U21 World League

COLOSSEUM
Spectators: 7678 (Terracing: 5759, Seating: 1766, VIP seats: 153) Jean-Claude Van Damme made the kick off and thus started the match. 3 minutes into the match, Gladiator FC's goal looked a bit too open when Arnold Schwarzenegger came free, but Aurelio Epifani reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Emiliano Federici kicked well hit freekick during the 6th minute of the match. In the 9th minute Bianco Carozza shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Kjell-Arne Hultman saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The supporters of Gladiator FC booed when MAFFIAN was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 11 match minutes in a wonderful position. Sylvester Stallone didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 17 played minutes Gladiator FC got a freekick which was hit by Enzo Guaita. Mark Widberg lost his temper 20 minutes into the game and shoved another player to the ground. He was immediately shown a red card. Kjell-Arne Hultman made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Beppe Rivera in the 22nd minute of play. Jean-Claude Van Damme blasted a shot towards the goal in the 25th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Aurelio Epifani having to make a save. After some careless play in the Gladiator FC defense, Jean-Claude Van Damme kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Aurelio Epifani. The Gladiator FC fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Aurelio Epifani should have stopped the shot. A collision led to Gladiator FC getting a freekick after 31 minutes play. Enzo Guaita hit a great ball. Aurelio Epifani made an important save on a dangerous shot by Jean-Claude Van Damme in the 32nd minute. In the 34th minute, Fabiano Tatangelo left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Gladiator FC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-1. Aurelio Epifani showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Alvar Kollberg in the 37th minute of the match. After a defensive mix-up in Gladiator FC's zone, Jean-Claude Van Damme stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Aurelio Epifani came out of the goal and Jean-Claude Van Damme tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 46th minute Beppe Rivera shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Kjell-Arne Hultman saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The score stood at 1-1 when the half time whistle went. Both sets of players seemed reasonably pleased with how the match was going.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Beppe Rivera was the one to do the kick off. Enzo Guaita's late challenge caught a MAFFIAN's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Enzo Guaita helped the player get up and apologised. In the 51st match minute, Gladiator FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Enzo Guaita to maneuver through the defense. In the 52nd minute of the match Sylvester Stallone shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Aurelio Epifani showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. Jean-Claude Van Damme scored 2-1 in the 53rd match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Aurelio Epifani, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Aurelio Epifani made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Jean-Claude Van Damme in the 59th minute of play. Aurelio Epifani didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Jean-Claude Van Damme went, in the 61st minute, to the upper right corner, 3-1 was the resulting score. MAFFIAN's Michael Klack was substituted for Jörn Gustafsson. An unexpectedly hard shot by Sylvester Stallone in the 67th minute of play forced Gladiator FC's goalkeeper Aurelio Epifani to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. With an all-out effort, Gladiator FC's Kjell-Arne Hultman threw himself towards the right post 78 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Beppe Rivera, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Jean-Claude Van Damme in the 83rd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Aurelio Epifani saved Gladiator FC from getting behind. Kjell-Arne Hultman took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Beppe Rivera, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 87th minute of the match, Enzo Guaita got a very nice opportunity to score, but Kjell-Arne Hultman was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. In the 89th minute, Beppe Rivera made a precise shot to the right of Kjell-Arne Hultman. MAFFIAN's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 3-2. Kjell-Arne Hultman showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Dave Gambini in the 96th minute of the match. The corner ended in Fabiano Tatangelo almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but MAFFIAN's Kjell-Arne Hultman did a great save. MAFFIAN were really happy, having secured the victory after a very even contest. They thanked the players of Gladiator FC for a fine match.