Friendly League

ELLAND ROAD
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Cristiano Mandara made the kick off and thus started the match. Concetto Garibaldi took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Abelardo Ledesma, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 14th match minute, XMAS was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Domenico Mantini to maneuver through the defense. 15 minutes into the match, XMAS's goalkeeper Concetto Garibaldi had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Abelardo Ledesma. Through an outstanding action, after 17 minutes, Concetto Garibaldi successfully got his hands on the ball before it slid into the goal at the right post. Angel Calisto took the ball and in the 17 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Concetto Garibaldi. Concetto Garibaldi dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-0. After 19 played minutes XMAS got a freekick which was hit by Ferruccio Cesaroni. 20 minutes into the match, Abelardo Ledesma had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Concetto Garibaldi. XMAS's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Abelardo Ledesma was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-0. After a rather tough play, Kaplan's Jimeno Barros got a free kick in the 26th minute. Domenico Mantini took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 27th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for René Higuita. Kaplan's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. The supporters of Kaplan booed when XMAS was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 36 match minutes in a wonderful position. Eugenio Casiraghi didn't get a good kick on the ball. 37 minutes into the match, XMAS's goalkeeper Concetto Garibaldi had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Abelardo Ledesma. Nunez Urtzi kicked well hit freekick during the 38th minute of the match. Concetto Garibaldi didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Abelardo Ledesma went, in the 43rd minute, to the upper right corner, 3-0 was the resulting score. René Higuita showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Cristiano Mandara in the 48th minute of the match. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 3-0 at half-time.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Abelardo Ledesma to strike the kick off in the second half. When Abelardo Ledesma fell near the penalty area in the 52nd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Kaplan's protests and gave Abelardo Ledesma a yellow card for diving instead. After 52 played minutes Kaplan got a freekick which was hit by Abelardo Ledesma. In the 61st minute Abelardo Ledesma shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Concetto Garibaldi saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The supporters of Kaplan booed when XMAS was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 67 match minutes in a wonderful position. Eugenio Casiraghi didn't get a good kick on the ball. Abelardo Ledesma kicked well hit freekick during the 69th minute of the match. After having played for 72 minutes, Abelardo Ledesma managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Kaplan's supporters crossed their fingers, but Abelardo Ledesma was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Kaplan's René Higuita played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Christian Zaccardi in the 78th minute of play. Amador Bela hit a great freekick 79 minutes into the match. When Domenico Mantini came up free with the goalie in the 79th minute, the XMAS 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 Domenico Mantini couldn't finish the play. In the 89th play minute Alessio Ascoli came free and shot an unsuspected shot which went into goal from the right pole behind a surprised René Higuita. 3-1. The supporters of XMAS booed when Kaplan was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 95 match minutes in a wonderful position. Aristides Avellaneda didn't get a good kick on the ball. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered when the referee blew the final whistle. Kaplan had won after a very even match.