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Roma
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5
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Simon
(3), Rein, Till
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Hamburg
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1
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Ben
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Roma were keen on settling this one early and claiming
some revenge for their surprise defeat to Hamburg
the previous weekend. From the kick-off, Simon dribbled
through the Hamburg defence and drove a low shot to
the left of Glenn, but the keeper managed to make
a diving save. As the game progressed it was clear
to see that Roma were dominating in all areas, which
paid off midway through the first half when Simon
stuck the ball in from 10 yards out, the ball finding
it's way past three Hamburg players and sliding under
a diving Glenn to give Roma a 1-0 lead.
Within
minutes of taking the lead Roma added a second with
a play down the right-hand side. Alex K passed the
ball to Simon, who quickly slid the ball to a wide
open Rein and he in turn placed the ball into the
bottom left corner of the net. The only real chance
that Hamburg had to get back into the game was from
a long-range effort from Ben, but Thorben was there
to make the easy save. With Roma continuing to dominate,
it took Glenn to stop them from going further ahead
when he stopped Till's hard drive from point-blank
range. Roma went 3-0 up when Yelle made a rare mistake
by passing the ball directly to Simon, who simply
passed the ball into the net.
It
seemed unlikely that Hamburg could climb back into
the match, however, they were given the chance early
in the second half when Kevin was called for a handball
in the penalty area. Lars was given the task of taking
the penalty, but Thorben was there to make the stop
and from the rebound Lars drove the ball well over
the net from just five yards out. With Hamburg losing
confidence after the missed penalty, Simon was given
the opportunity to cross the ball into the middle
for a waiting Till, who one-timed the ball into the
net to make the score 4-0.
In
one of the rear occasions that Hamburg did get close
to the net Fabrizio was there to stop them, as was
the case when Soma's shot was goal-bound - Fabrizio
was there to clear the ball off the line. Hamburg
did, however, pull a goal back thanks to an individual
effort from Ben, when he dribbled the ball from his
own end and beat four defenders before placing the
ball past an oncoming Thorben.
Hamburg
had a chance to close the score even more when Lars
made a fantastic pass to Soma, but he was unable to
re-direct the ball into the net. With the final whistle
moments away Simon completed his hat-trick when he
beat Glenn from a sharp angle. There were some sad
faces on the Hamburg team as they started to realize
that they were destined for last place. Meanwhile,
Roma were eyeing Dundee United for first place…
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Roma
|
1
|
Rein
|
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Dundee
United
|
0
|
|
In Roma's second match of the day they were again
out for revenge for their loss to Dundee United
the previous week. With a win Roma would pull ahead
of Dundee United in the quest for the championship...
This
was a game that was played mostly in the middle
of the field, with Hugo and Kevin fighting it out
with Bernado and Mark. With both midfields challenging
for everything it made for a tight first half. The
only one real scoring chance came from a Simon pass
to Till, who drove the ball directly at Maik. Both
defences were solid throughout, with Fabrizio and
Laurens stopping Sam V and Sam M, while Paul was
at the back for United, containing the ever-dangerous
Till and Simon.
It took just a few minutes in the second half, however,
for Roma to break the deadlock. When Simon dribbled
past the United defenders and drove the ball towards
the net, Maik was there to make the first save,
but he spilled the rebound for Rein to tap the ball
into the back of the net.
The
rest of the second half was predictably hard-fought,
with Roma sitting back defending their lead while
looking to counter-attack. Dundee United pushed
hard for the equaliser, but only Bernado had a clear
sight of goal which he blazed over. Roma almost
extended their lead when Simon broke down the left
side of the field and passed the ball inside to
Til. However, Till missed the wide-open net.
The
midfield was where the real battle took place with
Hugo and Kevin continuing their battle with Bernado
and Mark. With the blow of the final whistle Roma
found themselves once again at the top of the table,
five points clear of United, who still had to play
Hamburg in the last match of the day...
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Dundee
United
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2
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Bernardo,
Mark
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Hamburg
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1
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Ben
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As the weather continued to heat up a tired Dundee
United team took to the field against a determined
Hamburg side. With Hamburg eager to improve on their
first match they started off strongly, taking the
ball deep into the Dundee United zone on numerous
occasions, only to see Maik make a save or for Sam
M to come across the mouth of the goal to take away
two scoring chances for Ivan and Yelle.
Hamburg
should have been ahead when Yelle hit a long-range
shot that was headed for the top corner, but Maik
was there to push it over the net. Midway through
the first half Bernardo was in the right place at
the right time as the ball was cleared directly
to him, where he was able to place a fantastic first-time
volley into the net, giving Dundee United a 1-0
lead.
Ben
proved to be the hardest worker in the midfield
for Hamburg as he seemed to be everywhere fighting
for the ball. The first half was also highlighted
when Sam V produced a wonderful cross from the left
side for Paul, who flicked the ball on for Mark
to knock into the back of the net. Before the end
of the first half Ivan was given space to go one
on one with Maik when he was put through by Ben
- but Maik pressured Ivan and forced him to shoot
wide.
It looked as though Hamburg were done, but with
the start of the second half it seemed as though
someone had lit a fire under them, as they applied
pressure from the onset of the second half. First
it was a free-kick from Ben which went just wide
of the far post, next it was a Leonard pass to Yelle
who one-timed it to Lars for a shot that forced
a save from Bernard. Then it was Soma's turn to
put Lars through on goal, only to see Bernard once
again make a great save. The one time United did
press it resulted in a free-kick being awarded just
outside the penalty area. Sam V stepped up but he
drove the ball over the bar.
It
was Hamburg's turn again to apply the pressure and
it paid off this time with Ben dribbling through
the middle and sliding the ball past Bernard to
make the score 2-1. Hamburg continued to apply the
pressure but were unable to get the equalizer, resulting
in their second defeat of the day.
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