U18 World League

Kalahari Desert
Spectators: 7488 (Terracing: 5617, Seating: 1722, VIP seats: 149) Armin Piccone started the match with the kick off in front of an excited audience. In the 2nd match minute, Bar Marconi United was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Armin Piccone to maneuver through the defense. After a defensive mix-up in Bar Marconi United's zone, Fabio Rapa stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Fausto Pellecchia came out of the goal and Fabio Rapa tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After 4 minutes, Concetto Azzolina mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Bar Marconi United and the Meerkats FC players grew even worse after the yellow card. Concetto Azzolina hit a great freekick 4 minutes into the match. In the 7th minute, Enzo Cera 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. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Alberigo Pomponio during the 11th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. A collision led to Bar Marconi United getting a freekick after 11 minutes play. Alberigo Pomponio hit a great ball. The supporters of Meerkats FC booed when Bar Marconi United was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 13 match minutes in a wonderful position. Alex Castagna didn't get a good kick on the ball. When Alex Castagna fell near the penalty area in the 16th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Bar Marconi United's protests and gave Alex Castagna a yellow card for diving instead. After 16 played minutes Bar Marconi United got a freekick which was hit by Alex Castagna. When Enzo Cera came up free with the goalie in the 19th minute, the Bar Marconi United 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 Enzo Cera couldn't finish the play. Alberigo Pomponio was shown his second yellow card after 21 minutes, following a rather ugly tackle on opponent. That was the end of his participation in the match. Armin Piccone scored 0-1 in the 24th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of William Troisi, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Fabio Rapa received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 27th minute. Fausto Pellecchia tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Antoine Miggiani succeeded in the game's 33rd minute to shoot an unreachable shot under the crossbar and scored - 1-1. When Ryan Mallia fell near the penalty area in the 47th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Meerkats FC's protests and gave Ryan Mallia a yellow card for diving instead. Ryan Mallia kicked well hit freekick during the 47th minute of the match.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Fabio Rapa to make the kick off. After having played for 54 minutes, Armin Piccone managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Bar Marconi United's supporters crossed their fingers, but Armin Piccone was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. In the 56th minute the ball was on its way in behind Bar Marconi United's goalkeeper Fausto Pellecchia, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. After 70 played minutes Bar Marconi United got a freekick which was hit by Concetto Azzolina. Fausto Pellecchia showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Antoine Miggiani in the 72nd minute of the match. Fausto Pellecchia showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Fabio Rapa, who was totally free with the ball in the 73rd minute. When the match had gone on for 76 minutes, Antoine Miggiani put it in 2-1 from a short distance just to the right of Fausto Pellecchia. After 79 played minutes Meerkats FC got a freekick which was hit by Stephen Bonnici. Armin Piccone's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but William Troisi read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 82nd minute of play. After a rather tough play, Bar Marconi United's Alex Castagna got a free kick in the 90th minute.