SSS Cup 2016

Sabato scorso le ragazze dell'Ambrit hanno partecipato al torneo annuale organizzato dal Liceo St. Stephen's di Roma. È stato un ottimo allenamento in vista della Mediterranean Cup di Aprile, soprattutto perché era un confronto decisamente impegnativo, visto che a partecipare erano solo licei internazionali, quindi era possibile che ci fossero anche 6 anni di distanza tra le nostre e le altre ragazze. 6 anni di età, fisico, esperienza... beh, che dire? Le nostre ragazze, dopo il timore iniziale, si sono fatte valere e hanno strappato una vittoria e un pareggio su quattro partite disputate! Le uniche sconfitte sono arrivate contro la St. Stephen's, squadra di qualità ed esperienza, e contro le vincitrici del Marlvern College in Inghilterra.
Un grazie enorme ai nostri portieroni, Lucrezia e Anastasia, che hanno accettato di rimettersi in gioco e hanno compiuto interventi di grande importanza in tutte le partite.
Un grandissimo applauso alle nostre, piccole e grandi, che hanno combattuto con grinta (vincitrici per distacco in questo senso), con coraggio e con buona tecnica. In particolare hanno impressionato le "piccole" ma tostissime Giulia e Matilde, insieme alla "veterana" Raffaella.

PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Matilde.

Ambrit Primary team take Third Place out of 16 teams at St George's!

On saturday march 12th Ambrit grade 4 and 5 soccer team participated in the annual St georges tournament competing against 16 teams from various international schools of Rome. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the boys were all very excited and eager to play. The formation saw a flexible Goalie, Joel weil, who occasionally helped in the middle of the field; a strong defence with Elias El zabri, Claudio and Diego Lindeman and Gavyn Cianni holding the middle; an exceptional and steady mid field made up of alex Delve in the middle, daniel simunec and Michele di penta on the sides; and an always ready attack with alioune sarr, Riccardo di Fabio and Julian frazier.We started off with a tie and then followed with 5 consecutive wins. The Ambrit team made it to semifinals but unfortunately lost to New school. Our final game was against the german school to compete for  third place. It was a tight game, infact to take the 3rd placement cup home we had to go through a very nervewracking shoot out. Finally the hard work paid off and the Ambrit team placed itself third amongst 16 teams, bringing home a cup and lots of joy. Great job boys! Well Done Miss Giulia!

Italy 3-2 Ireland

In today's 'practice match' for this summer's European Championship clash, Italy came out on top after a feisty performance.
The Italians' passing game was working and the early patterns that they weaved made an opening for Niccolo' to score the opening goal.
Earlier, Sasha had a good shot turned wide by Gabriele and then Giuseppe saved the Italians with a header off the line.
Italy started strongly again in the second half; Gabriele played a pass down the left to give Nathan the chance to make it 2-0. Niccolo' almost made it 3-0 a couple of minuets later; Andrew saved well but was helpless when Niccolo' shot again three minutes later to make it 3-0.
Ireland fought back though and Aden pulled a goal back when Giuseppe could only palm Zeno's shot weakly to the left. Andrew then made it 3-2 but the Irish ran out of time and Italy took the points.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Niccolo' 6, Gabriele 4, Giuseppe 4, Lapo 2, Nathan 2, Aden 1, Sasha 1, Jacopo 1

Germany 2-2 Portugal

Finalmente un meritatissimo punto per il Portogallo, che sfiora l'impresa dopo essere andato in vantaggio e aver sbagliato addirittura un rigore nel finale di partita. La Germania, già qualificata per la finalissima del 5 maggio, si rilassa un pochino e viene salvata dal talento di Lucrezia, autrice oggi di una doppietta. In campo molte ragazze hanno mostrato determinazione e una crescita tecnica che fino a poche settimane fa sembrava solo una chimera: Celeste, Grace, Fatou, Saya e soprattutto Jean sono migliorate moltissimo e hanno offerto - insieme alle "solite note" - uno spettacolo godibilissimo.
Molte le assenze e le sostituzioni, che rendono difficile il giudizio della commissione Intramural...

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Lucrezia 4, Jean 4, Celeste 3, Grace 2, Beatriz 1, Saya 1, Fatou 1, Mia 1, Ginevra 1

England 4-0 Portugal

Un'Inghilterra moooolto rimaneggiata, sconfigge nettamente il Portogallo, ormai certamente fuori dai giochi, per quanto riguarda il torneo femminile di quest'anno e la possibile qualificazione per la finale. Margarida e compagne mandano invece un segnale forte e chiaro alla Germania: un 4-0 che non ammette molte repliche e qualificazione ottenuta.
Veniamo al match : la partita ha avuto un andamento piuttosto equilibrato, ma il Portogallo - abbastanza solido in difesa, come in altre occasioni - è stato carente in fase organizzativa e soprattutto conclusiva. L'Inghilterra invece ha sfruttato bene le doti di velocità e di tiro di Margarida e l'ottimo momento di forma di Matilde, onnipresente in ogni zona del campo.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Matilde 5, Margarida 4, Chiara 3, Celeste 3, Leila 1, Ginevra 1, Saya 1, Fatou 1, Gaia 1, Mia 1.

Ambrit Girls 7-2 Southlands Girls

La mattinata fredda e la notizia dell'assenza per febbre di Raffaella mettono subito di malumore il Mister. Ma è solo un attimo, non c'è il tempo per le indecisioni: 5 minuti di riscaldamento e via, tutte in campo. La scelta di tenere fuori dall'inizio Lucrezia mette un poco in difficoltà la squadra dell'Ambrit, incapace mentalmente di organizzarsi e credere nella netta superiorità tecnica e fisica sulle avversarie (per la verità, piuttosto brave). Dopo una fase di studio, ecco che l'ingresso di Lucrezia coincide con la prima rete, bellissima, in scivolata. Le avversarie diventano più aggressive e trovano il pareggio quasi immediato. Tuttavia la squadra Ambrit reagisce bene e si porta nuovamente in vantaggio con un potente tiro di Margarida. In difesa Celeste e Leila fanno ottima guardia e le nostre dilagano, con un'altra rete ciascuna per Lucrezia e Marga. 4-1. Le nostre si "rilassano" ancora, il Mister inserisce forze giovani e la Southlands accorcia nuovamente sul 4-2. Si va all'intervallo. Allison, bravissima a centrocampo, si accomoda in porta e Matilde entra in campo. La musica non cambia, tranne che per il risultato: altri tre gol e punteggio finale di 7-2. Un risultato netto e mai in discussione, che ci fa ben sperare per i prossimi impegni.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Leila.

Sweden 4-1 Italy

Italy, who until now had impressed with two good wins, were never in today's game and suffered a comprehensive defeat at the hands of a dominant Swedish team.
Giovanni set up his team very well and, early on, Manfredi was denied first by a post and then by Giuseppe in goal before he finally succeeded in breaking the deadlock.
Sam followed up with two well-taken goals before half time, putting himself ahead again in the Top Scorer competition. Italy kept trying but the Swedish back line of Giovanni, Ramnath and Tristan was cool, calculating and impregnable.
The addition of Lucrezia to the Italian team in the second half gave them a few more attacking options and possession was shared more equally, but it was Sweden who scored yet again when Manfredi's snapshot went in after a slight deflection. Giuseppe helped to keep the score down with good saves from Sam and Manfredi and Sam also saw a shot rebound of the bar.
Italy finally scored a consolation goal at the end through Niccolo'.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Manfredi 5, Giovanni 3, Giuseppe 3, Ramnath 2, Noah 2, Tristan 1, Sam 1, Federico 1, Nathan 1, Lapo 1, Niccolo' 1

England 3-0 Portugal

Molto bello il match di oggi, combattuto e vivo a dispetto del punteggio così rotondo, che di sicuro non rende giustizia agli sforzi del Portogallo di rimanere in partita. All'inizio infatti il vantaggio delle Inglesi con Matilde, abile a battere il portiere con il piatto forte e preciso dopo la respinta su calcio d'angolo, aveva dato l'impressione di una partita a senso unico. Le Portoghesi invece, grintose e ben messe in campo, hanno reagito con veemenza sfiorando il gol con Mia, il cui tiro è rimbalzato violentemente sulla traversa. Nel secondo tempo ancora un lampo dell'imprendibile Margarida ha portato l'Inghilterra sul 2-0 e ancora una volta la sfortuna ha fatto il resto: la bella conclusione di Gaia si è stampata sul palo. Quasi in risposta al detto "gol mangiato, gol subìto" è arrivata la terza e ultima rete, dai piedi di Margarida, che con questa doppietta affianca Lucrezia in testa alla classifica marcatori. Ottime prove a centrocampo per Matilde e Allison, sempre solidissima Raffaella, ben supportata da Leila. Sul fronte portoghese bella prestazione di Gaia e di Fatou; superlativa la prova di Celeste, oggi onnipresente in tutte le zone del campo.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS:
Celeste 5, Matilde 4, Margarida 4, Allison 2, Fatou 2, Gaia 2, Raffaella 1, Leila 1.

France 1-1 Ireland

Les Bleus dominated the first half but struggled to get shots on target. Francesco R finally made room from 20m out and blasted an accurate shot past Zeno. Francesco R then played Guerrino in with a beautiful pass but Guerrino, later to be sent off, missed the opportunity.
Ireland re-grouped at half-time and came back strongly. Sasha peppered Peter with shots from distance but the G6 keeper was equal to all of them. The Irish equaliser finally came from another long throw which turned into a goalmouth scramble: ideal conditions for Zehni junior to poke home a messy goal.
Final word for the girls who played today: Celeste, Matilde and Giulia; outstanding performances from all, especially Giulia.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Francesco C 5, Francesco R 4, Peter 4, Bernardo 2, Edo J 2, Sasha 2, Zeno 1, Aden 1

France 3-3 Spain

In their final match of the qualifiers, Spain finally managed to put a point on the board with a stirring second half comeback.
The first half belonged to France and two fine goals from Francesco R and a third from Ale Z early in the second half seemed to have condemned Spain to a fourth consecutive defeat.
But Lucrezia - one of today's guest players - ignited a comeback when she fired in from a difficult angle after Peter was caught out of position. Ascanio followed up with a second goal (to shouts of Viva il Parziale!!?? from the sideline) and Taro completed the comeback with an excellent goal following a long solo run past three defenders.
One final note: though not eleigible for votes, Raffaella would clearly be a strong competitior for today's Player of the Match: Bravissima!
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Francesco R 6, Taro 5, Alessandro 4, Nicholas 3, Ascanio 3

England 2 - 2 Germany

Un buon match all'Ambrit Arena, sotto gli occhi increduli di un ex-studente particolarmente entusiasta di vedere l'ottima tecnica delle nostre ragazze. Un match perfettamente spaccato a metà: una prima parte dominata dalla Germania, capace di passare per due volte (la seconda direttamente sul bel calcio d'angolo di Lucrezia); una seconda metà in cui l'Inghilterra ha recuperato e ha rischiato di vincere nel finale, grazie alle reti di Matilde e Marga.
Brave le Inglesi a crederci fino alla fine, un po' di rammarico invece dalla parte tedesca per l'atteggiamento - forse troppo difensivo - del secondo tempo...

PLAYER OF THE MACTH POINTS:
 Lucrezia 4, Matilde 3, Giulia 3, Helèna 2, Marga 2, Allison 2, Beatriz 1, Eilidh 1, Raffaella 1, Leila 1, Lucie 1, Lea 1.

Sweden 6-2 Spain

Spain suffered another heavy defeat today. Though they rallied towards the end, they spent much of the match in disarray and are certain candidates to miss out on qualification.
Sam opened the scoring with a good diagonal shot off Michael's assist and Michael nabbed the second one himself, nipping in from the right corner to slip the ball past Taro.
In the second half, Taro scored an OG to make it 3-0 and then Noah scored the best goal of the game after a lovely sequence of one twos with Sam and Giovanni. Noah scored again to make it 5-0.
Spain's vain resurgence saw goals from Nicholas and Ascanio but a final goal from Sam sealed the victory. Congratulations to Giovanni on a very well organised team where everybody knew their job and did it well.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Noah 4, Manfredi 3, Ramnath 3, Sam 3, Michael 2, Giovanni 2, Tristan 1, Laith 1, Thomas 1, Taro 1

England 0-0 Germany

The girls finally took to the field again and produced a good game which was not, however, adorned with goals.
For England, Eilidh and Margarida tried to pass the ball through midfield and Margarida's pace up front was always a threat. For Germany, Lucrezia and Lucie matched them step for step, ably backed up by Helena. Defences were solid, impregnable; goalkeepers were sure and steady.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Lucrezia 3 Marga 3, Lucie 2, Raffa 2, Helena 2, Giuia 2,  Eilidh 2, Leila 1, Beatriz 1, Lea 1, Yara 1, Allison 1

Ireland 3-4 Sweden

An unexpected reverse for the Boys in Green today in this rehearsal for next summer's showdown in France.
Zeno and Sam traded goals early on and an own-goal for each side kept the scores level. Another goal for Sam was equalised by a beautiful strike from Sasha but Sam too pulled a beautiful strike out of the hat to score the winner late on.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Sam 4, Sasha 3, Aden 2, Ramnath 2, Noah 2, Andrew 2, Tanner 2, Manfredi 1 (Y), Falco 1, Finnian 1, Tiberio, 1

Italy 3-0 Spain

An in-form Nathan made the difference in this game as Italy collected three more points.
Nathan opened the scoring after 5 minutes when he cut inside on the left and found the best route to goal with a blind-side shot that gave the keeper no chance. Niccolo had a good chance on 8 minutes but Ascanio saved well.
Spain, withoout some of their best players, battled well and kept their opponents to 1-0 until the seventh minute of the second half. Alex stopped a good shot from Gabriele andNathan hit the post when Gabriele found him with a good diagonal pass. Nathan then did score to make it 2-0 and Nico made it three.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Nathan 5, Gabriele 4, Jacopo 3, Laith 3, Niccolo 1, Giuseppe 1, Thomas 1, Ascanio 1, Lapo 1, Federico 1, 

France 2-1 Sweden

With last season's Top Scorer (Sam) and Best Player (Ramnath) in their ranks, Sweden were favourites to win this one today but Guerrino's French team pulled off a gutsy win.
Ale Z put les bleus ahead after 6 minutes when a defensive mistake put him through and Michael was slow to close him down. Ale should have made it 2-0 seconds later he shot over. France then paid the price when Manfredi slotted home an equaliser.
In the second half, Sweden almost went ahead. A neat passing move starting from Tristan, went through Noah and finished up at Sam but he missed the shot. Sam then put Noah in but Peter tipped the shot over. The French defense was solid, thanks also to brilliant displays from Raffaella and Celeste.
With only seconds to go, Francesco turned on a ball and volleyed an unstoppable shot into the opposite corner from the edge of the area.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Francesco R 9, Pietu 2, Ramnath 2, Noah 1, Sam 1, Tristan 1, Guerrino 1, Alessandro 1, Francesco C 1, Peter 1, Manfredi 1

Ambrit Boys Come Second in January Tournament

Ambrit entered a G5 and G6 team in today's tournament at Ambrit Stadium.
The G5 team played with a lot of spirit and held their older rivals from G6 to a 1-0 win. Lapo scored the winning goal.
G6 had started the morning off with 0-2 loss to St. George's and, quite frankly, they played badly. It should have been a higher score but Peter played really well.
But they made up for it later!
Buoyed by their derby win, they then dismantled an older team from Southlands with three goals from Manfredi, Nathan and then Manfredi again with a stunning lob over the goalkeeper from 30 meters out: un capolavoro! Nathan had a fantastic match. He teased his opponents with the ball, dragging them out of position and then delivered his killer passes.
This win put them into the final against St George's and they played much, much better than in the earlier match. Aden played a stormer in defence again and, at the end, just one goal separated the teams.
TEAM: Peter; Federico, Aden, Bernardo; Lapo, Nathan, Alessandro; Manfredi, Lucrezia 

Ireland 2-0 Spain

Favoured by a lacklustre Spain and an Irish referee, Finian's team scored two goals in the first half which were enough to capture the three points.
Sasha scored the first, Zeno the second and, despite a lot of well-intentioned huffing and puffing, the game was devoid of other highlights.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Ascanio 5, Taro 4, Zeno 3, Edo R 3, Sasha 2, Thomas 1, Finian 1, Aden 1, Alex 1

Germany 3-1 Portugal

World Champions Germany overcame their Iberian opponents by dominating possession, taking their chances and defending very well.
Lucie put Lucrezia through for the opening goal and Jaan put Lucie through for the second.
Gaia could have pulled one back before half time but Beatriz made a great save.
Lucrezia practically killed off the game with a quick goal just after half time but Portugal, to be fair, never gave up.
After near misses from Mia (wide), Ginevra (wide), Gaia (over), Ginevra again (over), it was Celeste who finally scored the consolation goal. At the other end, Germany continued to attack and Helena came closest to a fourth goal.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Lucrezia 4, Gaia 3, Lucie 3, Ginevra 2, Beatriz 2, Grace 2, Giulia 2, Celeste 1 , Lea 1, Juna 1,

Italy 2-1 France

The first half was a stormer and Italy should have scored, but Peter in the French goal made a series of five excellent saves to keep them out - two from Lapo, two from Niccolo' and one from Nathan. Then, in the time honoured tradition of gol mancato, gol subito, Italy were caught napping on a corner and Francesco R nipped in at the near post to put France 1-0 up.
Italy finally equalised in the second half when Gabriele made space for a shot and kept it low past Peter. Francesco R was unlucky not to restore his side's lead, but his well-struck shot came thumping back off the post.
Italy then stole the points when Nathan dribbled through the middle of the French defence and shot home.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Peter 5, Jacopo 4, Francesco R 4, Lapo 3, Nathan 2, Gabriele 1, Guerrino 1, Bernardo 1

Teachers 2-0 Grade 8

The teachers maintained their 100% record with their third victory of the week. Against a strong-looking G8, Mr. Kisling broke the deadlock. He collected the ball with his back to goal, turned well, drifted past two defenders and scored low into the opposite corner: textbook stuff.
Noah Gallo had his team's first real chance when he found space on the right but Mr. Griffiths closed him down quickly. Sasha too made a good chance for himself. He cut inside and unleashed a good shot but Ms. Cianni got her body bravely in the way. Sasha then headed past his own goalkeeper and his team was in trouble.
But G8 had a glimmer of hope when Ms Cianni handled in her own area. Sam stepped up to take the penalty. He placed it well but Mr 'Cat' Blake sprang explosively to his right and pulled off a fantastic save.
Noah had another chance from the left late on but Mr Blake saved this one too and the teachers wrapped up the win.
BEST PLAYERS: Mr Blake; Sasha

Transfer Market: 2

The girls got their chance to spend some money today and, not surprisingly, Lucrezia fetched the highest price at 68 million: see Teams page for all the news.

Germany	Portugal	England
Jaan	Fatou	Eilidh
Beatriz	Marcela	Antonella
Lea	Chiara	Leila
Juna	Grace	Yara
Lucrezia	Ginevra	Raffaella
Giulia	Mia	Margarida
Lucie	Celeste	Matilde
Helena	Gaia	Allison
	Saya

Transfer Market

After an exciting January transfer window which saw Sasha being bought for a record price of 71 million euro, Francesco R for 40m and Gabriele for 30m, the teams are now all set for the Spring Intramural: see calendar page. Goalkeepers Ascanio (37m) and Peter (30m) were also expensive buys and each of the captains will be looking to their new star players to shine!

Italy	Ireland	France	Spain	Sweden
Jacopo	Finnian	Guerrino	Alex	Giovanni
Matteo	Zeno	Matthew	Nicholas	Tanner
Max	Edo J	AnZhe	Thomas	Pietu
Lapo	Tiberio	Bernardo	Edo P	Manfredi
Federico	Falco	Francesco R	Jerry	Ramnath
Gabriele	Aden	Francesco C	Taro	Michael
Nathan	Sasha	Peter	Ascanio	Noah
Niccolo’	Andrew	Alessandro	Laith	Sam
Giuseppe			Edo R

Teachers 4-0 Grade 7

The first chance of the game fell to Mr. Kisling and his reverse shot went just wide. Edo R then had a chance at the other end but Mr Leavy blocked him well on a narrow angle.
Mr. Blake's pace is always a formidable weapon and he used it to good effect to put the teachers ahead. The teachers then made it 2-0 before half time; Miss Cianni's quick feet controlled the ball with one touch and shot to the back of the net with a second touch before any of the students knew what was happening.
Thomas Griffiths was unlucky not to score after a tremendous run across the teachers' defence; his curling shot struck the post and went wide. The teachers though continued to pile on the pressure; Mr. Max directed a header to goal but Mr Piccolo deflected it over the bar. Mr. Max was on form though and rolled the third goal in with a neat finish to the bottom corner. Mr Blake broke away again and finished clinically to score the fourth.
BEST PLAYERS: Francesco Carrocci; Miss Cianni  

Teachers 2-0 Grade 6

The teachers dominated possession but could not score. Under pressure from late call-up Mr Calento, the G6 goalkeeper bundled the ball into his own net for the first goal.
Mr Piccolo's clever corner bounced in off the near-post defender to make it 2-0.
BEST PLAYERS: Miss Westelaken; Manfredi

Spring Intramural: New Captains, New Teams, Transfer Market - will the excitement never end?

As usual, the Spring IM leagues will begin with a furious round of trading between the captains to determine the make-up of the new teams.

Here are the new captains, the new teams and the players on the market.

If your name is not here abut you WOULD like to play, then please tell us at once!

BOYS

Italy	Ireland	France	Spain	Sweden
Jacopo	Finnian	Guerrino	Alex	Giovanni
Matteo	Zeno	Matthew	Nicholas	Tanner
Max	Edo J	Edo R	Thomas	Pietu
Lapo	Lorenzo	AnZhe	Edo P	Manfredi
Federico	Falco	Bernardo	Jerry
TRANSFER MARKET Ramnath Giuseppe Francesco R Niccolo Peter Edo R Gabriele Noah Francesco C Michael Taro Andrew Ascanio Sasha Sam Alessandro Aden Nathan Tiberio Laith
GIRLS
Germany Portugal England Jaan Fatou Eilidh Beatriz Marcela Antonella Lea Chiara Leila Juna Grace Yara TRANSFER MARKET Lucrezia         Allison            Ginevra          Celeste            Lucie            Raffaella Helena            Gaia             Mia                Margarida            Giulia            Matilde