Official Cup

Gian Maria Volonté
Spectators: 175 (Terracing: 132, Seating: 40, VIP seats: 3) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Monty Burnette got the match started through his kick off. An unexpectedly hard shot by Hiram Compton in the 2nd minute of play forced San Michele AFC's goalkeeper Arrigo Apicella to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After a defensive mix-up in Azzurri FC's zone, Edmondo Pellecchia stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Kristofer Prater came out of the goal and Edmondo Pellecchia tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. San Michele AFC:s Arrigo Apicella showed great skill when he stopped Hiram Compton:s penalty. A collision led to San Michele AFC getting a freekick after 13 minutes play. Augusto Caligaris hit a great ball. Arrigo Apicella showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Demetrius Cho in the 14th minute of the match. After 15 played minutes Azzurri FC got a freekick which was hit by Norman Herndon. Kristofer Prater didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Edmondo Pellecchia went, in the 17th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-0 was the resulting score. An unexpectedly hard shot by Monty Burnette in the 20th minute of play forced San Michele AFC's goalkeeper Arrigo Apicella to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 21st minute Monty Burnette shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Arrigo Apicella saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 28th minute, Monty Burnette made a precise shot to the right of Arrigo Apicella. San Michele AFC's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-1. In the 32nd match minute, Azzurri FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Christoper Kearney to maneuver through the defense. Christoper Kearney charged in rather forcefully in the 33rd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Christoper Kearney the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. A collision led to Azzurri FC getting a freekick after 33 minutes play. Christoper Kearney hit a great ball. Arrigo Apicella took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Demetrius Cho, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. San Michele AFC's Arrigo Apicella played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Monty Burnette in the 39th minute of play. In the 39thth minute of the game Monty Burnette who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but San Michele AFC's Arrigo Apicella was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. The Azzurri FC fans' excitement grew in the 39th match minute when Azzurri FC's Monty Burnette looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 1-2 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. After 44 minutes of play, Azzurri FC's Demetrius Cho made it 1-3 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Arrigo Apicella was left in no man's land by his defense there! After the first half Azzurri FC were leading 1-3. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Edmondo Pellecchia stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. San Michele AFC's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Alex Palumbo in the 53rd minute. After taking down the ball on San Michele AFC's corner Alex Palumbo fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Kristofer Prater quite easily take care of the ball. Arrigo Apicella made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Monty Burnette in the 57th minute of play. 58 minutes into the match, San Michele AFC's goal looked a bit too open when Samuel Casgrain came free, but Arrigo Apicella reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Davide De Luca struck a weak shot in the 60th minute. Kristofer Prater didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for San Michele AFC. When Monty Burnette fell near the penalty area in the 61st minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Azzurri FC's protests and gave Monty Burnette a yellow card for diving instead. 65 minutes into the match, Azzurri FC's goal looked a bit too open when Fedele Angelucci came free, but Kristofer Prater reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Arrigo Apicella made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Monty Burnette in the 70th minute of play. San Michele AFC's Arrigo Apicella played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Samuel Casgrain in the 75th minute of play. After 78 played minutes San Michele AFC got a freekick which was hit by Edoardo Paoletti. Arrigo Apicella made a fantastic save in the 81st minute, when Norris Fuentes sent off a good shot on target. Arrigo Apicella made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Samuel Casgrain in the 84th minute of play. Arrigo Apicella was a little too slow when Samuel Casgrain got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 87th minute. The score was now 1-5. In the 90th minute, Monty Burnette reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Arrigo Apicella. The goal made the score 1-6. The San Michele AFC fans had already started to leave before the final whistle blew. Azzurri FC were clearly better and deserved to take the win.