U23 World League

Blackwater Park
Spectators: 7719 (Terracing: 5793, Seating: 1776, VIP seats: 150) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Davide Onori took the kick off in the first half of the match. After having played for 6 minutes, George Gustafsson managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Panopticon 04's supporters crossed their fingers, but George Gustafsson 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 10th match minute, Lunatics of Arianrhod was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Ennio Caruso to maneuver through the defense. Fabien Lafont came out of the goal in the 15th minute to try and stop a shot by Lunatics of Arianrhod's Amerigo Melucci. But to his dismay, Amerigo Melucci quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-2. 18 minutes into the match, Panopticon 04's goal looked a bit too open when Davide Onori came free, but Fabien Lafont reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Davide Onori in the 27th minute of play forced Panopticon 04's goalkeeper Fabien Lafont to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 28th minute, Carter Basilico hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Adriano Fracassi was out of position in the 30 minute of play, and George Gustafsson capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. George Gustafsson really showed his touch with that goal: 1-2. Fabien Lafont showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Ettore Corvi, who was totally free with the ball in the 34th minute. Fabien Lafont took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Davide Onori, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 37 minutes into the game, Gilbert Brandt was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Panopticon 04's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Lunatics of Arianrhod the free kick. Gilbert Brandt hit a great freekick 37 minutes into the match. In the 38th minute, Lunatics of Arianrhod's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Gilbert Brandt fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. In the 42nd minute, Amerigo Melucci left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Lunatics of Arianrhod fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-3. In the 46th minute, Davide Onori made a precise shot to the right of Fabien Lafont. Panopticon 04's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-4. After the first half Lunatics of Arianrhod were leading 1-4. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Mark Vallin stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. After 53 minutes, Ove Dahlqvist mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Panopticon 04 and the Lunatics of Arianrhod players grew even worse after the yellow card. Lunatics of Arianrhod's Adriano Fracassi played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by George Gustafsson in the 56th minute of play. After some careless play in the Lunatics of Arianrhod defense, Gilbert Brandt kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Adriano Fracassi. The Lunatics of Arianrhod fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Adriano Fracassi should have stopped the shot. In the 63rd minute Ettore Corvi shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Fabien Lafont saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. If George Gustafsson had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 66th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Adriano Fracassi showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Mark Vallin, who was totally free with the ball in the 67th minute. Adriano Fracassi took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from George Gustafsson, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Fabien Lafont made a fantastic save in the 72nd minute, when Davide Onori sent off a good shot on target. The audience was convinced that Mark Vallin's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Adriano Fracassi was relentless in the 73rd minute of the game. When the match had gone on for 76 minutes, Davide Onori took a quick shot and it went in 2-5 without a chance for Fabien Lafont to make any attempt to save it. Adriano Fracassi took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Gilbert Brandt, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The crowd rose to their feet as Lunatics of Arianrhod's Ettore Corvi slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Fabien Lafont. That made the score 2-7 after 84 minutes of play. If Ove Dahlqvist had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 90th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The Lunatics of Arianrhod supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Lunatics of Arianrhod would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.