U18 World League

Merceron Arena
Spectators: 7463 (Terracing: 5598, Seating: 1716, VIP seats: 149) Merceron United's Anthony Ruzzi started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Anthony Ruzzi could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 3rd minute of the match, but Jens Alebäck made a huge save. When Dario Gelsomini came up free with the goalie in the 6th minute, the Merceron United fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Dario Gelsomini couldn't finish the play. Jens Alebäck took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Dario Gelsomini, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. If Nils-Åke Lindberg had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 17th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. If Nils-Åke Lindberg had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 19th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After having played for 23 minutes, Dino Facchetti managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Merceron United's supporters crossed their fingers, but Dino Facchetti was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Carmine Latini made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Nils-Åke Lindberg in the 30th minute of play. Jens Alebäck made a fantastic save in the 35th minute, when Anthony Ruzzi sent off a good shot on target. A collision led to Bora Bora getting a freekick after 36 minutes play. Lars-Erik Fransson hit a great ball. In the 37th minute, Dario Gelsomini reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Jens Alebäck. The goal made the score 2-0. After a rather tough play, Merceron United's Alexander Longo got a free kick in the 40th minute. Jens Alebäck made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Dario Gelsomini in the 43rd minute of play. After 44 played minutes Bora Bora got a freekick which was hit by Sigvard Paulin. Anthony Ruzzi charged in rather forcefully in the 46th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Anthony Ruzzi the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. A collision led to Merceron United getting a freekick after 46 minutes play. Anthony Ruzzi hit a great ball. The away team players looked dejected as the walked off the pitch at half time. They had fought hard, but were still losing 2-0.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Nils-Åke Lindberg stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Damiano Perazzolo charged in rather forcefully in the 52nd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Damiano Perazzolo the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. A collision led to Merceron United getting a freekick after 52 minutes play. Damiano Perazzolo hit a great ball. The long shot by Bernt Lund in the 53rd minute really tested Carmine Latini's skills. The ball was on its way into the goal to the left of him when he managed to stretch himself and save the shot and avoid a goal. After 55 minutes of play, Merceron United's Anthony Ruzzi made it 3-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Jens Alebäck was left in no man's land by his defense there! Bora Bora's Jens Alebäck played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Dario Gelsomini in the 62nd minute of play. The audience was convinced that Nils-Åke Lindberg's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Carmine Latini was relentless in the 70th minute of the game. After a defensive mix-up in Bora Bora's zone, Dario Gelsomini stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Jens Alebäck came out of the goal and Dario Gelsomini tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Jan-Ove Axelsson kicked well hit freekick during the 75th minute of the match. Jens Alebäck stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Anthony Ruzzi's shot from short distance in the 76th minute. When Sven-Olof Gernberg fell near the penalty area in the 77th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Bora Bora's protests and gave Sven-Olof Gernberg a yellow card for diving instead. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Anthony Ruzzi in the 78th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Jens Alebäck prevented the ball from getting in the gole. 80 minutes into the match, Dino Facchetti had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Jens Alebäck. Bora Bora's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Dino Facchetti was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 4-0. Jens Alebäck took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Concetto Tiberio, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 85 minutes had been played when some careless play by Bora Bora's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Dario Gelsomini was slow to take the kick. During this time Merceron United's players had a chance to rest. A nice corner shot did that Dario Gelsomini got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Jens Alebäck quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save.