia. Isabella concede un rigore alle avversarie, ma Cosima lo neutralizza parando un tiro centrale.
Poi un altro paio di incertezze e di black-out mandano in rete la squadra di casa, che evita una sconfitta che sembrava inevitabile.
Complessivamente si è vista una buona squadra, ma ci sono ancora dei particolari da migliorare. Il punteggio può essere considerato soddisfacente, considerando anche che la Deutsche Schule schierava ragazze di età fino al terzo liceo...
Player of the Match: Camilla.

Germany 1 - 3 England

Una bella prova di forza dell'Inghilterra, che si presenta subito come la squadra da battere in questo torneo. La formazione assemblata da capitan Felix ha annientato la Germania, pur brava a dialogare e a passarsi la palla, grazie a una tripletta di Ludo, abile a sfruttare gli assist di Oliver, motore della squadra.

Qualcosa da rivedere invece sul mercato di Alex, tradito dagli uomini su cui ha puntato. Bravo e sfortunato Mattia, che ha provato a segnare da ogni posizione...

MAN OF THE MATCH POINTS: Oliver 5, Mattia M 5, Ludo 3, Idriss 3, Alex dF 1, Tommaso 1, William 1, Luca del Vecchio 1, Tim 1.

Ambrit Tournament

A disappointing day for Ambrit's teams. St George's beat New School in the final of the the G7/8 tournament and the final of the G6 tournament was contested by.....
RESULTS:
G7/8
DSR 1-1 Ambrit A (F. Sciotti)
Marymount 3-2 Ambrit A (F. Sciotti 2)
St George's 2-1 Ambrit A
Best Player: F. Sciotti
Castelli 5-1 Ambrit B (Giovanni)
New School - Ambrit B ()
RIS 2-1 Ambrit B (Giovanni)
Best Player: Giovanni
G6

Peccato non aver vinto un torneo che era alla portata dell'Ambrit!

Questa è la prima cosa che viene in mente dopo aver assistito alle partite disputate dai ragazzi di prima media... La formazione messa in campo dal mister ha infatti annientato la Castelli e la Marymount prima di approdare in semifinale.

A quel punto qualcosa si è perso: la fiducia prima di tutto. Chiuso il primo tempo in vantaggio per 3-2, l'Ambrit si è fatta rimontare - complice qualche decisione arbitrale che ha seminato un po' di nervosismo - e addirittura superare. all'ultimo minuto un rigore ha dato la possibilità del pareggio: ma il portiere avversario è stato molto bravo a negare il gol al nostro bomber. peccato.

Best player: Christian
Castelli - Ambrit 1-7
MMI - Ambrit 1-3
St. George's - Ambrit 4-3

Ireland 3-3 Italy

Fighting against former world champions Italy, not to mention a hostile referee, Ireland pulled off a historic result and gained their first points of the new Championship.
Ireland went into the lead when Joshua MacCroppenstadt (known as Paddy to his friends) wormed his way through a somewhat static Italian defense. Ireland held onto the lead until just before half-time, when Italy drew level with a fierce and accurate shot from Max. Ireland's lead was restored however when Luca O'Cerri struck.
Italy drew level again in the second half when Max drove a corner at Danilo O'Cressman and the ball was fumbled over the line. A pity for O'Cressman, who had a good game all round.
Italy then piled on the pressure and Simone put them 3-2 ahead and then hit the post (as usual).
It looked all over for the Irish but, urged on by Trapattoni from the sidelines, they put in one final effort which then paid off. A kind ball fell to MacCroppenstadt and he tucked it away to send the Irish home happy.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Joshua 5, Jonathan 5, Max 2, Jiaqi 2, Francisco 3, Danilo 1, Emilio 1, Andrea Ooi 1, Simone 1

Teachers 5-2 Manchester City

After winning the Autumn Intramural Tournament, Manchester City lined out against the teachers with big hopes of another success. However, with fantastic assistance from Antoine, Alessio and Lorenzo, the teachers prevailed yet again and asked the question... "can any of the student teams beat them this year?"

Mr Calento was first onto the scoresheet again with another one of his 1-meter specials. Mr Alessandro followed up with a well-struck shot and all seemed easy for the teachers. Then Jonathan attacked down the right and latched on to a pass from Max. Mr Corcoran, too slow to come out, then nearly had his head taken off by Jonathan's shot and Luca dV was on hand to pop in the rebound.

In the second half, Luca dV pulled another one back, fooling Antoine with a deft flick. But the teachers then began to pass the ball and Mr Corcoran swapped a couple of passes with Mr Calento and slotted home the third. Mr Midgley was rewarded for a lot of hard work when he forced a fourth goal and Alessio capped a fine performance with the fifth.

PLAYERS OF THE MATCH: Lorenzo, Luca dV

Spring Intramural

Here we go again!
The Spring Intramural kicks off next week (Wednesday 18/01/12), but first......

It's CALCIOMERCATO time!

This year, the following players are FOR SALE:

Boys

Jonathan, Max, Giovanni, Danilo, Tommaso, Idriss, Antoine, Tim, Mattia M, Alex d F, Marco, Simone, Ludo, Andrea S, Mattia J, Emilio, Francisco, Nawin, Alessio, Sam C, Francesco G, David, Lucas, Andrea O

Girls

Sonia, Livia P, Emma Z, Giulia E, Olivia, Anjali

BOYS SOCCER: Teachers 6-1 Grade 7

Despite a spectacular opening goal from Antoine, Grade 7 finally succumbed to the teachers in the third 'tempo' when the scoreline shot up from 1-1 to 6-1.

Antoine had woken up the teachers in the first 'tempo' when he drifted wide to the left and unleashed an unstoppable shot past Mr Corcoran. Mr Antonio soon equalised though when he cut the ball in at the near post following a mazy dribble past three defenders.

The scoreline remained unchanged then for 15 minutes, thanks largely to a string of fantastic saves from Player of the Match Danilo Cressman.

But then Mr Guarnieri's goal opened the floodgates, Mr Calento completed his hat-trick, Mr Midgley made it 5-1 and Mr Hough added a sixth.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Danilo

GIRLS SOCCER: Teachers 2-0 Rangers

Another impressive display by the teachers was crowned by two goals from Miss JoAnna.

BEST PLAYER: Beatrice

BOYS SOCCER: Deutsche Schule 6-4 Ambrit

Despite a late goal from Luca, Ambrit ran out of time and couldn't catch their opponents having been down 3-2 at half-time.
Ambrit had gone ahead early on with Francesco Sciotti's opening goal following a neat one-two with Oliver. But the Germans countered and forced a good save from Ale. They then equalised with an unchallenged header and went ahead when Ambrit failed to close down a shooting situation in time. Ale made another good save then and Ambrit pulled it back to 2-2 when Francesco G turned in a quick Sciotti corner but, minutes later, a loose pass from Ale let the home side in for a third goal.
Francesco G then earned and wasted a penalty and Ambrit were a goal down at half time.
Sciotti equalised early in the second half following a long run past three opponents and a lovely left-foot shot. But an own-goal by Ludo a few minutes later put the Germans back in the driving seat and Ambrit's marking became slack. DSR took advantage and went 6-3 up. Ambrit's last ray of hope came from Luca when he scored a rare but valuable goal.
AMBRIT PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Leo, Francesco G

Ambrit Boys 7 - 2 Vigna Pia

Some good saves early on from Ale in goal gave Ambrit the chance to find their feet and stroll eventually to a nonchalent win over neighbours Vigna Pia.

Francrsco Sciotti scored two almost identical goals following through passes from Oliver and Francesco Gallo added a third before half time, the assist coming from Oliver again.

Sciotti made it 4-0 before Vigna Pia made a tentative try to get back into the game with two quick goals, but Ambrit moved up a gear and scored three more before the end; Oliver (2) Ludo added their names to the scoresheet.

Overall Ambrit's display was competent but they will need some stiffer challenges if they are to prepare adequately for next May's tournament in Garda.

AMBRIT PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Oliver

ALL STARS MATCH - Teams

Match is 8 x 8, with 5 boys and 3 girls on each team.

TEAM #1

Jonathan, Luca SG, Danilo, Idriss, Marco, Alex dF

Leo, Livia, Sonia, Allegra, Julia A,

TEAM #2

Max, Giovanni, Tommaso, Antoine, David,

Mattia M, Tim, Camilla, Emma Z, Beatrice, Giulia

Team 2, containing both the boys' and girls' top scorers, ran out 4-0 winners with Giovanni (2) and Giulia contributing goals, along with Mattia. Some excellent performances from Idriss, Livia, Julia A, Giovanni, Mattia and Camilla but Player of the Match was David.

BOYS' FINAL: Man City 3-0 Arsenal

Manchester City fulfilled all expectations and swept aside the timid challenge of Arsenal, who seemed intimidated by their opponents' reputations and failed to take the early chances presented to them.
Jonathan opened the scoring, positioning himself intelligently, wide on the right. Alessio had a shot at the other end but it was high and wide and then Arsenal, learning nothing from earlier, left Jon free again on the right. Max found him again and and he doubled City's lead.
Max himself made it 3-0 before half time and Arsenal never recovered, City even missing a penalty when Ale saved Andrea's attempt.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Jonathan 6, Idriss 4, Tommaso 2, Max 4, Tim 2, Giovanni 1, Alex 1, Nawin 1

Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea

A bad first half was saved by two goals from Giovanni and a better second half saw Chelsea desperately trying to avoid elimination but their attempts were ultimately futile.

The first chance fell to Alex dF when he connected with his head to a Francesco corner, but Ale dB made a fantastic save.

Arsenal then struck on the break, Mattia's ball setting up Giovanni and Giovanni then doubled Arsenal's lead after a flowing passing move involving three team-mates.

In the second half, Sam Cole's strong probing runs down the right tested the Gunners' defence and Sam might have scored when he had a one on one against the goalkeeper but he pulled his shot wide. Alex dF then pulled a goal back for the Blues and Sam C almost equalised from a corner when his header struck the post.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Giovanni 8, Ale dB 7, Luca S 3, Idriss 2, Alessio 1

St George's Tournament

A major inquest is underway into the state of soccer at Ambrit after they sent four teams to St George's but, for the first time in years, came home without a trophy.

The G8 boys crashed ou

t of the semi-final on penalties, the Girls 'A' team lost their semi-final too, the Girls' 'B' team were third and the G7 boys did best of all, winning their group but losing the final to New School.

MORE photographs HERE.

GRADE 7 BOYS

Group games

IS Milan 2-0 Ambrit

St George's 1-2 Ambrit (Mattia, Luca Cerri)

USYS 0-2 Ambrit (Simone 2)

Semi-Final

St George's 1-2 Ambrit (Simone 3, Luca Cerri 3)

Final

USYS 1-2 Ambrit (Mattia, Luca Cerri 3)

Team: Danilo, James, Antoine, Sam, Luca C, Mattia, Simone, Luca dV, Nicholas

Ambrit Player of the Tournament: ANTOINE

GRADE 8 BOYS

Group games

Marymount 3-3 Ambrit (Francesco S 2, Max)

St George's 1-2 Ambrit (Francesco S, Max)

Semi-Final
Southlands 3-3 Ambrit (Francesco S, Max, Oliver)
Ambrit eliminated after penalties.
Ambrit Player of the Tournament: MAX

Team: Ale, Luca, Alex, Robin, Leo, Oliver, Max, Francesco, Ludo.

Ambrit Player of the Tournament: Max

GRADE 6 GIRLS

Group games

St. George's A 2-0 Ambrit

St George's B 0-0 Ambrit

USYS 2-20 Ambrit

Semi-Final

St George's A 2-0 Ambrit

3rd-4th Place Final

USYS 1-1 Ambrit (Ginevra)

Team: Lavinia, Sara, Francesca, Margot, Julia T, Dalia, Giulia, Valeria, Ginevra.

Ambrit Player of the Tournament: Giulia & Dalia.

GRADE 7-8 GIRLS

Group games

Ambrit - IS Milan 5-0 (Emma 2, Julia 2, Cosima)

Napoli Soccer Club 3-2 Ambrit (Emma, Julia)

Semi-Final

USYS 4-2 Ambrit (Julia, Camilla)

Team: Livia, Sylvie, Bianca, Beatrice, Cosima, Emma, Julia, Camilla, Allegra, Isabella.

Ambrit Player of the Tournament: nobody.

Celtic vs Rangers: Il video dei rigori

BOYS SEMI FINAL: Man City 2-1 Man Utd

The first half belonged to United and they should have gone in ahead at half time. Instead, United weathered the storm and progressed to the final.

Mattia created the first chance when he stepped inside his marker and unleashed a fierce shot that crashed back off the bar. Simone then put Oli through with a lovely pass but his captain wasted this excellent chance and then repeated the performance when Simone put him through again. City countered and Andrea turned in Max's corner: 1-0.

Oliver equalised in the second half with a nice shot from the right but the game was won with a fantastic goal from Jonathan. Controlling a difficult ball on the touch line, he ghosted past his marker and scored with a beautifully-judged shot over the goalkeeper.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Jonathan 11, Simone 2, Max 2, Luca DV 2, Andrea 2, Lucas 1, Ale dP 1

GIRLS FINAL: Rangers 2 - 2 Celtic

Dopo aver dominato il girone di qualificazione, il Rangers viene "sopreso" dall'ottima performance del Celtic, capace di recuperare le avversarie, andate in vantaggio per due volte - con le sorelle terribili Giulia e Camilla - e riacciuffare il pareggio con Emma (2 gol e Player of the Match).
In realtà il Celtic ha avuto l'occasione di portare a casa addirittura il trofeo, ma ha sprecato un paio di ghiotte occasioni, a tu per tu con il portiere avversario.
Solida la prestazione in campo delle due insegnanti - Ms. Pringle e Ms. Johansson - che hanno reso molto equilibrato il match, con continui ribaltamenti di fronte e molto spettacolo.
Diverse ragazze hanno meritato dei punti per la loro prestazione, ma come spesso accade, i giudici sono stati abbastanza concordi nel premiare in particolare quattro giocatrici meritevoli.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Emma 12, Camilla 4, Ginevra 3, Giulia 2.

Manchester City 3-1 Liverpool

Liverpool bowed out of the tournament tamely as Manchester City recorded another victory to finish top in the group stages of the competition.
A well-struck shot by Max and a header from Alex off a Max throw-in saw City changing sides with a two goal lead.
Robin's determination in all areas of the pitch earned him a second-half goal when he linked up with Ludo but Liverpool were unable to force an equaliser. Jonathan capped another fine performance with the winning goal halfway through the second half.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Max 10, Jonathan 5, David 2, Nawin 2, Alex 1, Robin 1

SGES 5 - Ambrit 2 (girls)

Una secca sconfitta per la squadra delle ragazze Ambrit, ancora contro St. George's, ancora in amichevole. Il punteggio non rispecchia realmente il gioco espresso dalle due squadre, ma va accettato come una lezione da imparare: nel calcio vince chi segna gol, non chi gioca meglio!
L'Ambrit - infatti- ha creato gioco e occasioni, ma non è riuscita a concretizzare (specie nel secondo tempo) bloccata da una difesa ben disposta e organizzata (la nostra ex, Asia, è stata quasi insuperabile). Al contrario la St. George's, pur non essendo mai arrivata palla al piede davanti al nostro portiere, ha segnato molto da fuori area, sfruttando bene gli spazi concessi dai nostri centrocampisti. Peccato...

Nel primo tempo la squadra ha retto bene, spinta da Cosima e Allegra, segnando un gol con una bella girata di Lavinia che si è insaccata all'incrocio (il gol è stato prontamente dedicato a... Cesare). Ha subito però ben tre reti-fotocopia, da fuori, su cui Livia non è riuscita a intervenire. La squadra del secondo tempo ha creato maggiori occasioni, ma non ha trovato gli spazi giusti, poiché le avversarie hanno difeso il 3-1 e aspettato di colpire in contropiede. Nel finale, dopo altre due reti subite da fuori, Camilla ha realizzato il secondo gol, su assist di Julia. Troppo poco per una squadra che a maggio prossimo vuole puntare a vincere la Mediterranean Cup, ma comunque un'esperienza che deve servire.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Cosima.

Chelsea 2-1 Bolton

Bolton, already eliminated before this game, played with pride and determination and almost caused an upset.

They won a free-kick early on and Francesco Sciotti stepped up confidently to smash it past Leo.

But the lead didn't last long; from a throw-in, Alex dF volleyed the ball home from close range and the teams changed ends at 1-1.

The second half was even and tense, with Danilo making a series of saves, mainly from Francesco Gallo. Bolton almost hung on but were finally undone when Alex made a mazy run past three defenders and slipped the ball to the far post where Sam C tucked it in.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Alex dF 6, Leo 4, Danilo 4, Joao Francisco 4, Kei 2, Emilio 1

Rangers 3 - 0 Celtic

Una partita senza grande importanza tra due squadre già qualificate per la finale (si giocherà giovedì prossimo 17 Novembre), utile solo per le statistiche e le varie classifiche di torneo. Il Celtic si è presentato in campo con numerose defezioni (2 giocatrici in meno e Ms. Johansson tra i pali).

Poche emozioni quindi, e poco equilibrio in campo: le Rangers hanno potuto gestire con comodità il gioco, creare molte occasioni da rete con la coppia delle "sorelle terribili" (2 gol Camilla, 1 gol Giulia) e sono state molto brave nella fase difensiva, bloccando tutti i tentativi di ripartenza con l'esperienza di Ms. Pringle e la rivelazione di Valeria "muro" Muratori.

Sulla sponda Celtic, nonostante il grande sforzo di Emma, Livia, Dalia e Lavinia, poco si è potuto fare per evitare una sconfitta già scritta dai numeri in campo. L'ingresso tardivo di Allegra ha solo in parte rivitalizzato la partita. Speriamo che giovedì prossimo il Celtic sappia dare maggiore battaglia per la conquista del primo Intramural della stagione.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Camilla 6, Valeria 6, Livia 4, Giulia 2, Emma 2, Dalia 1.

St George's Boys 0-0 Ambrit Boys

In this 11-a-side encounter on the grass at St George's, Ambrit suffered heavy pressure in the first half but turned things around in the second half and almost stole the game at the end when Antoine had a chance to score.

The first half was tough but Ambrit defended well. Ale made a couple of fine saves and Alex, Ludo, Felix and Luca tracked their opponents faithfully and Leo had a great game protecting the defence. However, in the first half Ambrit created little going forward, instead wasting possession with too many aimless passes in midfield.

But the second half was a different story. Oliver woke up and started to hit earlier, more accurate passes and Francesco S and Francesco G combined well with him. An Oliver pass put Simone through with only the goalkeeper to beat but his shot on the volley trickled just wide.

But St George's kept attacking and forced three more excellent saves from Ale. Ambrit were quick to break though and an early pass from defence sent Antoine through on the goalkeeper. He delayed his shot too long though and his shot was deflected by a defender just as the final whistle souonded.

AMBRIT MAN OF THE MATCH: Alessandro de Benedetti

Arsenal 3-0 Manchester Utd

A rampant Giovanni blasted in three goals, decided the game and sent a clear message to everyone that Arsenal is the team to beat in this term's Intramural Championship.

Giovanni opened the scoring after 6 minutes and followed up with a second two minutes later, controlling the ball, rounding the goalkeeper and gunning the ball into the top corner.

Simone had chances to reopen the game but shot wide and Oliver's 'goal' from a restart was disallowed because play had not re-started. Giovanni could have bagged another goal or two before half time and Tim was close too with a lob just over the bar.

Giovanni came out in the second half with all guns still blazing. A fierce shot crashed down off the bar (was it in?) but he did score a third goal later on. Oliver had numerous chances and numerous misses, none more glaring than the last one which he missed from 1 meter out!

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Giovanni 11, Luca 4, Tim 2, Simone 2, Idriss 1, Antoine 1,

Vigna Pia 5 - 3 Ambrit

In another closely-fought derby match yesterday, Vigna Pia 2000 (vice-champions of Italy) were too strong for Ambrit's team and won by a comfortable two-goal margin.

Ambrit went into the lead early on when Luca Cerri rounded his marker and scored with a good left-foot shot into the corner but Paolo, Andrea and Gabriele scored three goals before half time, due mainly to some terrible marking and undisciplined positioning from Ambrit's players.

In the second half, a neat exchange between Mattia and Zahir allowed the former to bring the score back to 3-2 but Vigna Pia pulled away again and were leading 5-2 with just a few minutes to go. Mattia scored a consolation goal near the end but Vigna Pia deserved their win.

PLAYERS OF THE MATCH: Jonathan (Vigna Pia); Mattia (Ambrit)

Chelsea 3-3 man Utd

Inspired by Milan against Lecce last week, Chelsea mounted a second half comeback today and turned a 0-3 deficit into a 3-3 draw.
United were dominant early on, with Oliver's strength and passing enough to break down a flimsy Chelsea midfield. Simone took advantage and scored the first goal with a shot from the left. Simone's throw-in shortly afterwards found Oli on a well-timed run and his header looped over Francesco and in for the second.
Francesco came out of goal and started to wake up his team but Simone scored again to make it 3-0. When Ale dG pulled one back with a well-taken chance, a glimmer of hope appeared for Chelsea and Felix fanned the flames by scoring a second after good work on the left from Ale and Francesco.
Could they get anoher? Yes! Ale dF struck again after a defensive blunder from Oliver and Man Utd were left hanging on in the end.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Antoine 8, Ale dF 6, Simone 3, Leo 2, Oliver 1, William 1