u13 ANSPI: Ambrit 6-2 San Leonardo

Ambrit continue to climb the table with another three points secured against a good San Leonardo side. Ambrit dominated the opening exchanges but missed a series of chances and then found themselves 1-0 down. Ale brought them back into the game though with a trademark shot from distance and then Bertie made it 2-1 before the break.
In the second half, Ale scored immediately to relax the team but San Leonardo continued to threaten. They hit the post and then scored to make it 3-2. 
In the last period, Ale was still spraying lovely passes around and Bertie took advantage to score his second of the night. Alessandro and Mattia added two more. By now, Vittorio, Leo and Zach had the measaure of their opponents and snuffed out the attacks more easily. Anything that got through was ably dealt with by Santiago.

Standings at 22/01/20

Team	Played	Points
Vigna Pia	7	15
Santos	6	13
Ambrit	7	12
Cris	6	10
San Leonardo	7	08
Real Guadalupe	6	07
Real Muratella	7	01

NEXT MATCH: Saturday Jan 24th, CRIS vs AMBRIT!

Ajax 0-0 Barcelona

An absorbing game at Ambrit Stadium saw Barcelona leave with a valuable point as Ajax, without E50m-man Dylan, failed to prise open a hermetic Barcelona defence.
Best early chances fell to Cameron the right post, to Tommaso on the left post and to Cameron again who was foiled by a brave interception by Valerio.
Augusto was everywhere for Barcelona: defence, midfield and attack. It was he who tested Bernardo but the Ajax goalkeeper saved well. The last chance of the game fell to Mateo who made space for a powerful shot but Valerio got enough on it to keep the scores level.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Augusto 5, Pedro 2, Miguel, 2, Jonah 2, Valerio H 2, Sam 2, Manuel 1, Giorgio 1, Elias 1, Bernardo 1, Mateo 1, Tommy 1

U14 Girls win the first RISA tournament

L'Ambrit delle "piccole" vince il primo RISA tournament dell'anno, con un mix di grinta e tecnica, sconfiggendo formazioni più grandi fisicamente e anagraficamente. Nell'appuntamento a St. George's, infatti, l'Ambrit ha dovuto rinunciare alle ragazze più grandi, impegnate dall'admission test di St. Stephen's, e a diverse ragazze di seconda media, a loro volta bloccate dalla lezione a scuola. Insomma, nella piovosa mattinata di gennaio si sono presentate 8 ragazze contate, ma estremamente decise e vogliose di fare bella figura. Ospite graditissima del torneo Maya, che si è lanciata tra i pali al posto di Myla, assente ingiustificata. Ecco in breve l'andamento della mattinata:

Ambrit - Marymouny 1-0 (Alice)
L'Ambrit domina il match, nonostante la statura delle avversarie, in un mix di grinta e passaggi: vince 1-0 con tiro di Alice direttamente dalla bandierina del calcio d'angolo, con deviazione di un'avversaria, ma avrebbe potuto vincere benissimo 4-0, se avesse concretizzato almeno 3 nitide occasioni da gol. Le avversarie terminano il match senza aver mai tirato in porta. No comment.

Ambrit - St. George's 3-0 (Camila - Alice - Camila)
Quello che sulla carta sembrava l'impegno più difficile per le nostre ragazze diventa un trionfo: la St. George's viene annichilita da una prestazione incredibile delle "piccolette" dell'Ambrit. Il primo gol nasce da un bel tiro di Alice, servita da Liva, che colpisce il palo: Camila si avventa per prima sul pallone e insacca al volo. Passano pochi minuti e Alice raddoppia, seminando il panico nella difesa avversaria. 3-0 finale, ancora di Camila con tiro preciso radente al palo. L'Ambrit non corre rischi, previene ogni singola mossa delle avversarie e non concede occasioni da gol. Perfetta la difesa guidata da Gala, con Emma e Isabel a chiudere ogni spazio. Flavia in regia è una sicurezza.

Ambrit - Chateaubriand 1-1 (Alice)
L'Ambrit affronta l'ultima gara con la certezza di aver già conquistato la finale, avendo di fronte delle ragazze molto più grandi fisicamente, ma con la consapevolezza di potersela giocare con chiunque. L'inizio è un pochino timido, ma col passare dei minuti l'Ambrit prende fiducia, e inizia a giocare bene. Liva trova il varco per il passaggio ad Alice, che controlla col destro e batte il portiere col sinistro. Sul finire della partita la Chateau guadagna una punizione per fallo di mano: il tiro è una bomba imparabile, che piega le mani di Maya, fin qui perfetta e costringe l'Ambrit a subire il primo e unico gol della giornata.

L'Ambrit viene dichiarata vincitrice con 7 punti.
Formazione: Maya; Gala, Emma, Isabel; Flavia, Camila, Liva; Alice.

Ambrit's Super Saturday!

Ambrit sent three teams to St George's on Saturday, winning two of the categories in great style!
Ms Giulia's u9 team won all their games - more details on the way - and Mr Gianluca's MS girls won their tournament too. With most of our G7s and G8s tied up, it was left to the G6 girls to carry most of the responsibility and they came through magnificently - more details on the way!
The MS boys were a young team as well but they played some fine football and picked up some useful points in the RISA league:

Boys u14
Ambrit 1-1 New School
Having fallen behind to a freak NS goal that flew into the net from a crazy angle, Ambrit battled back to take a point when Miguel finished off a neat passing move. Ambrit could have wrapped up the three points but Arno saw his close-range shot agonisingly creep over the crossbar. Massimo and Augusto were heroic in defence; Theo was outstanding.

Ambrit 0-1 St George's
An unlucky defeat which could so easily have been a draw had Tommaso's fantastic free kick hit the back of the net instead of the crossbar.

Ambrit 1-1 AOSR
Ambrit really should have won this one!
They dominated possession, created numerous chances (Pedro hit the post; Tommy came close twice; Arno too) but could only put one of them away (Tommaso). The pessimists among us knew it would finish badly. It did!

Ambrit 0-2 St Dominique
A good performance but a tired Ambrit succumbed to a physically dominant team.

Chelsea 1-0 Napoli

Vittoria importante del Chelsea, ben guidato dal capitano Carolina oggi, sul Napoli, forse sulla carta più quotato. Il gol è arrivato su calcio d'angolo, battuto bene da Naomi, sul quale è arrivata Chanel al volo, senza dare scampo al portiere avversario. Il Napoli ha provato a reagire, ma sulla sua strada ha trovato un'ottima Myla, che ha fatto la differenza tra le due squadre. Nulla è ancora compromesso, ma per il Napoli la qualificazione si fa subito in salita: Sofia e compagne difficilmente potranno permettersi altri passi falsi. In evidenza nel Chelsea anche Liva, sempre intelligente nelle giocate e Naomi, in netta crescita. Nel Napoli non si è notata una grande organizzazione dei ruoli, mentre in difesa Gala ha saputo dare un contributo importante e grintoso, come sempre.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Myla 4, Naomi 3, Gala 3, Raffaella 2, Ameli 2, Carolina F 2, Liva 2, Chanel 1, Yutong 1, Millie 1.

Paris SG 1-0 Benfica

Taking time out from his successful music career, Saverio today captained his side to a surprise win over Benfica, weakened by the absence of captain Taki.
Benfica dominated possession and created more chances but Massimo was equal to everything that Guly and Paul could throw at him. Edo cleared up at the back and Alex made a nuisance of himself up front. Benfica were caught in possession too often and gave the ball away cheaply; Alex made them pay for it, punishing them with a cool finish for the only goal of the game.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Guillermo 4, Paul 4, Alex 4, Lukas 2, Edo 2, Giacomo 2, Andrea 1, Massimo S 1, Theo 1

ANSPI u13: Ambrit 5-2 Real Muratella

Ambrit were quick out of the traps last night and Ale put the team ahead with an early goal to settle the nerves. The team continued to drive forward; Mattia did good work down the right and the team went in for the first break leading 2-0 after Nicholas clipped a ball with the outside of his boot past the bewildered goalkeeper.
The second period was a different story. With Ale in goal, there was a gaping hole in the middle of the pitch and the visitors took advantage; they scored two goals to pull themselves back into the game.
Some rearrangements by the Ambrit coaches helped to re-shape the team and released Tiago for a welcome goal.
In the last period, Ambrit were on top. Vittorio's free kick was a thing of beauty and put Ambrit 4-2 ahead. The fifth goal was even better. A lovely passing move conducted by Ale in midfield released Tiago again and his finish was cool and accurate.
TEAM: Santiago, Carlo, Leo, Vittorio (C), Ale, Mattia, Nicolas, Zach, Bertie, Tiago

Juventus 1-0 Liverpool

The second Intramural of the season opened today with a tense match between Juve and Liverpool. Juve enjoyed more of the possession, particularly early on, but Liverpool came more and more into the game and were always dangerous on the break. Both goalkeepers played well. Marco took charge at the back and Santiago made a fantastic save from Pietro. Cristian, as usual, tidied up play at the back, controlled the midfield too but was limited to long-range shots. It was left to Valerio, Francesco and Mikel to forage up front and all three turned in good performances. Indeed it was Mikel who scored the only goal; he ran to the front post to intercept a Cristian corner and squeezed the ball past two defenders and the goalkeeper from a tight space.
Captain Ludo played well at the back; Tommy and Pietro got forward often but dribbled too much and got few shots on target.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Mikel 4, Francesco 3, Marco 3, Cristian 2, Ludo 2, Pietro 2, Santiago 2, Valerio 1, Tommy 1, Dylan 1

ANSPI: Real Guadalupe 1-2 Ambrit

Ambrit in the first period focused on pressing Real Guadalupe and they did a great job in not letting them play in our half of the field. Vittorio's corner kicks got us close to getting two in the net before the whistle. In the second period, Ambrit was taking shots from every angle of the field and tiring out the opposing goalie. Mattia scored off a rebound from Alessandro's midfield shot. The crowd went wild cheering on the Ambrit boys. In the third period Santiago and Alessandro Switched positions. With Alessandro doing an excellent job in goal, there was room for Santiago to show his worth as a midfielder, dribbling through the defence with skill and securing us 2-0.  Real Guadalupe got lucky in the one minute overtime against our now tired defence. Ending the game 2-1. Team: Santiago, Carlo, Vittorio, Zach, Alessandro, Mattia and Nicholas

Teachers 1-0 Real Madrid/Palermo

A delicately-balanced game was resolved at the death today when the teachers introduced a last-minute super-sub, Miss Stephanie, who promptly went on to score with her first touch of the ball!
Earlier, Guillermo had rattled the teachers' confidence when his well-struck shot rattled back off the post with Mr Matteo looking on helplessly, and Massimo M had come close earlier on with a sweeping shot across the face of the goal.
At the other end, the teachers also came close to scoring when Mr Alessandro thundered a shot off the bar. Mr Max played very well and had some half chances too but Mr Piccolo - normally such a clinical finisher - really had the chance to put the game to bed with two clear chances in front of goal. Neither was converted but Miss Stephanie came to the rescue!

Teachers vs Intramural Champions

To get the Spring Intramural off to a start, this Friday the Teachers will play a match versus the Intramural Champions... Palermo / Real Madrid.

Calciomercato Leaks

Ecco gli ultimi gossip sul calciomercato Ambrit e le cifre dei prezzi più pregiati:

Cifra notevole per Dylan, comprato a ben 50 milioni dall'Ajax.
Asta incredibile per Ameli, comprata a 62 milioni, cifra record, dal Napoli.
Asta nascosta per Guillermo, star del Real Madrid nel primo Intramural, comprato dal Benfica di Taki per 60 milioni.
Il PSG investe tantissimo su Massimo S, portiere rivelazione del primo Intramural. Ben 46 milioni.
Naomi al Chelsea per ben 40 milioni.
50 milioni per Nikos!!!! Va al Barcelona di Manuel...
Cifra record per una 6 grader: Alice al Real Madrid per ben 65 milioni!
Eleonora, l'altro capitano, va al Porto per 42 milioni.
Un altro acquisto costoso: Agata al Porto per 32 milioni.
Giorgio va la Barça per 10 milioni.
Un altro solido acquisto per il Porto, che completa la sua campagna con Flavia, a 27 milioni.
Scandaloso acquisto di Chanel, da parte del Chelsea, a solo 1 milione: è vero che sono iniziati i saldi!!! :)))
Il Chelsea si aggiudica anche Liva per ben 30 milioni.
36 milioni per Paul al Benfica, che formerà una coppia tostissima con Guli.
I soldi cominciano a scarseggiare: Cristian a "soli" 35 milioni alla Juventus.

Teams

Here are the teams, with new players being added after tomorrow's Transfer market!

Teams for Second Intramural

Liverpool	Juventus	Paris SG	Benfica	Ajax	Barcelona	Fiorentina
Ludovico	Joel	Saverio	Taki	Elias	Manuel	Ameli
Adriano	William	Lucas	Willem	Raffaele	Miguel	Eleonora
Chris	Milo	Mattia	Benjamin	Bernardo	Arno	Player 3
Lorenzo	Diego	Griffith	Bertie	Pedro	Jonah	Player 4
Marco	Mikel	Adam	Cesare	Cameron	Zach	Player 5
Reid		Cosimo	Ralf	Sebastian	Zeyu	Player 6
Tommy S	Valerio	Massimo S	Guli	Dylan	Nikos	Player 7
Alberto T	Santiago	Edoardo	Theo	Massimo M	Giorgio	Player 8
Dylan M	Cristian	Giacomo	Paul	Mateo	Augusto	Player 9
Pietro	Francesco M	Alex	Andrea	Tommy G	Sam	Player 10

Chelsea	Napoli	Real Madrid	Porto
Carolina F	Sofia	Linh	Lucy
Alice H	Alice T	Herana	Maya
Myla	Raffaella	Camila	Soraya
Marisa	Nina	Isabel	Eva
Belen	Bianca	Maria	Atena
Millie	Emma	Giorgia	Francesca
Rose	Giulia	Rachele	Sarah
Naomi	Ameli	Alice M	Eleonora
Liva	Yutong	Allegra	Agata
Chanel	Gala	Carolina S	Flavia

Spring Intramural

As the players go into a well-earned Christmas break, managers and agents now begin a hectic round of negotiations that will culminate in January's transfer market.
Deals will be finalised on Wednesday January 8th, when the captains gather to finalise their strategies.
Big money transfers are likely to involve Cristian and Dylan, Ameli and Flavia - all winners of the top scorer or best player prizes in December.
But shrewd captains will also be looking for bargains from lower down the points table to complete their squads with a balance of muscle and talent and the right mix of defence and attack.

As usual, a seventh team joins the Boys league in Spring and this seventh team - Fiorentina - will be a team of girls who are looking for extra practice as the Med Cup looms in early May.
Matches involving Fiorentina will be 8 girls versus 6 boys, with the boys limited to three touches.

BOYS CAPTAINS
Ludovico, Manuel, Taki, Joel, Cesare, Saverio 

GIRLS CAPTAINS
Sofia, Linh, Lucy,  Carolina F

TRANSFER MARKET - Boys

Dylan S

Cristian

Paul

Sam

Alex

Giacomo

Pietro

Augusto

Tommaso G

Nikos

Guillermo

Valerio

Massimo S

Dylan M

Theo

Santiago

Edo

Massimo M

Tommaso S

Andrea

Giorgio

Francesco

Mateo

Alberto T

TRANSFER MARKET - Girls

Ameli

Alice M

Naomi

Eleonora

Yutong

Liva

Allegra

Agata

Flavia

Chanel

Carolina S.

Gala

Palermo 6 - 5 Verona

Una bellissima finale conclude il primo Intramural femminile di quest'anno, con pareggio 1-1, concluso vittoriosamente dal Palermo ai rigori. Una partita vibrante e combattuta, aperta dalla rete di Flavia, brava nell'insistere sul pressing e capace di scavalcare il difensore e battere a rete; la risposta di Alice non si è fatta attendere molto: lanciata a rete da una rimessa laterale di Sofia, Alice ha scavalcato Rose e ha concluso a rete, trovando però la respinta di Allegra, molto reattiva tra i pali. Il rimpallo ha favorito la stessa Alice, che da due passi ha pareggiato i conti. Nel finale qualche brivido su una conclusione dalla distanza di Naomi.
Ottima prestazione di molte giocatrici, soprattutto nella zona di centrocampo, brave a gestire la palla.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Flavia 4, Liva 4, Naomi 4, Alice 3, Carolina F 2, Carolina S 2, Myla 1, Allegra 1.

BOYS FINAL: Real Madrid 2-1 Liverpool

A nervous and frenetic final match saw Real overcome Liverpool to spark christmas celebrations in Madrid.
Thrown by the absence of Santiago in goal, Liverpool started uncertainly and Massimo M capitalised quickly with an early goal. Dylan added a second after 6' and Liverpool now had to chase the game. Klopp's men were unable to impose any pattern however and Cristian's free-kick goal was one of very few chances. Real held on for a deserved victory.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Guillermo 4, Alex 4, Massimo M 3, Augusto 3, Cristian 3, Dylan M 2, Valerio 1, Bernardo 1

Boys' Third Place Final: Milan 1-0 Ajax

This match started late but the teams packed a lot of action into their 10' on the pitch.
Massimo S made two extraordinary saves to deny Nikos and Pietro shot wide more than once. Milan lost Andrea when he was red-carded for a reckless challenge on Sam and Milan finally made teh breakthrough when Paul pounced on William's assist.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Paul 6, Dylan S 5,  Massimo S 4, Pietro 3, Sam 2, Nikos 1

3rd PLACE FINAL: Empoli 2-0 Perugia

L'Empoli batte il Perugia nella finale per il terzo posto dell'Intramural femminile grazie a un gol di Ameli e al raddoppio, allo scadere, di Agata. Entrambi i gol sono scaturiti da incertezze difensive, sulle quali nulla ha potuto Millie tra i pali.
La partita è stata giocata a viso aperto dalle due formazioni, in maniera piuttosto confusionaria, senza grande strategia. Inizialmente il Perugia sembrava poter gestire la partita, con il suo centrocampo solido e fisico, ma il vantaggio siglato da Ameli ha cambiato l'inerzia del gioco, costringendo Giorgia e compagne a recuperare, schiantandosi contro il muro di Yutong, oggi insuperabile a centro difesa.
All'ultimo minuto è arrivata anche la rete di Agata, giunta velocissima su un pallone vagante davanti alla porta e mal gestito dalla retroguardia perugina.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Yutong 4, Ameli 4, Lucy 4, Agata 3, Atena 2, Isabel 1, Giorgia 1, Chanel 1, Linh 1.

SF2 Penalties: Liverpool 5-4 Ajax

Boys' Semi-final 2: Liverpool 1-1 Ajax

Favourites Liverpool were held to a draw by an in-form Ajax and will face a penalty competition tomorrow to decide who will face Real Madrid in next week's final.
A poor game with few clear-cut chances. Valerio confirmed his recent form with another good game in midfield and his was the assist to Cameron for the opening goal.
Patriot played well and his super-long throw-in found Nikos in space for the equaliser.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Cristian 4, Giacomo 3, Pietro 3, Valerio 3, Joel 2, Nikos 2, Sam 2, Cameron 1, Giorgio 1

Boys' Semi-Final 1: Real Madrid 4-2 Milan

Galvanised by the return from injury of Captain Guillermo, Real beat Milan today in the early kick-off and progress to next week's final.
It was Milan who took an early lead when Paul played a lovely one-two with Dylan S before shooting home. Guillermo equalised very quickly and brother Miguel shot Real into a 2-1 lead with a opportunistic strike from inside the penalty area.
Andrea was unlucky to see his shot rebound off the post before Guillermo scored from a free kick to make it 3-1. Dylan S's determination was rewarded with a goal soon after and Milan still had a chance... but Guillermo spotted Massimo S off his line and completed his hat-trick with a fantastic goal, shooting from the edge of his own penalty area!
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Guillermo 5, Paul 3, Dylan S 2, Alex 2, Augusto 2, Francesco 1, Miguel 1, Raffaele 1, Dylan M 1, Massimo S 1, Massimo M 1, Andrea 1

Ajax 2-0 Bayern

Bayern exit the tournament; Ajax march on to the semi-finals where they will face Liverpool.
Nikos scored a good goal early on; Alberto scored a second and they both combined in a beautiful move that saw Alberto's shot rebound off the bar. Giorgio should have added a third and Matia had a good chance at the other end.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Sam 4, Alberto 3, Pietro 3, Giorgio 3, Nikos 2, Joel 2, Ludo 1, Saverio 1, Jonah 1, Cesare 1

Palermo 1-0 Verona

An absorbing contest at Ambrit Stadium today as Palermo's possession-based game was challenged by Verona's quick-breaking style.
Palermo created lots of chances but shots from Alice, Eleonora and Liva were consistently saved by an excellent Allegra. Verona broke frequently and they too got some shots on target, notably from Naomi and Carolina but Myla too was in form: Carolina almost gave Verona the lead when Myla fumbled the ball before recovering to keep it out.
Palermo's winner arrived near the end of the game. Alice dribbled through the Verona defence and squared the ball towards Liva. Allegra got a hand to it but the ball slipped past her and Liva helped it over the line!
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Alice 5, Allegra 3, Naomi 3, Eleonora 3, Liva 2, Sofia 1, Marisa 1, Camila 1, Flavia 1, Carolina S 1


VERONA sill qualify for the final; the finished on equal points with EMPOLI but, in their head-to-head match, Verona were the winners.

GIRLS 3rd place play off: EMPOLI versus PERUGIA
GIRLS FINAL: PALERMO vs VERONA

Milan 4-0 Real Madrid

Despite a fantastic goalkeeping performance from Bernardo, an out-of-form Real was destroyed today by a majestic Milan who race into the semi-finals with confidence.
Dylan's opening and closing goals sandwiched two from captain Paul but both goalkeepers played well too; Massimo S made one great save to stop his namesake from scoring but Bernardo made at least three excellent stops, including one spectacular dive to his right to foil Dylan.
These two teams will meet again in the semi-finals: will Guillermo be fit??
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Dylan S 4, Bernardo 3, Augusto 3, Paul 3, Andrea 2, Adriano 2, Francesco 2, Massimo M 1, Alex 1, Massimo S 1

Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona

Barcelona lose today in El Clasico and now must wait to see the result between Ajax vs Bayern next Friday: if Ajax can avoid defeat, then they will qualify for the semi-finals with Barcelona missing out!
Real were deadly on the break today and Alex put them in front. After his splendid goal yesterday, Massimo M was looking to score again today but he missed two good chances. But Alex didn't miss when he found space 20m out and his shot into the top corner was a thing of beauty. Tommaso G pulled one back for Barcelona to give them some hope but time ran out and Real took the points.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Alex 5, Augusto 4, Bernardo 2, Tommy G 2, Tommy S 2, Mateo 2, Theo 1, Massimo M 1, Dylan 1, Lucas 1

Bayern 2-2 Real Madrid

These two teams really tore into each other today and a packed Ambrit Stadium was entranced for 30'.
Edo put the German champions ahead but their celebrations were short-lived as Massimo M launched a long shot straight from the kick-off that dropped in just under the bar to level the scores. Real then took the lead when a fiercely struck free kick was bravely headed in by Dylan and it was left to Edo to rescue his team again - this time with a cheeky goal that saw him nip in to take advantage of a moment's confusion in the Bayern defence.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Edo 6, Dylan M 3, Augusto 3, Mikel 2, Massimo M 2, Ludovico 1, Saverio 1, Richard 1, Adam 1, Alex 1

ANSPI u13: Ambrit 2-3 Vigna Pia

Under torrential rain, the result of this match wavered back and forth but, ultimately, some bad defensive errors cost Ambrit three points and a lot of pride in this keenly contested derby.
Vigna Pia took an early lead but Alessandro struck a beautiful shot with his left-foot to secure an equaliser. Both sides created a lot of chances but, once again, Ambrit's finishing was below standard. We got lots of shots in but many were wide. Free kicks and corners were wasted. Zach had three good chances but none were made to count, though one was denied by a miraculous save frpom the goalkeeper. The same goalkeeper made two extraordinary saves from Alessandro shots but Vigna Pia went ahead again. It was left to Alessandro to rescue the team again. He did. 2-2.... but Vigna Pia finished strongly. They burst through to score a winning goal and Ambrit were unable to equalise a third time.
TEAM: Santiago, Leo, Vittorio, Carlo, Mattia, Alessandro, Zach, Bertie, Tiago, Nicholas

Liverpool 1-0 Milan

Milan and Liverpool fought out an excellent match today and i rossoneri were unlucky to lose out to a late Giacomo goal.

Of course, Liverpool might easily have wrapped the game up earlier, were it not for a series of brilliant saves by Massimo. He saved shots with his hands, with his knees, with his feet; he rushed oout to clear dangerous balls; he kept his team in the game. Captain Paul was everywhere too, tackling passing, driving his team forward when possible; and Dylan and Andrea combined well in the last third.

But Liverpool were too strong for them in the end. Cristian was hungry for the ball and Giacomo and Valerio were always making runs to support him. Giacomo’s goal was a reward for persistence; he slammed home the third rebound off three Massimo saves.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Paul 5, Massimo S 5, Cristian 5, Giacomo 3, Valerio 1, Dylan S 1, Pedro 1, Andrea, 1

ANSPI u13: Santos 4-2 Ambrit

With only six players against seven and playing away from home, Ambrit put up a good performance and might easily have won this game. Despite being a man short, Ambrit dominated possession and spent most of the game attacking.
The home side exploited the space well on the break and scored two early goals with quick breaks as Ambrit were still settling in.
Undaunted, Ambrit pressed high. Ale fed Mattia and Zach with lots of passes and Mattia's speed on the right opened up some chances. Santos resorted to fouls. Ale shot a free kick wide to the right but, with the next one, Vittrio drilled the ball low past the goalkeeper: 1-2 at the first break.
Unfortunately Santos began the second break as they had begun the first and Ambrit soon found themselves 4-1 down. But Ambrit came back again and Zach was terribly unlucky when the goalkeeper made an incredible save from his close-range header. But Zach kept niggling at the defenders and goalkeeper and it paid off when he made it 4-2 from a corner.
Ambrit now had 15' left to pull back two goals. They gave it everything. Mattia almost scored with a header, Carlo made sure the ball never passed the halfway line, Santiago - nominally in goal - played as a sweeper and kept the momentum high. Ale and Vittorio combined set up lots of chances but Santos managed to keep them at bay by blocking shots, by tackling, by fouling and by their goalkeeper making two more excellent saves.
TEAM: Santiago, Vittorio, Carlo, Alessandro, Zach, Mattia

Empoli 2-1 Perugia

Finalmente una partita degna di nota nel torneo femminile: due squadre vive, che si sono affrontate con grinta e voglia di vincere e - addirittura - con tre reti all'attivo! Il Perugia, in vantaggio grazie a una rete di Lucy, viene rimontato e superato grazie all'1-2 firmato Isabel e Raffaella. Questa vittoria porta l'Empoli provvisoriamente in testa alla classifica, nonostante l'unica sconfitta subita nel torneo, dimostrando che le vittorie hanno più importanza dei tanti pareggi finora visti...

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Agata 3, Yutong 3, Gala 2, Ameli 2, Raffaella 1, Chanel 1, Linh 2, Lucy 1, Millie 1, Isabel 1.

Milan 5-0 Bayern

Bayern offered little opposition today to a rampant Milan, driven by Paul (2 goals) and Dylan (3 goals).
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Dylan 6, Paul 5, Ludovico 3, Francesco 3, Taki 2, Jonah 1, Mattia 1

Ambrit Boys Top of the Table

In the season's opening round of u14 RISA league fixtures, Ambrit took full points with five wins out of five games and now sit comfortably at the top of the table. Santiago was a rock in goal but still needs to be more dominant; in front of him, the defence (Augusto, Sam, Massimo, Lucas) coped well but they do need to improve their heading skills. Alex protected the defence and passed well but needs to work on his left-foot; Andrea and Raffaele worked the left flank, the former in particular punching regular holes in the opposing defence. Tommaso and Edo ran patterns all day, controlling the ball, jinking past opponents, passing and shooting with accuracy and power.

Ambrit 2-1 New School
The first game was crucial, a tough opener against last year's champions New School. Ambrit absorbed some early pressure and then took the lead through Tommaso. The game was keenly contested but Ambrit got some breathing space when Andrea made it 2-0. Ambrit were under pressure for the last few minutes. NSR pulled one back but Ambrit hung on!

Ambrit 1-0 Southlands
Despite constant pressure, despite a missed penalty and despite creating a million chances, it looked like Ambrit would never score in this game... but then, with just a couple of minutes left, Tommaso scored a stunning goal. Turning tightly past two defenders, he used dummy runs from Edo and Alex to carve a path past the last two defenders and fire the ball home. Geniale!

Ambrit 3-2 St George's 
Again Ambrit dominated the opening exchanges but this time they were caught on the break and went behind. Another wave of Ambrit attacks brought a quick equaliser through Edoardo but, in this ding-dong battle, SGBIS went ahead again. However Ambrit were determined to get something from this game and they equalised again when Tommaso scored. The bonus came when Massimo was taken down in the penalty area and the captain himself stepped up to blast home the resulting penalty!  

Ambrit 8-1 AOSR A
Andrea scored the first goal off Edoardo’s assist. Massimo got the second, assist from Edoardo. AOSR managed to get one in for the 2-1 but Ambrit responded with 5 more goals. Edoardo scored off an assist from Alex. Tommaso put in the fourth goal, followed by Alex and Edoardo scoring two more goals to finish with Edoardo putting in the final 8th goal.

Ambrit 3-1 AOSR B
With goals from Massimo off an Alex assist. Tommaso had two great goals - one from midfield shot straight to the goal.

Liverpool 4-1 Barcelona

Barcelona were without Mateo today but they still made it a competitive match; the 4-1 scoreline flattered Liverpool.
Cristian scored two early goals for the Reds - both from free kicks - and these two blows knocked the stuffing out of Barca. Giacomo struck with a beautifully-taken volley to make it 3-0 and Cristian hammered home his hat-trick. The Barcelona consolation goal was well-taken by Bertie, who calmly chipped it over an advancing Santiago.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Cristian 4, Giacomo 3, Tommaso G 3, Tommaso S 3, Santiago 2, Bertie 2, Valerio 2, Zach 1, Diego 1

Red Card for Andrea (pitch invasion) - misses next match

Real Madrid 2-1 Ajax

Without captain Guillermo, los galacticos still manage to pull off an important victory over Pietr's Dutch Meisters at Ambrit Stadium today.
Nikos was unlucky not to put his team in front when his cross/shot ecvaded everybody and came back off the inside of the post into Bernard's arms.
Instead it was Real who drew first blood following a fantastic series of passes between Alex and Dylan with Alex applying the finishing touch.
Nikos scored an equaliser with a trademark shot of precision into the top corner, giving the impression that he might easily have scored more. But he didn't and nor did Ajax play with enough urgency and, when Dylan popped up to make it 2-1, they could only look on with incredulity.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Sam 6, Alex 4, Dylan M 3, Pietro 3, Giorgio, Nikos, Lucas, Augusto, Massimo M

Real Madrid 3-2 Liverpool

After a series of mediocre games, these two teams finally fed the hungry spectators a banquet of football today in a match that swung first one way and then the other.
Los Merengues took the lead when Guillermo passed to Alex and the Trastevere Ace made no mistake. Liverpool re-doubled their efforts now to get back in the game and Giacomo's energy won them a lot of ball in midfield. But Madrid increased their lead when Dylan picked up a loose ball and flicked it home.
There was a slight whiff of desperation now as Liverpool attacked. Too many long balls were mopped up by Guillermo and Augusto was quick to attack any player in possession. But Liverpool did score. At the end of a concerted attack, Cristian played in Giacomo and, after the keeper had saved his shot, Santiago followed up to cooly slot home.
Invigorated, Liverpool continued to press. A well-taken corner was met perfectly by Cameron's head and the net bulged again.
Now only minutes remained but neither side would settle for a point. Both continued to attack but fortune was smiling on the Spanish Champions today. Alex won a ball on the right, squared to Massimo M on the left and his first time shot just inside the post gave Zach no chance at all.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Guillermo 4, Alex 3, Giacomo 3, Santiago 3, Cameron 2, Dylan 2, Cristian 2, Valerio 1, Massimo M 1

NOTE: Red cards for Marco, Mikel, Milo, Edo, Massimo S... all will miss next game

Palermo 0-0 Perugia

Ennesimo pareggio all'Ambrit Stadium, dove Palermo e Perugia si affrontano con grinta ma non riescono ad andare oltre lo 0-0. Le migliori occasioni sono capitate a Giorgia (tiro dalla distanza, fuori di poco) e Lucy, da una parte; ad Eleonora e Alice dall'altra. In evidenza Liva, che ha provato costantemente a gestire la palla senza necessariamente calciare a caso. Buona prova di Linh e Sofia nelle rispettive difese, e di Eleonora, sempre attiva a centrocampo, ma meno lucida del solito in fase conclusiva.
Il torneo rimane dunque molto aperto, vedremo nelle prossime settimane se una squadra riuscirà ad emergere...

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Eleonora 5, Sofia 3, Liva 3, Millie 2, Atena 2, Alice M 2, Linh 1, Alice T 1, Giorgia 1, Chanel 1.

Perugia 0-0 Verona

Un match combattuto, ma con poche occasioni da gol: continua la crisi dei marcatori nel campionato femminile! Nonostante la foga e il grande agonismo in campo, la qualità del gioco e la poca abitudine a portare avanti la palla hanno segnato una partita poco spettacolare. Alcune ragazze si sono distinte per intensità e determinazione, in particolare Chanel, dominante al centro del campo ma ancora tecnicamente immatura.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Chanel 4, Carolina S 2, Naomi 2, Allegra 2, Flavia 2, Giorgia 2.

ANSPI u13: Ambrit 6-0 CRIS

With CRIS having dominated last year's u11 league, Ambrit feared the worst when CRIS arrived for last night's match following Tuesday night's defeat to San Leonardo.
But we needn't have worried.
With a full squad, Ambrit settled quickly into the game, putting their opponents under pressure from the start. Alessandro scored early on to settle the nerves and, in a period dominated by the home side, Tiago made it 2-0 off an Ale assist.
Early in the second half, Alessandro stole the ball in midfield and thundered a shot off the post. Tiago forced the goalkeeper into two saves and then Alessandro made it 3-0 with a shot that rattled in off the bar.
Alessandro scored two more in the third period and Bertie got onto the scoresheet too. Ambrit now look forward with confidence to game 3: away to Santos, Fri Nov 15th, 18.00.

Barcelona 1-0 Bayern

A terrible game today: not much passing, not much shooting, not much excitement. One goal from Tommy was enough to decide the game.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Tommy G 4, Tommy S 3, Mateo 3, Theo 2, Edo 1, Ludo 1, Mikel 1, Adam 1, Mattia 1, Lorenzo 1, Bertie 1, Taki 1, Saverio 1

ANSPI u13: San Leonardo 2-0 Ambrit

Having wasted umpteen chances to score, nobody is quite sure how Ambrit contrived to lose this match.
Ale set the tone, hitting the post after only three minutes. Carlo tested the goalkeeper early on and, towards the end of the first period, Mattia tested him again and Zach hit the bar.
But the teams went in at the end of the first period at 0-0.
No change in the second period. Ale set up Bertie for an early chance but the goalkeeper was having a great game. He saved again from Vittorio, again from Carlo, Mattia hit the post AGAIN and then, totally out of the blue, Ambrit were caught on the break and the home team went 1-0 up!
In the third period, Ambrit continued to attack. Zach put a shot wide, Mattia missed an open goal... and then San Leonardo scored again.
Lots of lessons to be learned, on and off the field!
TEAM: Bertie, Vittorio, Carlo, Alessandro, Mattia, Zach