U18 World League

Stadio Avenza
Spectators: 7724 (Terracing: 5794, Seating: 1776, VIP seats: 154) Go Ahead Eagles's Giannis Papakostopoulos 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. David Beckham received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 3rd minute. Arrigo Del Grosso tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The crowd rose to their feet as Duri come il marmo's Fulvio Di Crescenzo slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Themistoklis Charalambakis. That made the score 1-0 after 5 minutes of play. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Giannis Papakostopoulos in the 7th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Arrigo Del Grosso saved Duri come il marmo from getting behind. In the 10th minute, Giannis Papakostopoulos ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Arrigo Del Grosso was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-1. After 14 minutes, Giannis Papakostopoulos made it 1-2 with a short kick to the right side. Duri come il marmo's Arrigo Del Grosso tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. 1-3 became the score in the 16th minute when Giannis Papakostopoulos elegantly shot the ball into goal just under the crossbar. Duri come il marmo's Arrigo Del Grosso played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Giannis Papakostopoulos in the 19th minute of play. The crowd rose to their feet as Duri come il marmo's Attilio Feliziani slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Themistoklis Charalambakis. That made the score 2-3 after 20 minutes of play. The audience was convinced that Giannis Papakostopoulos's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Arrigo Del Grosso was relentless in the 24th minute of the game. 29 minutes into the match, Duri come il marmo's goal looked a bit too open when David Beckham came free, but Arrigo Del Grosso reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Attilio Feliziani kicked well hit freekick during the 31st minute of the match. Arrigo Del Grosso stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Giannis Papakostopoulos's shot from short distance in the 33rd minute. Arrigo Del Grosso stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Giannis Papakostopoulos's shot from short distance in the 34th minute. In the 42nd minute, Fortunato Malvezzi left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Duri come il marmo fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-3. The fans had the chance to grab some refreshments as the whistle went for half-time. The score stood at 3-3 after a close first half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Fulvio Di Crescenzo to make the kick off. David Beckham's late challenge caught a Duri come il marmo's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. David Beckham helped the player get up and apologised. After a rather tough play, Go Ahead Eagles's David Beckham got a free kick in the 50th minute. 52 minutes into the match, Duri come il marmo's goalkeeper Arrigo Del Grosso had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Giannis Papakostopoulos. Giannis Papakostopoulos who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 55thth minute tested the skills of Arrigo Del Grosso when he managed to save the team from getting behind. The audience was convinced that Giannis Papakostopoulos's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Arrigo Del Grosso was relentless in the 55th minute of the game. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Giannis Papakostopoulos in the 59th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Arrigo Del Grosso prevented the ball from getting in the gole. An unexpectedly hard shot by Florian Del Greco in the 62nd minute of play forced Go Ahead Eagles's goalkeeper Themistoklis Charalambakis to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Giannis Papakostopouloss short, quick shot in the 67thth minute got Arrigo Del Grosso to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. When Ettore Abete fell near the penalty area in the 67th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Duri come il marmo's protests and gave Ettore Abete a yellow card for diving instead. A collision led to Duri come il marmo getting a freekick after 67 minutes play. Ettore Abete hit a great ball. Giannis Papakostopoulos who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 70thth minute tested the skills of Arrigo Del Grosso when he managed to save the team from getting behind. When the match had gone on for 72 minutes, David Beckham put it in 3-4 from a short distance just to the right of Arrigo Del Grosso. 76 minutes into the match, Duri come il marmo's goalkeeper Arrigo Del Grosso had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by David Beckham. After a rather tough play, Duri come il marmo's Ettore Abete got a free kick in the 76th minute. When Go Ahead Eagles's Giannis Papakostopoulos in the 79th minute got a chance for a shot 79th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Duri come il marmo's goalie prevented a goal. After 80 minutes, Giannis Papakostopoulos made it 3-5 with a short kick to the right side. Duri come il marmo's Arrigo Del Grosso tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. The Duri come il marmo fans had already started to leave before the final whistle blew. Go Ahead Eagles were clearly better and deserved to take the win.