League

Atherton Stadium
Spectators: 7712 (Terracing: 5826, Seating: 1786, VIP seats: 100) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Cameron Watson started the match with the kick off. Brant Merritt fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 6th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Stephen Albrecht having to interfere. Stephen Albrecht showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Norbert Cardwell in the 7th minute of the match. Norbert Cardwell fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 9th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Stephen Albrecht having to interfere. Stephen Albrecht showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Norbert Cardwell, who was totally free with the ball in the 11th minute. In the 16th minute Brant Merritt shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Stephen Albrecht saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Azzurri's Jarod Barnhart got a good chance for a goal in the 22nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. In the 23rd match minute, Mexico86 was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Mervin Starkey to maneuver through the defense. In the 28th minute, Norbert Cardwell got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Norbert Cardwell received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 35th minute. Stephen Albrecht tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. When Azzurri's Norbert Cardwell in the 39th minute got a chance for a shot 39th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Mexico86's goalie prevented a goal. With a little luck, Azzurri's Tad Stiles got control of the ball when Fabian Lott tried to sneak it across the goal line. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Robert Courtney during the 41st minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. The Mexico86 players were disheartened as they walked off the pitch after the first half. Azzurri were winning 0-1.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Norbert Cardwell made a kick off. Tad Stiles made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Giuseppe Gunter in the 51st minute of play. In the 54th minute of the match, Brant Merritt got a very nice opportunity to score, but Stephen Albrecht was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. The attack was good, but when Norbert Cardwell in the 55th minute was about to shoot he didn't kick quite good enough and the ball went high over goal. The crowd rose to their feet as Andrew Gibbons kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Stephen Albrecht. That made the score 0-2 in the 58 minute of play. After some careless play in the Mexico86 defense, Jarod Barnhart kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Stephen Albrecht. The Mexico86 fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Stephen Albrecht should have stopped the shot. 71 minutes into the match, Norbert Cardwell dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Stephen Albrecht, 0-4. Azzurri's Brant Merritt got a good chance for a goal in the 76th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. The audience thought a goal was coming when Brant Merritt got free with Stephen Albrecht in the 80th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Norbert Cardwell received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 97th minute. Stephen Albrecht tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Azzurri's players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.