League

Lupiae Stadium
Spectators: 7500 (Terracing: 5625, Seating: 1725, VIP seats: 150) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Fabio Mandelli took the kick off in the first half of the match. After a defensive mix-up in Lupiae Salento's zone, Cosimo Polidori stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Ernesto Bussi came out of the goal and Cosimo Polidori tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 5th minute, Şehzade Akburç got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Şehzade Akburç in the 20th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Ernesto Bussi saved Lupiae Salento from getting behind. When Ciro Stumpo came up free with the goalie in the 21st minute, the Fortaleza 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 Ciro Stumpo couldn't finish the play. Cosimo Polidori received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 22nd minute. Ernesto Bussi tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. 24 minutes into the match, Cosimo Polidori notched a goal, 0-1, to the right of Lupiae Salento's Ernesto Bussi. Ernesto Bussi was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. An unexpectedly hard shot by Şehzade Akburç in the 29th minute of play forced Lupiae Salento's goalkeeper Ernesto Bussi to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 33rd minute, Francesco Grifoni hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Alvise Schiacciacasse charged in rather forcefully in the 35th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Alvise Schiacciacasse the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. The supporters of Fortaleza booed when Lupiae Salento was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 35 match minutes in a wonderful position. Alvise Schiacciacasse didn't get a good kick on the ball. Cosimo Polidori recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 35th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Ernesto Bussi made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Şehzade Akburç in the 37th minute of play. In the 38th minute, Şehzade Akburç made a precise shot to the right of Ernesto Bussi. Lupiae Salento's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-2. After a defensive mix-up in Lupiae Salento's zone, Cosimo Polidori stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Ernesto Bussi came out of the goal and Cosimo Polidori tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-2 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Şehzade Akburç was the one to do the kick off. Şehzade Akburç came free with the goalkeeper in the 55th minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Ernesto Bussi could save by the left post. A collision led to Lupiae Salento getting a freekick after 63 minutes play. Eraldo Fortuna hit a great ball. Fortaleza made a substitution. Corrado Pietropaolo replaced Ciro Stumpo. 72 minutes into the match, Lupiae Salento's goalkeeper Ernesto Bussi had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Şehzade Akburç. Cosimo Polidori sent away a hard shot on goal in the 73rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. When Cosimo Polidori came up free with the goalie in the 78th minute, the Fortaleza 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 Cosimo Polidori couldn't finish the play. After some careless play in the Lupiae Salento defense, Şehzade Akburç kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Ernesto Bussi. The Lupiae Salento fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Ernesto Bussi should have stopped the shot. 91 minutes had been played when some careless play by Lupiae Salento's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Don Cabeza was slow to take the kick. During this time Fortaleza's players had a chance to rest. After taking down the ball on Fortaleza's corner Don Cabeza fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Ernesto Bussi quite easily take care of the ball. Christian Campoli showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Eraldo Fortuna, who was totally free with the ball in the 96th minute. When the match was over Fortaleza could go home with a victory in their luggage, having controlled the game far better than Lupiae Salento throughout the match.