Challenge

Stadio E Scida
Spectators: 43 (Terracing: 33, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Kroton F.C.'s Cristiano Chitarroni 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. In the 5th minute Fabrizio Vieri suffered a thigh injury and had to be helped off the field. Siricio Liotta charged in rather forcefully in the 5th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Siricio Liotta the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Italy's Flavio Vittori proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 12th minute of the match, managed to save Italy from getting a goal against them. Italy's Flavio Vittori played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Camillo Pavlu in the 14th minute of play. In the 16th minute Kroton F.C. were awarded a corner. Patrick Vieira went to the cornerflag to take it. 22 minutes into the match, Italy's goalkeeper Flavio Vittori had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Cristiano Chitarroni. Zaccheo Andolina's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Martin Eriksson read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 24th minute of play. Flavio Vittori made a fantastic save in the 28th minute, when Cristiano Chitarroni sent off a good shot on target. Martin Eriksson showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Zaccheo Andolina, who was totally free with the ball in the 31st minute. Zaccheo Andolina sent away a hard shot on goal in the 32nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Kroton F.C.'s Martin Eriksson played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Sigfrido Auletta in the 36th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Zaccheo Andolina in the 39th minute of play forced Kroton F.C.'s goalkeeper Martin Eriksson to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 41st minute Zaccheo Andolina shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Martin Eriksson saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Italy's Siricio Liotta managed, thanks to a brazen rush, stole the ball on a throw-in made by Paolo Cannavaro in the 45 minute of the game. The fans had the chance to grab some refreshments as the whistle went for half-time. The score stood at 0-0 after a close first half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Zaccheo Andolina to make the kick off. Flavio Vittori showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Johannes Støle, who was totally free with the ball in the 54th minute. Martin Eriksson made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Zaccheo Andolina in the 60th minute of play. The audience thought a goal was coming when Sigfrido Auletta got free with Martin Eriksson in the 62nd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 63rd minute of the match, Zaccheo Andolina tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Martin Eriksson saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. Johannes Støle fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 64th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Flavio Vittori having to interfere. When Zaccheo Andolina came up free with the goalie in the 67th minute, the Italy 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 Zaccheo Andolina couldn't finish the play. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Zaccheo Andolina in the 69th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Martin Eriksson prevented the ball from getting in the gole. If Sigfrido Auletta had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 72nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Italy's Siricio Liotta quite brazenly broke a throw-in by Paolo Cannavaro, made in the 77th minute of the game. After a rather tough play, Kroton F.C.'s Severino Messias got a free kick in the 80th minute. After 81 minutes of play, Italy's Porziano Marchitelli made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Martin Eriksson was left in no man's land by his defense there! Italy's Adriano Curto was substituted for Zaccheo Andolina. In the 85th minute Siricio Liotta suffered a thigh injury and had to be helped off the field. Severino Messias's late challenge caught a Italy's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Severino Messias helped the player get up and apologised. After a rather tough play, Kroton F.C.'s Severino Messias got a free kick in the 85th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Adriano Curto in the 88th minute of play forced Kroton F.C.'s goalkeeper Martin Eriksson to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The crowd rose to their feet as Porziano Marchitelli kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Martin Eriksson. That made the score 0-2 in the 93 minute of play. Italy played a much better game than Kroton F.C. and deserved their victory. The Kroton F.C. players were clearly disappointed as they left the ground.