The canceled matches of December 12th were rescheduled to this past weekend, and five of our Bianconeri teams played great matches over the New Year holiday. Here are the results:
U18 League: 2-2 Draw
U14 League: 2-3 Loss
U13 League: 4-3 Win
U11 League: 5-0 Win
U8 League: 7-5 Win
MATCH SUMMARIES
U18
For the last ASAS7 match of the season, Juventus U18 Elite played against Old Black last Sunday. The 2-2 result places the team in fourth place of the table, with 16 points after 10 matches played. The game was tough, as many physical challenges were made during the match. The team created many chances but missed a penalty and some shots on goal. In the 33rd minute, the opponent’s goalkeeper was sent off on a red card after a dangerous challenge on a Juve player. Fynn (#99) and Eli (#11)’s goals made sure that the team took home one point, and the match ended as a good learning experience on the pitch. With the season coming to a close, Juve’s Fynn is one of the three top scorers in Division B of ASAS7 with 10 goals. Julien (#3) was also named best defender by the league. Congratulations to the team, Forza Juve!
U14
The U14 Juventus team, despite a faultless performance, lost 3-2 against an experienced opponent team in a tough but exciting match. The players worked together to create many chances from the very beginning, but after some refereeing mistakes and an unlucky own goal, the team was unable to score and conceded two goals in the first half. During the halftime break, Coach Radfan was able to keep the team motivated and to fight for more despite the disadvantage on the pitch. The score became 3-0 in the second half but the Bianconeri refused to go down without a fight. Throughout the entire second half, the U14 players gave it their all and continuously pressured the opponent to make sure they did not have more chances to score. In the final 10 minutes of the game, Matthew (#18) scores a goal, but the team doesn’t celebrate and instead picks the ball up to the halfway line to restart the game as soon as possible. Another goal from Matthew in the last minutes of the game gives the team some hope and the opponent some fear, but the score remains 3-2 until the final blow of the whistle. Despite the result and some intense exchanges on the pitch, the team is very happy with the performance from the U14 boys and treats this match as a valuable learning experience from another strong team. The starting XI’s defense Rich (#6), Roshan (#5), and Franceso (#4) did well to keep the opponent’s attack struggling to find chances to score. Alvaro (#8) and Yogo (#7) were crucial to keeping the match’s flow, as they ran up and down the pitch to link the defense to Matthew as the sole striker of the match. Matthew’s brace proves his top-notch skills of being able to penetrate the opposing team’s defense. The players that started on the bench in this match such as Andre (#38), Tom (#14), Adam (#15), and Quintin (#39), were also very effective in applying pressure to the opponent and working hard until the very end.
U13
The U13 Bianconeri also played a very close match and were able to make a comeback against the opponent. Despite more chances coming from Juve, the first half ended in a 1-1 draw with the opponent’s goalkeeper making multiple crucial saves for his team. After a penalty given to the opponent to lead 1-0, Toby (#3) brings Juve level with a goal. The coach made some changes in formation for the second half, from a 3-3 to a more offensive 2-3-1, but this saw the team conceding two goals even with a great performance from the team. Yet, the U13 players stayed strong and fought hard, and Toby scores one more while Sky (#27) also makes a brace to bring the team in the lead after being down 3-1. Besides the two goal-scorers, other players were also very crucial in this win. Yogo (#7) played the entire duration of the match and provided stability and consistency to the team’s flow. Jacob (#21) was able to help take back possession in many instances, giving the players chances to score. Keke (#16), Giacomo (#21), and Johnny (#30) were also important players in this match. All in all, this win was a very important one as it was a match between the first and second place teams of the league. The three points for Juve see them surpass the opponent on the table to be the first for now.
U11
The U11 also brings home three points in a 5-0 match against a less difficult opponent. Even as young players, the team maintained a good spirit to play hard until the end. Jonah (#11), Luscien (#3), and Leon (#11) with one goal each, and Edoardo (#8) with two give Juve a comfortable win. Other players who aren’t on the scoresheet but made important contributions are Tilde (#21) and Matthew (#7), but the team did well as a whole.
U8
The U8 Bianconeri played a difficult game against an opponent who was physically bigger in size but were able to secure the win with a final score of 7-5. Louis (#9), the top goalscorer of this team, finds the back of the net five times during this match. Lucca (#8) and Francesco (#18) also score to help the team win with a two-goal difference. Gray (#10), despite being one of the youngest players on the team, did very well as a goalkeeper and made many important saves. Good job team!