U23 World League

OldHighbury
Spectators: 7467 (Terracing: 5601, Seating: 1717, VIP seats: 149) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Tautrimas Gabriūnas got the match started through his kick off. In the 3rdth minute of the game Tautrimas Gabriūnas who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but OldHighburyInvincibles's Frank Di Cristofaro was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Frank Di Cristofaro came out of the goal in the 5th minute to try and stop a shot by FK Užnemunė SLAVA UKRAINI's Tautrimas Gabriūnas. But to his dismay, Tautrimas Gabriūnas quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-1. A collision led to FK Užnemunė SLAVA UKRAINI getting a freekick after 8 minutes play. Hubertas Radzinevičius hit a great ball. Raimondas Bitėnas was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Bianco Giandomenico showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 1-1 in the 13 minute of play. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Tautrimas Gabriūnas in the 16th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Frank Di Cristofaro saved OldHighburyInvincibles from getting behind. 20 minutes into the game, Tautrimas Gabriūnas cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 1-2. Frank Di Cristofaro was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. If Tautrimas Gabriūnas had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 23rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Frank Di Cristofaro took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Tautrimas Gabriūnas, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. When FK Užnemunė SLAVA UKRAINI's Tautrimas Gabriūnas in 30 game minutes managed to cut through with the ball in front of the goal, only having to shoot. Frank Di Cristofaro guarding the goal like a pit bull was extremely focused and managed to reach the ball just by the crossbar before it went in. Orestas Kontautas blasted a shot towards the goal in the 34th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Frank Di Cristofaro having to make a save. Frank Di Cristofaro made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Orestas Kontautas in the 35th minute of play. After some fancy dribbling in the 39th minute, Tautrimas Gabriūnas managed to get in a good position for a shot. FK Užnemunė SLAVA UKRAINI's supporters rose to their feet, but Tautrimas Gabriūnas was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Frank Di Cristofaro breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. An unexpectedly hard shot by Donato Carosella in the 43rd minute of play forced FK Užnemunė SLAVA UKRAINI's goalkeeper Raimondas Bitėnas to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After the first half FK Užnemunė SLAVA UKRAINI were leading 1-5. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Donato Carosella was the one to do the kick off. Tautrimas Gabriūnas in the 51stth minute had a little luck and got a chance for a shot in front of the goal. Without hesitation aimed to the right of Frank Di Cristofaro, who managed to lunge to the right direction and made a save. Tautrimas Gabriūnas fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 52nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Frank Di Cristofaro having to interfere. Man Galas charged in rather forcefully in the 53rd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Man Galas the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Man Galas kicked well hit freekick during the 53rd minute of the match. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Tautrimas Gabriūnas in the 56th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Frank Di Cristofaro saved OldHighburyInvincibles from getting behind. An unexpectedly hard shot by Tautrimas Gabriūnas in the 59th minute of play forced OldHighburyInvincibles's goalkeeper Frank Di Cristofaro to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. A collision led to OldHighburyInvincibles getting a freekick after 59 minutes play. Carlo Taraborrelli hit a great ball. With splendid footwork Tautrimas Gabriūnas arrived in front of goal to shoot 1-6 by the left pole in the game's 60th minute. After 64 played minutes Tautrimas Gabriūnas rounded OldHighburyInvincibles's defense and shot a beautiful shot into goal via left pole - 1-7. 69 minutes into the game, Tautrimas Gabriūnas lined in a short shot 1-8 behind a frustrated Frank Di Cristofaro. 1-9 became the score in the 72nd minute when Tautrimas Gabriūnas elegantly shot the ball into goal just under the crossbar. FK Užnemunė SLAVA UKRAINI's Nojus Švedas got a good chance for a goal in the 83rd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Frank Di Cristofaro showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Tautrimas Gabriūnas in the 85th minute of the match. After having played for 87 minutes, Nojus Švedas managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. FK Užnemunė SLAVA UKRAINI's supporters crossed their fingers, but Nojus Švedas was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Tautrimas Gabriūnas in the 88th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Frank Di Cristofaro prevented the ball from getting in the gole. In the 91st minute Tautrimas Gabriūnas shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Frank Di Cristofaro saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. When the final whistle sounded FK Užnemunė SLAVA UKRAINI left the ground with the victory after a much better performance than OldHighburyInvincibles.