U18 League

Anoeta
Spectators: 206 (Terracing: 155, Seating: 47, VIP seats: 4) OldHighburyInvincibles's Attilio Scarpa started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. In the 7th minute, Attilio Scarpa ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Marco Ginola was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. If Attilio Scarpa had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 16th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Marco Ginola made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Attilio Scarpa in the 16th minute of play. Marco Ginola showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Attilio Scarpa in the 18th minute of the match. Elias Fofana's late challenge caught a OldHighburyInvincibles's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Elias Fofana helped the player get up and apologised. After a rather tough play, Real Sociedad's Elias Fofana got a free kick in the 19th minute. Fortunato Di Ianni's late challenge caught a Real Sociedad's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Fortunato Di Ianni helped the player get up and apologised. A collision led to OldHighburyInvincibles getting a freekick after 22 minutes play. Fortunato Di Ianni hit a great ball. The audience thought a goal was coming when Nicolas Hoareau got free with André Onana in the 24th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 26th minute, Attilio Scarpa got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. After 27 minutes, Marc-Antoine Touze mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Real Sociedad and the OldHighburyInvincibles players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 27th minute, Marc-Antoine Touze hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Marco Ginola made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Attilio Scarpa in the 33rd minute of play. After a rather tough play, OldHighburyInvincibles's Bianco Helfer got a free kick in the 37th minute. After some fancy dribbling in the 43rd minute, Gaël Moutard managed to get in a good position for a shot. Real Sociedad's supporters rose to their feet, but Gaël Moutard was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. André Onana breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. After 47 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for OldHighburyInvincibles! After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

After a rather tough play, OldHighburyInvincibles's Emilio Masetti got a free kick in the 62nd minute. With 64 minutes on the clock, Emilio Masetti commited a dangerous tackle. The referee had no choice but to show him the red card. OldHighburyInvincibles's Luka Toni was substituted for Attilio Scarpa. 64 minutes into the game, one of OldHighburyInvincibles:s players got tackled near the goal, and the referee blew for a penalty. In the 68th minute there was a penalty for Real Sociedad. Elias Fofana stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving André Onana. 2-1. Real Sociedad's François Vieu was substituted for Nicolas Hoareau. After a defensive mix-up in OldHighburyInvincibles's zone, Gaël Moutard stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. André Onana came out of the goal and Gaël Moutard tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 75th match minute, Real Sociedad was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Hervé Couturier to maneuver through the defense. 76 minutes into the match, Real Sociedad's goal looked a bit too open when Sérgio Conceicão came free, but Marco Ginola reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After a defensive mix-up in Real Sociedad's zone, Luka Toni stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Marco Ginola came out of the goal and Luka Toni tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Pierre-Emmanuel Decamps kicked well hit freekick during the 80th minute of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gaël Moutard in the 85th minute of play forced OldHighburyInvincibles's goalkeeper André Onana to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After some fancy dribbling in the 87th minute, Gaël Moutard managed to get in a good position for a shot. Real Sociedad's supporters rose to their feet, but Gaël Moutard was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. André Onana breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. In the 92nd match minute, Real Sociedad was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Elias Fofana to maneuver through the defense. 94 minutes into the game, OldHighburyInvincibles's Luka Toni nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Marco Ginola made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 2-2. The audience was convinced that Luka Toni's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Marco Ginola was relentless in the 100th minute of the game. When the final whistle was heard the away supporters stood up and showed their joy. OldHighburyInvincibles had managed to secure a win in what was a close match throughout.