Official Cup

Artemio Franchi
Spectators: 166 (Terracing: 125, Seating: 38, VIP seats: 3) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Matthew Murguia started the match with the kick off. Innocenzio Alcalde made an important save on a dangerous shot by Mario Balotelli in the 7th minute. In the 10th minute, Matthew Murguia ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Ralondo Barboa was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. Mario Balotelli hit a great freekick 12 minutes into the match. Ralondo Barboa showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Matthew Murguia in the 14th minute of the match. Ralondo Barboa took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Anthonio Zeppeli, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Mario Balotelli sent away a hard shot on goal in the 17th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Matthew Murguia in the 23rd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Ralondo Barboa prevented the ball from getting in the gole. An unexpectedly hard shot by Matthew Murguia in the 24th minute of play forced AFC Viola Gigliati's goalkeeper Ralondo Barboa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Innocenzio Alcalde made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Mario Balotelli in the 30th minute of play. Innocenzio Alcalde took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Mario Balotelli, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Ralondo Barboa took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Matthew Murguia, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After a rather tough play, ♠♥ Stardust Crusaders ♣♦'s Anthonio Zeppeli got a free kick in the 36th minute. In the 38th minute, Matthew Murguia hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The audience was convinced that Matthew Murguia's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Ralondo Barboa was relentless in the 41st minute of the game. After a defensive mix-up in AFC Viola Gigliati's zone, Matthew Murguia stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Ralondo Barboa came out of the goal and Matthew Murguia tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-1.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Mario Balotelli to strike the kick off in the second half. Sebastiano Cañon's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Ralondo Barboa read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 51st minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in ♠♥ Stardust Crusaders ♣♦'s zone, Ilazki Esquivel stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Innocenzio Alcalde came out of the goal and Ilazki Esquivel tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. AFC Viola Gigliati's Ralondo Barboa proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 56th minute of the match, managed to save AFC Viola Gigliati from getting a goal against them. In the 62nd minute the ball was on its way in behind ♠♥ Stardust Crusaders ♣♦'s goalkeeper Innocenzio Alcalde, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. ♠♥ Stardust Crusaders ♣♦ made a substitution. Cordarrol Giorno replaced Sebastiano Cañon. ♠♥ Stardust Crusaders ♣♦'s Nunez Ugartondo was substituted for Januário Gouveia. AFC Viola Gigliati's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Enrico Cicero in the 64th minute. The corner led AFC Viola Gigliati's Enrico Cicero to fire away a dangerous shot which Innocenzio Alcalde despite some difficulties managed to get hold on the ball. Ximenes Arganzua charged in rather forcefully in the 66th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Ximenes Arganzua the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. AFC Viola Gigliati's Quentin Odoardo was substituted for Pacifico Villazan. AFC Viola Gigliati made a substitution. Dunixi Bueno replaced Frutos Sator. After a rather tough play, ♠♥ Stardust Crusaders ♣♦'s Ximenes Arganzua got a free kick in the 68th minute. After having played for 73 minutes, Mario Balotelli managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. AFC Viola Gigliati's supporters crossed their fingers, but Mario Balotelli was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. 77 minutes into the match, AFC Viola Gigliati's goalkeeper Ralondo Barboa had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Anthonio Zeppeli. An unexpectedly hard shot by Lino Raymond in the 79th minute of play forced AFC Viola Gigliati's goalkeeper Ralondo Barboa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 83 minutes into the game, Cordarrol Giorno was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. ♠♥ Stardust Crusaders ♣♦'s manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave AFC Viola Gigliati the free kick. After 83 played minutes ♠♥ Stardust Crusaders ♣♦ got a freekick which was hit by Cordarrol Giorno. AFC Viola Gigliati's Sun Qiang Xiang was substituted for Elorri Palmer. A collision led to ♠♥ Stardust Crusaders ♣♦ getting a freekick after 84 minutes play. Cordarrol Giorno hit a great ball. Anthonio Zeppeli came free with the goalkeeper in the 88th minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Ralondo Barboa could save by the left post. The crowd rose to their feet as ♠♥ Stardust Crusaders ♣♦'s Ximenes Arganzua slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Ralondo Barboa. That made the score 0-2 after 89 minutes of play. Cordarrol Giorno could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 92nd minute of the match, but Ralondo Barboa made a huge save. After a defensive mix-up in AFC Viola Gigliati's zone, Ximenes Arganzua stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Ralondo Barboa came out of the goal and Ximenes Arganzua tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. ♠♥ Stardust Crusaders ♣♦ were delighted with the way they had won the match. They had held their defensive line well and made the most of their chances, to claim a victory over AFC Viola Gigliati's much stronger midfield.