Bordeaux 3-2 Liverpool

The first half was marked by four significant episodes: Giulietta's opening goal past a stationary Julia; Livia's excellent block of Julia's free kick; Julia's equaliser; Allegra's shot that rebounded off the post.
Half time score: 1-1.
Sofia made an excellent save at the start of the second half, then Allegra scored a goal after rounding two defenders and the goalkeeper. Livia followed up another Allegra shot and scored from the rebound. Julia pulled a second goal back but Bordeaux took the three points.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Allegra 5, Giulia E 3, Zoe 3, Livia 2, Lavinia 2, Sofia 2, Valeria 1,  Miranda 1, Delfina 1, Annika 1,

Napoli 5-1 Inter

Yet another win for Napoli against a disorganized and temperamental Inter who also permitted themselves the luxury of some glaring misses.
Mattia M struck first and then David and Sam missed chances to equalise. Francisco sent Sam in for another chance but it was Luca dV who finally equalised  with a spectacular overhead kick.
But Inter's joy was short-lived. Mattia M's pass was deflected by Danyal into brother Jacopo's patch: 2-1. Mattia himself was then denied by a good save from Ludovico but Emilio made it 3-1 before half-time.
The second half was distinguished by a remarkable run of point blank saves from Tommaso and some more point blank misss by Inter. David, Mattia J and Simon were all guilty and Jacopo added two more goals for Napoli and narrowly missed a third with a header.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Mattia M 4, Tommaso 4, Emilo 3, Danyal 2, Andrea O 1, Nicholas 1, Jacopo 1, Francisco 1, William 1, Ludovico 1, Mattia J 1, Filippo T 1

Ambrit Girls Win St George's Tournament!

Ennesima vittoria delle ragazze dell’Ambrit che aggiungono una nuova coppa alla loro già nutritissima bacheca. Questo successo è frutto però di un radicale cambio nello stile e nella tattica di gioco e suggella la fine di un tipo di calcio arcaico e statico: quello di Mr Gianluca, passato tristemente alla storia come l’inventore della difesa a Subbuteo, forma esasperata del più bieco catenaccio che prevede lo schieramento di addirittura tre liberi!!!
Grazie alle intense sedute di allenamento del martedì condotte dal preparatore Mr. Colm di Longford, le ragazze hanno raggiunto quella forma fisica che ha permesso loro di applicare con semplicità ed efficacia le complesse, ardite e vincenti trame tattiche di Mr. Calento da Chioggia, e di cogliere un meritatissimo trionfo sui prati gibbosi del St Georges.

formazione schierata tatticamente con l’innovativo 1-2-2-1





Risultati della fase a gironi/e
Ambrit – Rome International 3-1 (Tripletta di Julia van Basten)
Rome International – St Georges 2-1
Ambrit - St Georges  4-1 (4 goals di Julia van Basten)

Finale
Ambrit – Rome International 4-0 (doppiette di Olivia e Julia)

Ma adesso un piccolo giudizio sulla prestazione di ogni singola ragazza.

Lucrezia
La sua presenza tra i pali infonde sicurezza alla nostra difesa. Viene battuta solo due volte: su calcio di rigore ed in seguito ad una confusissima azione in area di rigore.
Mr Gianluca, stai già pensando a chi scegliere come capitano il prossimo anno?

Sofia Gioca in difesa affrontando senza paura anche avversarie più grandi di lei, brava anche nella impostazione di gioco e nel passare la palla alle compagne del centrocampo.

Miranda
Brava in difesa sia in posizione centrale che sulla fascia. Le attaccanti avversarie riescono a superarla raramente.

Delfina Un altro ottimo difensore in grado di far ripartire velocemente l’azione d’attacco, in fase difensiva è lucida e decisiva nel bloccare gli attacchi del centravanti avversario.

Lara Bravissima sulla fascia destra sia in fase difensiva che in fase di impostazione, si spinge in attacco e sfiora il goal in due occasioni.

Annika
Autentico motore del centrocampo, corre velocemente dappertutto e non si stanca mai. Aiuta la difesa, imposta le azioni a centrocampo, va in aiuto degli attaccanti.

Zoe
Un’altra che non si stanca mai e che corre dappertutto, intelligentissima nello sfruttare le rimesse laterali trasformandole sempre in pericolose azioni d’attacco.

Olivia Una delle veterane del gruppo è bravissima a mettere al servizio della squadra la sua esperienza di vera sportiva. Ottime le sue incursioni in attacco, in finale segna la doppietta che sblocca la partita.

Julia Su di lei un giudizio ermetico: dopo 5 minuti di gioco si è illuminata d’immenso. Ha segnato 9 goal in tutti i modi possibili: da vicino, da centrocampo, di piatto, di collo, di punta, d’esterno. Ha dribblato le avversarie come birilli, ha quasi sfondato la traversa della porta su punizione, ha aiutato le compagne meno esperte. Che capitano!

Boys Soccer: Marymount Tournament

A Second Place for the Grade 6 team and a semi-finale exit for the Grade 7/8 team was a decent reward for an enjoyable morning of football for Ambrit's boys teams missing, as they were, some of their important players.

Grade 6:
The highlight of Ambrit's tournament came at the end of the first match when Hans dribbled around 4 opponents and slotted an accurate pass past the enormous AOSR goalkeeper, but the whole team played well all morning and desrved their excellent SECOND PLACE finish!
Team: Stuart, William, Luca, Max, Hans, Jacopo, Alex, Filippo
AOSR 0-1 Ambrit (Hans)

St George's 3-0 Ambrit

Castelli 2-1 Ambrit (Hans)
Southlands 0-5 Ambrit (Filippo 3, Luca, Hans)
PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Hans

Grade 7/8:

Ambrit began with a solid win over Marymount but then lost to New School and went to the bottom half of the draw. Here they beat St George's and RIS before losing a tight semi-final to Southlands. Who knows if they would have gone on to win the tournament if they had had the 'luxury' of even just one substitute? 

Team: Lorenzo, Luca C, Antoine, Marco, Simon, Giovanni, Luca dV

Marymount 2-6 Ambrit (Simon 3, Luca dV 2, Antoine)

New School 2-0 Ambrit

St George's 0-10 Ambrit (Luca C 3, Giovanni 2, Antoine 2, Marco, Luca dV, Simon) 

RIS 0-7 Ambrit (Antoine 2, Luca C 1, Luca dV 1, Simon 1, Marco 1, Giovanni 1)

Southlands 1-0 Ambrit

PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Marco

Chelsea 2-1 Inter

Without their star player, Inter suffered an important defeat at the hands of a Chelsea team determined to collect a valuable three points to keep them in contention for a semi final place.
Early misses by Mattia at one end (over the bar) and Giovanni at the other (saved by Alex) set the standard for a poor-quality match but Chelsea took a first half lead when Jonathan struck after 8 minutes.
Sam equalised for the Italian team but a close second half was settled in Chelsea's favour when Nawin broke quickly from defence and kept his head to slip a well-placed shot past Alex.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Giovanni 3, Nawin 3, Jonathan 2, Jiaqi 2, Lucas 2, Yi 2, Simon 1, Alex 1, Joao 1, Ale P 1, Mattia J 1, Luca dV 1, Simon 1

Bordeaux 3-0 Newcastle

A first-half hat-trick from "Giulietta Tripletta" was enough to bury the Geordies and send the French team to the top of the table.
Unstoppable in the first half, Giulia pouced on every loose ball, hassled the defenders continuously and notched up three cracking goals with a minimum of fuss. Meanwhile, Allegra was sent off and Valeria yellow-carded but Newcastle weere unable to get a foothold in the game.
In the second half, Valeria choked off all attempts by Newcastle to get back in the game and Sofia madde a series of good saves from by Camilla, Orsola and Camilla again. Valeria cleared a ball off the line and Lara made a good save when Giulia attempted to score a fourth. Joana too was strong in the second half and was unluck not to score from one of three well-placed shots and Livia met a corner with a well-timed shot that went narrowly wide.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Giulia 6, Valeria 2, Joana 4, Camilla 2, Sofia 2, Livia 3, Maria 1, Valentina 1

Napoli 2-1 Atalanta

In trouble all through the first half and losing 1-0 at half time, Atalanta fought their way back into the game in the second half and equalised, only to see their hard work disappear a minute later when an inocuous shot somehow found its way through the defence and past the goalkeeper.
Emilio scored the opening goal in the first minute and then found himself handicapped by the 'one-goal-only' rule for the rest of the match.
In the second half, Luka came on and was unlucky not to score, clipping the post twice - once with a shot and once with a header. With 5 minutes to go, Allegra came forward and found Giulia E free with a well-placed pass. Her nifty footwork left the ever-more-popular Tommaso floundering as the ball hit the back of the net.
But the Girls' spirits, riding high for those few moments, were rapidly deflated when Andrea Ooi's shot a minute later sneaked in past Lucrezia.
Once again the girls played well but were left with little reward. Particularly impressive today was Giulia E in attack.

Liverpool 1-1 Sparta Prague

Despir dominating the game, Sparta took only one point after allowing Liverpool to equalise before half time.
The opening goal was scored by Emma Z when her spectacular long shot took Lavinia by surprise and crept in just under the bar. Liverpool reacted well and created a chance or two before Julia tucked the ball away to make it 1-1.
It was one-way traffic in the second half, with Ema Z and Mallika peppering the Reds' goal with shots, but Lavinia made up for her early lapse with a series of fine saves.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Lavinia 6, Mallika 4, Emma Z 3, Ginevra 3, Julia 3, Zoe 1, Annika 1

Lazio 3-0 Inter

One of the worst games in the history of the intramural leagues saw Lazio take the three
points with three goals and an unconvincing performance.
Antoine had two early shots saved by Alex dF and Luca C shot over from far out before
Filippo put the Roman team ahead. He turned up to finish off a cross from Alessio who had
made a sizzling run down the right. Filippo almost made it 2-0 a little later when Luca C
and Hans combined to put him in but Alex dF intervened.
In the second half, Alessio had a good shot blocked by Ludo who had taken over in goal,
but he could do nothing when Luca C freed Hans on the right to drill in another good cross
and Filippo was on hand again. The third goal came right at the death: Ambrit stadium held
its breath as Zahir teed up a shot, but Ludo saved it. However Hans followed up to make it
3-0.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Alessio 4, Harry 4, Hans 2, Luca C 1, Yi 1, Antoine 1, Christian 1,
Joao 1, Tommaso R1, Giacomo 1, Ludovico 1, Mattia J 1, Alex dF 1, Zahir 1.

Napoli 1-0 Chelsea

Frantic scenes at today's big match as Tommaso V made a rare public appearance. His adoring fans greeted his every move with screams of joy. Every catch, every kick, every throw provoked cheers and laughter.
Meanwhile, on the pitch, a dour match was being fought by two sides intent on avoiding defeat. The best chance of the first half fell to Nawin but he was too slow to shoot. The only goal of the game came in the second half when Mattia M passed the ball early enough for once and Emilio's shot was well placed.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Yizhang 4, Giovanni 3, Andrea O 3, Lucas 2, Emilio 2, Jacopo 1, Jiaqi 1, Tommaso 1, Nawin 1, Mattia M 1, Danyal 1, William 1

Inter 3-1 Atalanta

Despite not playing as well as their opponents, Inter managed to exploit the defensive naivety of their opponents to take three valuable points from the game.
The early exchanges saw Julia and Alex coming close at either end but it was Atalanta who opened the scoring when Julia deftly turned in a corner from Emma Z. Atalanta then continued to play the better football with good passing and moving and some strong tackling in midfield.
In the second half, Luca dV broke away and struck a firm shot past an unprotected Lucrezia. Luca then picked up another ball in midfield and managed to get a pass through to David, alone on the left. His shot took Lucrezia by surprise and her momentary slip allowed the ball to trickle past her and into the goal.
Giacomo added a third goal near the end to seal the girls' fate.

Sparta Prague 3-0 Bordeaux

A competitive start degenerated into an easy victory for the Czech side as the French champions struggled to contain a rampant Emma Z.
Bordeaux could have taken an early lead when Emma P needlessly handled the ball to give away a penalty but Allegra's kick was well-saved by Lucrezia.
Emma Z then punished the mistake by scoring to put her team 1-0 up and Emma P played in Mallika to make it 2-0. Giulia came close to pulling a goal back but Bordeaux were two down at half time. The second half was all about Sparta and Emma Z set up Mallika for the third goal.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Mallika 4, Emma P 4, Emma Z 3,  Lucrezia 1, Giulia 2, Sofia 2, Livia 1, Angelica 2, Priscilla 1, Valeria 1

Tottenham 4-2 Chelsea

The points went to North London today after a typically competitive derby left the blues with the blues.
Chelsea began brightly when Giovanni took Danilo by surprise with a powerful shot from the right in the first minute and Danilo could only help it into the net. Jonathan set up Giovanni again but this time Danilo was out quickly to make an excellent save. Spurs responded with an equaliser halfway through the first half: Marco played a perfectly weighted ball to Simone and his shot left Jiaqi with no chance.
Both teams then had chances: Danilo made a good save from Nawin who had made an excellent run down the left; at the other end, Andrea S shot just over and then had a second shot well saved by Jiaqi.
A late goal gave Tottenham a half time lead; Simone's corner was deflected into the net.
Chelsea began the second half aggressively: Jonathan shot over, Giovanni shot wide. Then the killer blows. A long throw in from Simone was nodded home by Sgamba and Simone made it 4-1.
Chelsea pulled one back when an excellent Cesare played in Giovanni but Danilo denied a late attempyt by Nawin.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Marco 5, Jiaqi 3, Simone 3, Andrea S 3, Cesare 2, Max 2, Danilo 1, Giovanni 1, Jonathan 1

Referee Under Investigation

After another controversial morning's work, FIGC referee Corcoran is under pressure to resign from his post as Chief Tournament Referee. Sources close to the Federation's disciplinary committee report that officials have been increasingly exasperated by Corcoran's incomprehensible decisions, culminating in last Saturday's award of a penalty to the general amazement of players and spectators alike. Reacting angrily to the decision, Coach Calento questioned the referee's sanity and expressed solidarity with his defenders who "committed not one foul in the penalty area today". Corcoran declined to comment.

Ambrit Girls Win Saturday Tournament

Ambrit's 'A' team continued to collect trophies and the 'B' team continued to collect valuable experience in a wonderful morning of sport at Ambrit.

Ambrit 'A' results:

RIS 0-10 Ambrit 'A' (Giulia 7, Julia 2, Chiara)

Ambrit 'B' 0-4 Ambrit 'A' (Camilla 3, Giulia)

St George's 3-3 Ambrit 'A' (Giulia 2, Emma Z)

Ambrit brushed aside the challenges of RIS and Ambrit 'B' to set up yet another 'final' with St George's. Going into the game with a better goal difference, the girls knew that a draw would suffice. Early on, they played to win and raced into a 3-1 advantage.

Then their rhythm slowed and St George's began to get back into the game, though it must be said that their attacking game depended disproportionately on a long throw-in tactic. Then referee Corcoran awarded a harsh penalty to the visitors and the score was 3-2. Another long throw then brought another goal - 3-3. Ambrit finally woke up again and controlled the game for the closing minutes.

A shaky end but a well deserved trophy. Team: Livia P; Valeria, Joana, Sara, Francesca, Chiara; Camilla, Olivia, Julia (C), Emma Z; Giulia

Ambrit 'B' results:

St George's 4-2 Ambrit 'B' (Mallika, Greta)

Ambrit 'B' 0-4 Ambrit 'A'

RIS 0-2 Ambrit 'B' (Mallika 2)

In a tough opening game, Ambrit went 2-0 down but recovered, began to play with more confidence and then scored through Mallika. Overall St George's continued to dominate but Greta scored the best goal of the game with a neat turn on the edge of the area and a sweet shot into the opposite corner. In the derby, Ambrit B played even better against their in-form club-mates and did well to keep the score down. In their last game, they dominated RIS but failed to create enough space going forward and had to settle for a modest victory.

Team: Lucrezia; Lara, Emma, Valeria, Angelica; Zoe, Mallika, Annika; Greta 

Lazio 2-1 Atalanta

Atalanta were very unlucky to come away without a point after another good performance against a well-tuned Lazio.
Antoine opened the scoring after a nice passing move involving Luca and Filippo. Hans had a good chance afterwards but he was well blocked by Julia. Allegra then came close when she got on the end of a corner and Atalanta equalized before half time when Julia turned in Camill's pass.
Atalanta were caught cold agian at the beginning of the second half: Filippo passed to Antoine and his cross was met with a spectacular scissors kick but Luca Cerri. Atalanta piled forward looking for another equalizer but Julia put an attempt over and Allegra shot just wide.

Liverpool 1-0 Newcastle

An even match was decided by a single goal, scored by Zoe when she received a pass from Julia who had done all the hard work to cut through the Magpies' defense on the right. Good performances in goal from Angelica (on loan) and Lavinia kept the scoreline down. Annika on one side and Joana on the other were always looking to pass and shoot, and Julia and Camilla played to their usual high standard.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Lavinia 4, Camilla 3, Annika 3, Joana 2, Delfina 2, Julia 2, Zoe 2, Ginevra 2, Matilde 1

GRADE 5/6 Boys Win Tournament

Congratulations to Ambrit 'Green'!

Team:
Lucrezia, Max; Tommaso, William, Stuart, Harry, Hans, Alex, Filippo C, Luca R

Results & Scorers:
Ambrit Black (Noah) 1-3 Ambrit Green (Filippo C 2, Luca R)

Ambrit Orange           0-6 Ambrit Green (Filippo C 3, Hans 2, autogol)

St George's                 1-1 Ambrit Green (Luca R)

Ambrit Yellow           0-9 Ambrit Green (Filippo C 2, Hans 3, Stuart 1, Alex 1, Luca R 2)

FINAL

St George's                 0-0 Ambrit Green, 1-2 after extra time (Hans 2) 

Ambrit Boys Win Tournaments

Congratulations to the 7/8 and 5/6 teams who both won their tournaments on Saturday.

GRADE 7/8 Results:
Rome Int. 0-6 Ambrit (Simone C, Simon S 3, Sam, Zahir)
St George's 0-7 Ambrit (Simone C, Simon S 2, Sam 2, Antoine, Joshua)
Marymount 0-9 Ambrit (Giovanni 2, Simon S 2, Simone C, Antoine, Sam 2, David)
New School 2-2 Ambrit (Giovanni, Simon S)

Team: Christian; Jonathan, Nawin, David; Simone, Giovanni, Antoine; Simon S; Lorenzo, Zahir, Sam, Joshua

Newcastle 2-0 Sparta Prague

Sparta Prague dominated the first half, found themselves a goal down at the break and then conceded a second goal against the run of play in the second half to lose by a two goal margin.
Maria Flavia was unlucky not to score early on when she met a cross from the right with her head but Lara made a good save. Emma picked up a lot of ball in midfield and got on three good shots: one was well blocked by Camilla, another went just wide and the third was saved by Lara. Maria Flavia came close again too, just beating a defender to the ball to poke a shot past the goalkeeper but onto the post. Then, just before half time, Sparta gave away a free kick and Greta blasted past Lucrezia.
In the second half, Camilla played a lovely pass to Greta who had made an intelligent run off the ball and Greta scored a second. Orsola almost made it 3-0 but her shot hit the post and she had to settle for the three points.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Camilla 4,Angelica 3, Greta 3, Valentina 3, Joana 2, Lucrezia 2, Mallika 2, Emma Z 1, Maria Flavia 1,

Napoli 4-3 Lazio

A thrilling match brought a busy week to an end and Lazio were very unlucky to come away with nothing from their first game.
The first chance fell to pre-tournament favourites  Napoli but Luka's attempted lob over Christian was easily cleared by Hans. A second lob by Luka four minutes later went wide but then Mattia M put the Neapolitans ahead when Andrea Ooi broke with pace down the left and fed Mattia who placed the shot under an advancing Christian. Emilio made it 2-0 when he followed up Christian's save from  Luka shot and Luka himself made it 3-0 when he received a pass from Jacopo. Antoine hit the post just before half-time but saw his side turn around three goals down.
The second half was a different story. Lazio took over the midfield and pinned down Napoli. Jacopo broke away and hit the bar but then Luca Cerri's throw was relayed by Hans to Filippo and he made it 3-1. Antoine himself made it 3-2 and Lazio sustained the momentum long enough to make it 3-3 through Hans. Another savage shot from Antoine was well-blocked by Danyal and then Antoine hit the post for the second time. And so what a cruel blow it was when Emilio stole away at the death to hit the winning goal.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Antoine 4, Hans 3, Jacopo 2, Mattia M 2, Filippo 2, Luca C 1, William 1, Alessio 1, Zahir 1, Christian 1, Emilio 1, Tommaso V 1, Harry 1

Boys Soccer: Ambrit 3-3 St. George's

After seeing his side throw away a three goal lead in the space of ten frantic minutes, Coach Corcoran left the pitch in a huff amid rumours that he might be sacked before Saturday's tournament.
Ambrit had an excellent start and Antoine crowned it with a perfectly-placed shot into the corner from the right wing, giving the goalkeeper absolutely no chance. A long throw from the left from Simone found Luca Cerri on the far post and he rose majestically to nod in a second before half time. Ambrit looked to be cruising.
Corcoran made some changes at half time and newconer Del Vecchio got onto the scoresheet with a typical tap-in: 3-0. What could possibly go wrong?
Ten minutes later it was 3-3 and only Emilio's late shot held out any hope for a winner but it was well turned over the bar by the goalkeeper.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Nobody!

Girls Soccer: Ambrit 1-0 St George's

Ambrit used TWENTY different players in a tight match that was settled by Mallika's fantastic first half strike from the left.
Against a physically imposing and skilful team, Ambrit's defence provided a solid foundation for their forward play in the first half. An all-sixth grade trio of Maria, Valentina and Angelica kept their nerve and concentration and cleared ball after ball back up the field. Later Valeria came in to add a bit of experience and Sofia came on too and made a saving tackle when it looked certain that the visitors would score. Lavinia was on form and moved quickly to pick up whatever loose ball that got through.
Julia meanwhile was knocking good passes to Greta and Mallika and it was from one of these passes down the left that Mallika outsprinted her marker and planted a solid shot past the goalkeeper
In the second half, Camilla was everywhere and ruled the pitch with a mixture of controlled aggression and intelligent passing. Olivia came on on the left and managed three shots on target (one came back off the post!) and Maria Flavia took over from Greta and nearly scored with a header. Giulia made herself a chance too from a corner but the game ended 1-0.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Camilla

Tottenham 2-2 Atalanta

An excellent start to the new Intramural for Atalanta's girls against Andrea's Tottenham. An early attack saw Emma crossing an inviting ball for Julia and she made no mistake: 1-0. The boys fought back immediately and Andrea scored with a shot on the turn after receiving a ball from Marco.
Both goalkeepers then made good saves: first Lucrezia stopped a fierce effort from Simone and then Danilo blocked a good shot from Julia.
Then, before half time, a strong angled shot from Simone beat Lucrezia nd forced Julia to handle on the line: Luca R scored with the resulting penalty.
The girls came out for the second half newly determined to get something from the game and Camilla's equalier was fully deserved: Julia crossed to Emma who laid it back to Camilla and she danced around Andrea to slot the ball home.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: No points will be awarded for matches involving Atalanta

Teachers 2-1 7DT

The teachers had a lucky escape today as a weakened side faced a determined 7DT.
Mr Antonio made some good saves early on, especially from a Mattia shot and a deflected effort from Giulia, but he could do nothing to stop Jonathan's 8th minute shot from the left.
Mr Brendan came on halfway through the first half for the teachers (replacing an excellent Annika on the right) and he made an immediate impact, equalizing when a strong run through midfield took him into the box with just the keeper to beat.
Greta had a couple of chances to score late in the first half but the sides went in 1-1 at the break.
The second half was very even with both sides creating and wasting chances but the teachers stole victory with Greta's last minute goal.
Excellent performances from Mallika, Lucrezia and Maria for the teachers and from all of the seventh graders.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Jonathan

Transfer Market

Due to the retirements of Yoel, Maddison and Tristan, Zahir has been transferred for One Million Euro from Chelsea to Lazio.

Lazio 5-2 Chelsea

An even first half gave way to a more one-sided second half when Chelsea abandoned their earlier prudence in defense.
Antoine tested Jiaqi early on but the Chelsea goalkeeper was up to it. However some leaky defending let him down a minute later and Hans scored the first goal. Joshua had two good chances to equalise but shot high both times. It was third time lucky though later on. This time Joshua's first touch controlled the ball and his shot past Cristian was confident.
Joshua had another chance early in the second half but Cristian made the first of two good saves. Antoine's midfield presence then began to weigh heavily on Chelsea. After gaining possession, his shot was parried by Riccardo and then finished off by Filippo: 2-1.Antoine himself scored the third. Alessio scored the fourth after Filippo's shot came back off the post and then the fifth  when Jiaqi saved another Antoine shot from midfield.
Giovanni was rewarded for an energetic performance with a late consolation goal.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Alessio 3, Antoine 2, Cesare 2, Cristian 2, Filippo 2, Giovanni 2, Hans 1, Luca C 1, Lorenzo 1, Jiaqi 1, Zahir 1, Tim 1, Lucas 1, Joshua 1

Bordeaux 1-0 Liverpool

The first match of the Spring Intramural pitted Liverpool, without captain Matilde and star player Julia, against a well-organised Bordeaux. The pattern of the match was set early on, with the French champions pinning down the Merseysiders in their own half. But Liverpool defended well; Ginevra and guest-player Priscilla formed a formidable partnership and Lavinia was in fine form behind them. In front of them, Annika, Zoe and Delfina did their best to inject some forward momentum but they had a hard time of it against the marauding French midfield of Livia, Allegra, Giulia and Valeria.
The only goal of the game came in the first half and was somewhat fortuitous; a well-struck corner from Allegra was deflected into the net.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Lavinia 5, Livia 4, Allegra 2, Ginevra 2, Giulia 2, Zoe 2, Valeria 1, Maria 1, Delfina 1, Annika 1

Inter - Napoli

Match cancelled due to rain: re-scheduled to March 27th

Spring Intramural

Reminders: 

• New BOYS' and GIRLS' tournaments will star next week.
• A GIRLS' All Star team will compete in the BOYS' tournament. In matches involving this All Star team, the following rules will apply to BOYS' teams:

• 7 Boys versus 8 Girls
• Any one player on a Boys' team can score no more than ONE goal
• Boys limited to four touches*

*for all other matches, the four-touch rule is suspended.

Teachers 5-0 Grade 6

The introduction of Mr Wallace and Miss Anysa into the teachers team gave them the boost they needed to overcome a brave Grade 6 in the second Teachers Challenge match of the year. Goals were scored by Miss Joanna (2), Miss Anysa, Mr Corcoran and Mr Antonio.
PLAYER of the Match: Livia P (Teachers)

Teachers 4-3 Barcelona/Argentina

The teachers scraped past this Student Selection today by the skin of their teeth and are less than confident facing into tomorrow's match against Grade 6.
The students opened the scoring when Julia's shot bounced off Emilio and fell to Filippo's feet. The Intramural top-scorer poked it home and the teachers looked worried.
But Mr Antonio calmed them down with two well-taken goals. Using his guile and physique to beat the defenders, his finishing was as clinical as usual and the teachers went in at half time with a two goal lead.
But the students came out for the second half firing on all cylinders. Julia, todays Player of The Match took over in midfield and then got forward to equalise. Joshua then took advantage of some sloppy passing and slack marking to put the students ahead again.
Could the teachers come back a second time? Yes and, once again, it was Mr Antonio to the rescue with the equaliser before Mr Corcoran fired home from the edge of the area to give a hard-won victory to the teachers.
Player of The Match: Julia Audinet

NEWS

Congratulations to BARCELONA and ARGENTINA - Winners of the Autumn Intramurals!!!

Medals and trophies will be presented in January to the Winners, Runners-up, Top Scorers and Best Players 

NEXT MATCHES - Challenge the Teachers... 

Wed Dec 19: Teachers vs Barcelona/Argentina Selection

Emilio, James, Luca C, Danyal, Joshua, Julia, Francesca, Lavinia, Sofia, Lara 

Thu Dec 20: 

Teachers vs Grade 6 Selection

Filippo C, Hans, Luca R, Jacopo, Luka, Ludovico, Alex V, William B, Riccardo, Mallika, Annika, Lucrezia, Greta, Valentina

SOME BIG CHANGES FOR THE SPRING INTRAMURAL...

• Four-touch rule will NOT be applied 
• A selected GIRLS' team will compete in the BOYS' Tournament (and there will of course also be a girls' tournament)
• The other teams will be selected by dividing players into groups by ability/age/role and then drawing names from a hat

Argentina 2 - 0 Brazil

L'Argentina vince meritatamente il primo Intramural femminile dell'anno, superando in finale il Brasile.
Questo è il verdetto, forse prevedibile, ma mai scontato dell'appassionante torneo che coinvolge studenti e studentesse. Il Brasile tuttocuore di Camilla e Orsola generosissime in mezzo al campo, di Livia e Dalia, della grande Lucrezia, ha dovuto inchinarsi di fronte al dominio dell'Argentina. Le ragazze capitanate e guidate da Julia hanno probabilmente stabilito un nuovo record di tutte vittorie e una sola sconfitta. Oggi hanno fatto la differenza la grinta di Mallika, la classe di Julia (autrice delle due reti e solissima in testa alla classifica marcatori) e una buona e attenta difesa, in cui ha spiccato Valentina, sempre in crescita e speranza del futuro. Complimenti anche a chi, come Maria, ha iniziato da zero e può già vantare un ottimo miglioramento.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Julia 6, Camilla 4, Mallika 3, Orsola 3, Valentina 1, Lara 1, Lucrezia 1, Francesca 1, Lavinia.

BOYS' FINAL: Barcelona 2-0 Liverpool

Barcelona crowned their triumphant march through this year's championship with a convincing win in the final.
Jonathan missed a chance early on that might have changed the course of the game and two minutes later Joshua tipped the ball in after Ale P had saved well from a Filippo C shot: 1-0.
Joshua might have made it 2-0 soon after but Ale P made an excellent save to keep the Reds in the game. But his defense was letting him down , with Filippo and Joshua continually popping up unmarked in the box. Both of them missed chances before Filippo received another ball in an unmarked position, controlled it and then shot into the corner to make it 2-0.
Liverpool attacked more in the second half and Giovanni and Jacopo both had chances but couldn't score.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Giovanni 5, James 5, Filippo 3, Luca R. 2, Alex V. 1, Danyal 1, Luca C 1,  Ale P. 1, Emilio 1, Joshua 1

Brazil 1 - 0 Italy

La partita più tesa ed equilibrata dell'anno ha dato il suo attesissimo verdetto: sarà il Brasile ad affrontare l'Argentina capolista nella finale del primo intramural di quest'anno.
La partita - tutt'altro che scontata - è stata molto combattuta e incerta sino alla fine, anche se dopo il gol-partita di Camilla, l'Italia ha perso gran parte del suo slancio e della sua convinzione. Peccato.
Sono state infatti le italiane a "fare la partita", ad avere le occasioni migliori e a trovare sulla loro strada una Lucrezia in ottima forma. Poi, come spesso succede, dopo aver sprecato tanto l'Italia ha subito un gol in contropiede, su tiro potente ma non imprendibile di Camilla.
Inutili le lamentele e le contestazioni a fine gara. Chi segna vince la partita: anche questa è la dura lezione del calcio.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Giulia 5, Lucrezia 5, Camilla 4, Priscilla 2, Orsola 2, Valeria 2, Emma 1.

Liverpool 2-1 Ajax

Liverpool reached the final of the Intramural Championship with a gritty performance against Ajax and will now face the favourites Barcelona in the deciding match.
All the early chances fell to Liverpool: Nawin pulled a ball wide from a Giovanni cross when he had only the goalkeeper to beat; Jonathan shot over from a good position; Giovanni put another good shot too high. They finally scored when Jonathan put over an accurate cross and Giovanni's header struck the post, with Giovanni then reacting more quickly than the defenders to smash the ball home.
Ajax settled down more quickly in the second half and their neat passing was rewarded when a through ball from Stuart found Antoine on the edge of the area. The captain turned calmly and slotted the ball into the bottom corner with his left foot.
The Merseysiders now remewed their attack with renewed energy. Giovanni won a ball in a midfield tussle with Antoine and then played a beautiful chipped pass into Jonathan and his soft lob over the goalkeeper dribbled over the line to put the Reds ahead.
It was enough. Their defence held out, with Jake and Tim in particular clearing a huge number of balls.
BEST PLAYER POINTS:  Giovanni 8, Jonathan 3, Jacopo 2, Mattia M 2, Jake 1, Joao 1, Riccardo 1, Jiaqi 1, Marco 1, Antoine 1

Italy 4 - 1 Germany

Una partita godibile, ma solo per le statistiche, in quanto la vittoria netta dell'Italia contro una rimaneggiatissima Germania non serve a molto ai fini della classifica. Il vero match clou sarà quello tra Italia e Brasile, quasi uno spareggio per affrontare la superfavorita Argentina in finale. Le cose ieri sono andate benissimo all'Italia, in formazione tipo, contro una Germania in cui la sola Miranda faceva parte della formazione originale teutonica. Le italiane, pur dovendo affrontare avversari del calibro di Orsola, Lucrezia e Mallika, hanno espresso un ottimo calcio, offrendo una solida copertura con Priscilla, Zoe e Delfina, mentre a centrocampo la sempre più affidabile Valeria ha affiancato Emma per servire l'unica punta Giulia. Proprio dalla combinazione delle tre sono nate le azioni più interessanti del match e il primo - bellissimo - gol di Giulia. Mallika ha momentaneamente pareggiato per la Germania, poi l'Italia ha preso in mano la partita e il risultato.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Giulia 6, Emma 5, Valeria 4, Priscilla 2, Zoe 2, Miranda 1, Delfina 1.

BOYS SEMI-FINAL: Milan 1-5 Barcelona

For a while it seemed that Milan might threaten an upset but the Catalan team maintained their form and saw off the Italian challenge with a four goal margin. In fact it was Milan who took the lead when a contested free kick was driven in hard and straight by Simone and Ludovico got his head to the ball to divert it past James in goal. Barcelona's equaliser was a bit messy but Filippo pounced to end a goalmouth scramble by shooting past an unsighted Danilo. Emilio's excellent football was rewarded when he dribbled past two players, passed and then received the ball back before slotting a low shot under Danilo. The captain struck again before half time when he finished off a slick move involving Joshua and Filippo too. Milan threw everything at their opponents in the second half but only succeeded in opening up more spaces at the back, allowing Luca C and Joshua to add to the Spanish total.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Emilio 5, Filippo 5, Simone 3, Ludovico 3, Danyal 3, James 1, Joshua 1

Argentina 2 - 0 Brasil

L'Argentina conclude nel migliore dei modi la fase di qualificazione alla finale, infilando l'ennesima vittoria e presentandosi come unica favorita al trofeo finale di quest'anno. Le ragazze guidate da capitan Julia hanno saputo crescere e trovare un ottimo equilibri di squadra, sfruttando il fisico di Mallika, le intuizioni geniali di Julia e l'esperienza di Lavinia e la grinta di Valentina, Francesca, Lara e Sofia. Nulla ha potuto il Brasile, pur volenteroso, per contrastare la "corazzata" Argentina. Hanno pesato - secondo il nostro umile parere - alcune scelte discutibili, come l'impiego di Livia in una posizione defilata e poco incisiva...
Ora le brasiliane dovranno difendersi dagli assalti dell'Italia, per conquistare un posto in finale...

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Julia 6, Lavinia 6, Orsola 2, Mallika 2, Francesca 2, Emma P 2, Angelica 1.

Argentina 4 - 0 Germany

Una Germania totalmente "rimaneggiata" cede il passo alla capolista Argentina, sempre più prima e sempre più compatta. Le tedesche, mai in partita, si sono ben opposte alle avversarie solo nel primo tempo, poi - anche a causa della pioggia battente e delle numerose assenze - hanno rinunciato al tentativo di rimonta e sono colate a picco.
Da segnalare nell'Argentina le ottime prestazioni individuali di Lara e Julia, e una grande Mallika, sempre più solida e in crescita, oggi Player of the Match.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Mallika 6, Lara 5, Lavinia 2,  Julia 2, Annika 2, Greta 2, Francesca 1

Bayern Munich 0-1 AC Milan

Aided by Danilo's fingertips and the goalpost, Milan progressed to the semi-finals with a display of catenaccio that will have warmed the heart of the captain's dad.
A sterile first half threatened to end scoreless before another long clearance found Alessio on the left. After a good first touch, Alessio drifted infield and struck an unstoppable shot past Sam in goal.
Luca del Vecchio had the Germans' best chance to equalise before half time but his shot was high.
The second half was dominated by the Bavarians, with Milan finding only occasional relief through Simone's clearances to Alessio. Hans played a one-two and then hit the post with a well-placed shot and Danilo made a fantastic diving save low to the right after another good move by Hans.
The Italians held on; the Germans are out.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Hans 7, Alessio 4, Simone 4, Ludovico 3, Lorenzo 1, Lucas 1, Tommaso 1

Italy 2 - 1 Argentina

L'Italia conquista la sua prima vittoria, proprio contro l'avversario più forte, l'Argentina capoclassifica. Il risultato è maturato - contro tutti i pronostici - dopo un primo tempo in cui l'Argentina era andata in vantaggio su calcio di rigore per fallo di mano, ben trasformato da Julia, mentre Lavinia tra i pali aveva protetto il risultato con due interventi decisivi. La svolta è avvenuta nel secondo tempo, quando l'autrice del gol e il portiere si sono inspiegabilmente scambiati i ruoli: l'Italia ha preso in mano le redini del gioco, rendendosi sempre più pericolosa e trovando meritatamente il pareggio con una bella azione di Giulia che ha messo la centro un pallone su cui si è inserita alla perfezione Maria Flavia. La reazione argentina - con Julia di nuovo in campo - non si è fatta attendere, ma in un'azione di contropiede l'Italia ha trovato un altro rigore, sempre per fallo di mano. Il capitano Emma si è presa la responsabilità del tiro e ha spiazzato il portiere con un destro secco.
Ora l'Italia può ancora sperare di arrivare alla finalissima...

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Maria Flavia 4, Valeria 3, Sofia 2, Mallika 2, Valentina 2, Giulia 2, Emma 2, Lavinia 2, Julia 1, Francesca 1,

Real Madrid 1-3 Ajax

Real Madrid bid goodbye to this year's tournament as they once again flattered to deceive.
Despite holding a half-time lead thanks to a well worked goal, the Spaniards allowed the game to slip away in the second half.

The only goal of the first half came when David's pass found Mattia J who, in turn, played the ball to Luka who put a good shot past Jiaqi. Luka Davide and Mattia continued to link up well all through the game but some poor finishing prevented them from scoring again.
In the second half, the Dutch champions came more and more into the game and Mattia M took over the midfield. Indeed it was Mattia M who equalised from the penalty spot following Max's handball.
A cross by Marco from the right found Stuart free on the far post and he tapped in the second goal and Mattia M scored again to wrap up another three points for Antoine.



BEST PLAYER POINTS: Cristian 3, Luka 3, Mattia M 3, David 2, Joao 2, Marco 2, Mattia J 2, Alexis 1, Antoine 1, Cesare 1, Jiaqi 1.

AMBRIT BOYS: St. George's Tournament

Ambrit boys came a very creditable 2nd in this year's first tournament. Captain Simone went into defense to make up for a lot of absences, but he popped up all over the pitch making tackles, scoring goals and taking throw ins and corners. Marco Ossicini took over in central midfield and gave a great demonstration of how to play there, making lots of important tackles and incisive passes. Giovanni played with his usual determination and with bursts of inspiration, and Antoine was at his dangerous best. Luca Cerri got better as the day wore on and Luca dV was reliable when called upon. Hans represented Grade 6 and did well in three different positions. Nawin and Lorenzo were solid in defense and Joshua continues to improve. Andrea was fantastic in goal. He made a huge number of important saves and showed good positioning, good movement and a lot of courage.

Southlands 3-1 Ambrit

Ambrit began the day with a group match against Southlands. Having gone 2-0 down, things were looking bad but the team fought back well against their bigger opponents and were rewarded when Antoine scored his first goal of the day. Ambrit pushed forward for the last few minutes and almost got an equalizer from one of Simone's well taken corners but Southlands broke away and killed off the game with a third goal.

Rome International 1-2 Ambrit

Ambrit lined out against Rome International knowing that they needed a win to get to the semi finals. Early pressure paid off when Simone's shot was deflected past the goalkeeper and Antoine headed a second from a long throw in. The team should have gone on to record a comfortable win against mediocre opponents but, instead, RI came back into the game and almost took a point off Ambrit.

St George's 1-4 Ambrit

Ambrit's semi final opponents were the host team, St George's. In their best performance of the day, Ambrit dominated the early exchanges and, once again, it was Antoine's head that gave them the lead going into the half time break.

In the second half, Ambrit's determination saw them winning all the loose balls in midfield and forcing their opponents into conceding a lot of free kicks. Simone hammered home one of these to put his team 2-0 up. Giovanni then crowned an excellent performance with a well taken goal but the best was yet to come: moving on to a loose ball, Lorenzo played an early pass to Joshua who scored the fourth goal with a perfectly-judged lob over the advancing goalkeeper.

Southlands 6-3 Ambrit

And so to the final where Ambrit once again came up against Southlands. Ambrit began well and should have taken the lead in the opening minutes. However Southlands were always dangerous and in fact they were first to score. But the Ambrit boys came right back at them. They equalized with another Simone goal and then Antoine hit the post with a shot on the turn and Giovanni hit the bar with a high shot from the right. But the old gol mangiato, gol subito rule then saw Southlands score to lead 2-1 at half time.

In the second half, Ambrit started well again and Luca Cerri, having his best game of the day, equalized with a headed goal. But that was the last hurrah. Five minutes later, Ambrit found themselves trailing 5-2 and, even though they never gave up, Simone's late penalty wasn't enough to stop Southlands from taking the winner's trophy.

PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Andrea Sgambati

SCORERS: Simone 4, Antoine 3, Luca C 1, Giovanni 1, Joshua 1

AMBRIT GIRLS: St. George's Tournament

Ancora un trionfo per una squadra - quella delle ragazze Ambrit - che quest'anno sembra imbattibile, non solo in ambito "romano", ma anche in rapporto alla prestazione convincente in finale contro il club venuto da Napoli.
Veniamo alla cronaca: il Mister, un po' per problemi legati all'organizzazione, un po' per le direttive della scuola ospitante, ha portato due squadre molto diverse. Una in cerca di esperienza (Ambrit Blue), composta quasi esclusivamente da 6th graders, col prezioso aiuto di Joana, Priscilla e Ginevra; l'altra (Ambrit Red) in cerca di gloria, formata da 8th graders con l'ausilio di Lucrezia tra i pali e di Giulia.

Ambrit Blue - St. George's 0-6
Le "giovani" Ambrit si trovano in grave difficoltà di fronte a una squadra che schiera in campo anche alcune liceali (alla faccia dell'onestà), cosa piuttosto deprecabile, che regolarmente contraddistingue le atlete di casa... Oltretutto alcune nostre giocatrici sono arrivate in ritardo, quindi la formazione è stata piuttosto improvvisata. Ambrit Player of the Match: Mallika.

Ambrit Red - St. George's 2-1 (Julia **)
La squadra titolare fatica un poco più del previsto per battere la St. George's, creando molte occasioni e non riuscendo a segnare. Quando finalmente il risultato viene sbloccato dal capitano Julia, ecco l'errore in difesa (primo e unico) di Lucrezia, che esce in fretta in contro alla palla e il rimbalzo la scavalca. Solo nel finale, dopo un grande forcing, la rete della tranquillità di Julia, ben coadiuvata in attacco da Emma e Giulia. Nessun problema nella gestione del risultato, grazie a una difesa veramente in forma, composta da Valeria, Camilla e Olivia. Ambrit Player of the Match: Valeria.

Ambrit Blue - ASC Napoli 3-1 (Aut.)
La squadra tiene molto bene il campo, creando anche qualche occasione, di fronte a una formazione molto fisica e ben organizzata come quella di Napoli. La difesa chiude ogni spazio, e subisce solo quando le energie calano, a metà del secondo tempo. Ambrit Player of the Match: Sofia.

Ambrit Red - New School 6-0 (Julia***, Camilla, Emma, Giulia)
Partita piuttosto sbilanciata, con l'Ambrit che affronta una delle formazioni più giovani  e meno esperte del torneo: il risultato matura tutto nel primo tempo. Nel secondo il Mister sceglie di risparmiare le giocatrici chiave, posizionandole in difesa e dando loro - di fatto - un quarto d'ora di riposo.
Ambrit Player of the Match: Giulia.

Ambrit Red - Ambrit Blue 5-0 (Julia**, Emma**, Giulia)
La squadra titolare domina, come previsto, il derby, contro le meno esperte compagne di scuola. La partita è comunque utile per provare posizioni, schemi e movimenti (particolarmente lodabili i movimenti di Emma in attacco, sempre ben cercata da Julia). Con una Camilla schierata davanti alla difesa, per le giovani Ambrit è quasi impossibile trovare spazi per impensierire Lucrezia...
Ambrit Player of the Match: Emma.

Ambrit Red - ASC Napoli 2-1 (Julia, Allegra)
In quella che di fatto è la finale del torneo, avendo le due squadre vinto tutte le partite precedenti, nell'Ambrit è costretta ad assentarsi Emma, fino ad ora assoluta protagonista del centrocampo. Per fortuna Allegra decide di giocare la sua migliore partita (unica della giornata) e sorprende tutti per corsa, grinta e tiro, occupandosi delle rimesse dal fondo, dei calci d'angolo e trovando anche un bel gol dopo il vantaggio conquistato dalla solita Julia. Il resto del match è un po' sofferto, con l'Ambrit che non riesce a chiudere la partita col terzo gol e il Napoli che invece crea una serie di belle azioni, in una della quali trova un bel gol. La partita si conclude 2-1 e l'Ambrit Red alza meritatamente la coppa!
Ambrit Player of the Match: Allegra.

Ambrit Blue - New School 1-0 (Maria Flavia)
Nell'unica partita "abbordabile" del torneo l'Ambrit delle giovani non perde l'occasione per conquistare la sua prima vittoria contro le pari età della New School. Il primo tempo si chiude 0-0 con un ritmo di gioco molto equilibrato. Nel secondo tempo l'ingresso di Greta cambia gli equilibri, e in combinazione con Mallika, serve a Maria Flavia il pallone del definitivo 1-0.
Ambrit Player of the Match: Greta.

In conclusione è stata una bellissima mattinata di sole e di calcio, l'Ambrit ha dato spettacolo e ha vinto tutte le partite disputate.
Ambrit Player of The Tournament: Julia.

AC Milan 2 - 2 Ajax

In a desperate bid to reach the semi-finals, Simone drove his team to a heroic performance and obtained the vital point that keeps Milan's hopes alive for what amounts to a play-off against Bayern Munich next week.
It was the dutch team who scored first though, Mattia setting up Marco who cut the ball back cleverly into the opposite corner. It looked like Ajax might cruise to another win but Milan didn't lie down and Simone equalised before half time, scoring straight from a corner.
In the second half, Mattia put the Amsterdam champions ahead when his shot took Danilo by surprise but Milan threw players forward and created enough pressure and chances to ensure that Simone struck again.
Milan then retired into defence and held on for a draw.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Simone 4, Harry 3, Marco 3, Mattia M 2, Ludo J 2, Jiaqi 2, Antoine 2, Tommaso 1, Danilo 1, Joao 1