retired_hern1001

Serie C Cup vs Pro Sesto
06-09-2006, Romeo Menti, Montechiari

I sent out the best possible line-up that was fit. It meant that Benjamin Kopp was in goal, hoping to continue his good form. In front of him, the back four were formed by Mutsch, in high spirits after his weekend international appearance, Montero, Rafaela and Kok. In midfield, Cigardi and Gasperoni returned to take place along side Semenzato and Calandrelli. Up front Matteo Simoni kept his place after his two goals against Lumezzane while captain Sardelli returned alongside him.

Frankly, I was surprised by the effort put in by the higher division side. They seemed unconcerned and perhaps a bit complacent as they sat back and allowed us time on the ball. It nearly cost them in the 14th minute when Sardelli leaped above Gregori to head Semenzato’s cross on goal. Unluckily, the striker hit the post with his effort and Pro Sesto got away with just a scare.

They didn’t take the hint though and Cigardi spelled danger for them twice. The first attempt foiled by a last ditch tackle, which had the attacking midfielder pleading for a penalty. The second attempt was ruled out for offside and rightly so as Cigardi was well in front of the last man when Japser Kok sent in his cross.

The next minute though we finally struck home. Semenzato was again the provider of a dangerous cross and this time Alex Gasperoni met it with a diving header that left Sesto goalkeeper Borghetto stranded.

Finally then, the guests stared to show some spirit and it needed a good save from Kopp to deny them in the 36th minute. Their chances increased when Lucas Montero had to leave the field injured just before halftime with Pacciarini coming on to replace him.

In first half injury time, Pro Sesto showed why they are a higher league team. We failed to clear our lines properly and with only their second shot of the day, striker Araboni put them level. It was a close call on whether he’d been offside, but the linesman offered him the benefit of the doubt and the goal stood.

The second half was a much more open affair with chances at either end. We got away with a couple though, as poor Pro Sesto finishing was unable to find the target, even when Kopp helped them a bit by scuffing his clearance straight to an attacker. At the other end, Borghetto was forced into a diving saved by Rafaela’s free kick and Sardelli marginally put one wide.

Neither side though were able to find the net again, not even when both managers threw on their final substitutions.

Now the wait was on, we’d kept Pro Sesto behind us in the standings, but a draw or a win to Lumezzane would see them through ahead of us. Slowly news filtered through and when a loud cheer went up from the 2,646 strong crowd it became clear that we were through. Biellese had done their sporting job and beaten Lumezzane. We were through to the knockout stages!

Final Score: Montechiari 1 (Gasperoni) Pro Sesto (Araboni)

retired_hern1001

Lucas Montero’s injury turned out to be a damaged elbow and he would be out for a couple of weeks at least. It’d give Pacciarini a chance to impress. After the game, there was a lot of talk about the penalty appeal by Cigarini, but I refused to comment on it, instead focussing on our progression to the next round.

The knock-out stages wouldn’t be easy though. Many of the surviving teams were from the Serie C1 and we ended up drawing one from the B half of that division, Taranto. They look a tough prospect, a side that is expected to compete for promotion to the Serie B and at the moment, they’re second in their league, living up to that reputation. For the moment though, we’d have to focus our attention back on the league.

Serie C2/A vs Sanremese
10-09-2006, Romeo Menti, Montechiari

We’d had little rest since the Pro Sesto game, but rotation isn’t really my thing so I stuck with the my preferred XI. Kopp in goal, back four of Mutsch, Pacciarini (for the injured Montero), Rafaela and Kok. Midfield was formed by Semenzato, Gasperoni, Calandrelli and Cigardi and up front, Sardelli and Simoni continued their partnership.

Keeping the same players had the advantage of them knowing each other’s style of play and it was just such a thing that got us off to a dream start. Two minutes in, a poor pass from Sanremese defender Santarelli bounced off Cigardi and found it’s way to Sardelli up front. With a deft touch, he slid it into the feet of Calandrelli who didn’t need to look to know that Semenzato would be charging down the right side. The winger ran with it for just a few yards and then sent another good pass forward to Sardelli. The captain jinked past his man and fired the ball across the goal. At the far post, his strike partner Matteo Simoni was waiting to apply the finish and Montechiari were 1-0 up.

The guests were momentarily stunned, but slowly gained a foothold back into the game. Campi forced a save from Kopp while Pacciarini was called upon to make a couple of crucial interceptions before our opponents could create dangerous situations. Midfielder Simon Laner also had a good opportunity, but despite being unmarked, his put his shot well over.

Our only replies came from Matteo Simoni, running with the ball before shooting, but both his efforts late in the first half were off target as tiredness started to show.

I decided on two substitutions at half time, withdrawing both my strikers from the game and replacing them like for like with Matteo Scapini and Diego Daldosso.

After the break, we were looking shaky at the back, for no particular reason. It started when Mutsch was beaten in the air five minutes after the restart, but Procopio put his header over. Rafaela followed with a lapse of concentration, sending a poor back pass out for a corner, which thankfully came to nothing. It climaxed in the 63rd minute. Gasperoni lost possession cheaply out on the left and a quick passing move by the guests gave Federici a chance to shoot from distance. It hit Pacciarini and seemed to sail out harmlessly, but suddenly Piovanelli popped up behind the defence and had a clear shot at goal. He fired from just outside the six yard box, but a fantastic reflex save from Benjamin Kopp saw it take to the sky and over the bar for a corner.

I roared instructions from the touchline telling the lads to get forward in a combination of English, Italian and sign language. They must’ve understood because we started creating chances right away. Scapini snuck in behind the defence from Calandrelli’s pinpoint pass, but dragged his effort to the left of the goal. Minutes later, Daldosso skipped past his man and fired in a shot that narrowly streaked over the bar.

With Sanremese on the backfoot, we really should’ve scored more goals, but Matteo Scapini in particular missed a couple of chances. He should’ve scored when he was one-on-one with their goalkeeper, but was hauled back by a defender at the last moment. To be fair to him though, his audacious 30-yard chip nearly went in, landing on the roof of the goal. The guests never got back into the game and 1-0 was a fair result in the end.

Final Score: Montechiari 1 (Simoni) Sanremese 0

IrishRich

Hey great story so far.
I want to know how the season ends...

retired_hern1001

Cheers Ric. To tell you the truth, I have no idea how the season ends as I'm not that far ahead of my writing just yet.

Serie C2/A vs Oblia
13-09-2006, Piero Spano, Olbia

Our next game, away at Olbia followed just three days later and forced me to rest players as the tired legs were starting to give out. Our opponents had so far played out two scoreless draws, meaning they’d be hard to break down, but probably create little themselves.

As for our line-up, Kopp remained in goal, with a defensive line of Marco Fillipini, Rafaela, Alessio Baresi and Dario Dossi in front of him. An untried defence, but against Olbia that doesn’t worry me too much. Plenty of changes in midfield as well, where Cigardi was the only regular starter, with Murante and Daldosso on the wings and Daniele Capelloni in his first start of the season. Up front it was the familiar faces of Sardelli and Simoni who’d lead the line.

My initial estimation of Olbia was proven wrong fairly quickly as they created chance after chance in the opening half. Their strikers, Giordano Meloni and Roberto Chiaria, were well serviced by a tough tackling midfield and ran riot in our unfamiliar defence.

Just 9 minutes in, Meloni cracked a shot against the crossbar after a poor pass by Cigardi had been intercepted in midfield. Not much later, right back Dei Rossi fired a shot just over from a well worked free kick.

Sure enough, we had chances of our own, mainly through Matteo Simoni, but we didn’t seem quite as threatening as our hosts. Part of that may have been down to the commanding presence of Federico Orlandi in the Olbia goal. The 25-year old had kept two clean sheets so far this season and was keen to add to that.

I kept faith with the same XI that started for the second half and was nearly rewarded straight after the break when Orlandi had plenty of trouble with Capelloni’s wicked shot from distance, but managed to just tip it over. At the other end, Meloni forced Kopp into a diving save with another shot from distance.

On 61 minutes, we finally saw a chance that wasn’t from a long shot and behold, it was a goal straight away. Cigardi intercepted the ball in midfield from a goal kick and played it forward to Simoni. Between three defenders, he still found the space to turn and play a lovely pass for Sardelli, who was kept onside by their left back. Orlandi came out, but the captain took it ‘round him and passed it into the back of the net. 1-0.

The home side came straight back at us from the restart and a tough challenge by midfielder Soro saw Dario Dossi collapse in a heap. He signalled that he was unable to continue and I brought on regular left back Jasper Kok in his stead. Diego Daldosso was also replaced by San Marino international Alex Gasperoni. The latter nearly made an immediate impact by dribbling clear of the defence, but then put his shot three miles wide of the target.

Olbia were keen to hang on to their unbeaten record and started pouring people forward. But rather than lump the ball upfield, they remained patient, playing a passing game to get their goals. And I must admit, it worked wonders for them on 73 minutes. A move through midfield left Cigardi spinning on his heels and found dangerous striker Meloni. Instead of selfishly shooting, he squared his for his strike partner, but Kopp pulled off another great reflex save. He couldn’t hang on to it though and with Cigardi still dizzy from the early midfield play, Meloni had all the time in the world to get to the rebound and put it away for an equaliser.

We kicked off again and the ball went out to the right to Murante. But he misplaced his pass and put it straight into the feet of Fina. The Olbia substitute played a glorious 45-yard pass forward that split Rafaela and Kopp and left Meloni with a simple tap in to give the home side the lead.

They nearly made it three as well with a shot from distance, but much to our relief it thundered of the crossbar. To compound our misery, we ended the game with ten men when substitute Scapini was forced of injured in injury time with a dead leg.

Final Score: Olbia 2 (Meloni 2) Montechiari 1 (Sardelli)

retired_hern1001

Serie C2/A vs Bassano Virtus
17-09-2006, Rino Mercante, Bassano

Our gruelling schedule of three games in seven days came to an end with an away game at Bassano Virtus. After that, we’d have a whole week off before our final game of the month was up. I returned to my usual line-up. So, Kopp in goal, Mutsch, Pacciarini, Rafaela and Kok at the back. Semenzato and Gasperoni were to play on the wings, while Calandrelli and Cigardi filled the places in the middle. Up front, it was Sardelli and Matteo Simoni.

The home side came out with a very attacking 4-2-4 formation. However it didn’t help them any as we put them under pressure for the entire first half. Just five minutes in, Alex Gasperoni had a good opportunity, but couldn’t get it past the goalkeeper. Cigardi was unable to put his effort on target a minute earlier.

We continued our pressure with two more chances in the first fifteen minutes, but both our strikers put their efforts wide of the target. Both times, Gasperoni was the one that put them in the position to get a shot off and he was having a good game indeed. He was a little hot headed in the 20th minute when he roughly shoved Basso out of the way and was lucky to escape with just a yellow card.

Slowly as the first half wore on the hosts started to get back into the game and it needed a good reflex save from Kopp to keep out Minardi’s bullet header. A shot form distance from Mazzoleni went just over the bar.

Just as the first half injury time commenced, Bassano defender Abate was forced back under pressure from Sardelli. He tried to square it for his partner Minardi, but Matteo Simoni nipped in and intercepted the pass. Instead of shooting himself, he waited for Sardelli to catch up and offered him a chance that he couldn’t miss. The captain obliged and Montechiari took a narrow lead going into halftime.

The second half started off as a bit of a yellow card fest with a few chances in between. On 56 minutes Kopp made a great save on Cesca’s shot from close range. The ball fell free at the feet of striker Dalla Nogare, but he blazed his effort over with the goal. I decided on some substitutions after that as our players legs were visibly starting to tire. Both strikers came off as well as Cigardi to be replaced by Daldosso, Cappeloni and Pierobon.

The latter made an immediate impact. Only on the pitch for six minutes he received a beautifully flighted pass from the rightback Mario Mutsch. Clear of the defence, Pierobon made no mistake and doubled the margin to 2-0. The home supporters were angered by suspicions of offside, but frankly I could care less.

Towards the end of the game, Gasperoni’s temper flared again and he pushed an opponent out of the way. This time he didn’t get away with it, receiving his second yellow of the match and a resulting sending off. It didn’t hurt us any though, as Cappeloni sent Pierobon clear of the Bassano Virtus defence. Again, the substitute striker made no mistake and scored his second goal of the day and our third.

Final Score: Bassano Virtus 0 Montechiari 3 (Sardelli, Pierobon 2)

With four games played, we were second in the table, only a point behind leaders Lecco. Surprisingly enough, none of the teams in the league had a perfect record, though 3 teams were still unbeaten.

retired_hern1001

Serie C2/A vs Portosummaga
24-09-2006, Romeo Menti, Montechiari

We had a whole week to recover from our exertions against Bassano Virtus and it finally gave me some time to bring across some finer points of the game during practice. Also, our injured players returned to full training, though none of them was yet fit enough to be in the match squad for the game against sub-topper Portosummaga.

I started with the strongest eleven I had. Kopp was in goal with a backline of Mutsch, Pacciarini, Rafaela and Kok in front of him. In midfield, Semenzato was in his usual berth on the right while Diego Daldosso filled in for the suspended Gasperoni on the left wing. In the middle, Calandrelli and Cigardi completed the four-man midfield. Simoni and captain Sardelli were up front.

The first half was a turgid affair. Both sides tried their luck from distance, but none of those effort forced the goalkeepers into action. Typical of the first half was what occurred in the 33rd minute.

Mutsch played a long ball forward which was helped on somewhat fortuitously by Francesco Cigardi. It fell straight to Portosummaga defender Voria, who wasn’t challenged by any of our strikers. He tried to play a pass back to his goalkeeper, but completely mis-hit it and only a brilliant reflex save from the guests’ keeper prevented an own goal.

With the scores still level at half time, I decided to bring off Daniele Semenzato who had picked up a minor knock. Murante came on in his place.

Having given my side an earful during the break about their inability to make the opposing goalkeeper work, we came out firing. In the space of five minutes after the break, we had three opportunities.

The first fell to our captain, Riccardo Sardelli, when he picked up a long ball from Cigardi looking for the counter. He was clear of the defence, but then fired his shot from eighteen yards into orbit. Suffice to say, I wasn’t best pleased and the striker hung his head in shame.

His strike partner Matteo Simoni didn’t do much better, scuffing his shot wide of the mark a minute later. We kept the pressure on and Cigardi fired a shot at the end of a good passing move, but again it was off target and we let our opponents off the hook.

We continued to waste chances, Sardelli tackled at the last moment and Simoni shooting wide once more. It was inevitable then that the goal would come at the other end. Thankfully it didn’t, but not through a lack of opportunities. Nine minutes from the end, Kok slipped and allowed Pietranera in, but the striker had obviously taken after our example and missed the goal.

The game bled out from there and in the end, it was a share of the points, due to woeful shooting.

Final Score: Montechiari 0 Portasummaga 0

retired_jgirl87

WLKRAS, good luck with getting out of Serie C. KUTGW :thup:

retired_hern1001

Cheers Spav :thup:

October 2006

Taking off Semenzato at half time had prevented further injury and he would be fit for the next match. The real bad news came during the week when Fabio Calandrelli dislocated his jaw in a training ground collision. The midfielder, who had done well so far, would be out for up to a month. Then a day later, defender Pacciarini was struck down with the flu and it seemed unlikely he would be fit in time to face Pro Vercelli.

Serie C2/A vs Pro Vercelli
01-10-2006, Silvio Piola, Vercelli

And indeed, Pacciarini was not back in time for our opening match of October, away at Pro Vercelli. As a result, Lucas Montero returned to form the central defensive partnership with Rafaela, flanked by Mutsch on the right and Kok on the left. German goalkeeper Benjamin Kopp completed the defensive five. In midfield Stefano Fusari returned despite a lack of match fitness. Gasperoni was also back, he returned from his suspension. Semenzato and Cigardi completed midfield and they would support regular starting strikers Sardelli and Simoni.

The hosts kicked off to get us underway, but it wasn’t long before we took control of the game. Our first chance came just six minutes in. Fusari showed none of his rustiness as he took possession of the ball in midfield and passed it forward to Simoni. The striker turned deftly and played it through the defence to the right for Semenzato to run onto. The winger shaped up to whip in the cross and then pulled it back to the edge of the area where Mario Mutsch came charging in. He fired off a shot, but it went narrowly over.

Five minutes later, Gasperoni got on the end of a Rafaela long ball, but put his shot wide, to the left of the goal. On twenty-five minutes we got a well deserved opening goal. Once again, Fusari was influential, taking the ball away from the opposition in midfield and playing it forward. He found Sardelli in the area, but the captain was crowded out by two defenders and couldn’t get a shot off. But he did find the space to play it off to the left where a wild waving Matteo Simoni was wide open. The youngster made no mistake and it was 1-0 Montechiari.

We continued to dominate the play and our hosts only managed one shot, a wild one at that, which sailed harmlessly over the bar. On our part, we created some good chances, with Simoni narrowly missing out on his second and Rafaela firing a free kick just over.

The second half was much of the same and it looked like we’d extended our lead just after half time, but Matteo Simoni’s effort was ruled out for offside. Not that it mattered much as three minutes later, Simoni ran clear of the defence and squared the ball for Riccardo Sardelli. The captain side-footed it home for his fifth of the season and our second of the game.

Having come no closer than an errant free kick going wide during regular play for the entire second half, it was somewhat surprising that Pro Vercelli managed to get a late consolation goal in injury time. Kopp was to blame, letting go of a saveable shot from Serafini and Alberto Bernardi made no mistake with the rebound. Thankfully though, it was all they could manage and frankly, we deserved the win we got.

Final Score: Pro Vercelli 1 (Bernardi) Montechiari 2 (Simoni, Sardelli)

retired_lydiadiebolt

Good luck, Terk!

I enjoy the extra detail in the match reports, too. Reminds me of a certain writer who used to adopt that style once upon a time.

retired_hern1001

Having recovered from the shock at being called Terk, I decided to give you all a next installment.

Oh and thanks Dixie. I think


The board were impressed with our win at Pro Vercelli and announced that they were encouraged by the start I’d made as a manager, despite a hefty loss of €77,000 over the past month. The lower league press meanwhile were falling over themselves to praise Dutch central defender Rafaela, who had played well in the match and indeed the season to date.

We had some time off until the next game, a whole fourteen days between the two matches, but it didn’t help our injury list any. Alessio Baresi suffered strained knee ligaments, which would keep him out upwards of a month. Stefano Fusari, who’d just returned from injury, suffered a damaged foot after jumping for a header in practice and was out for up to four weeks. All together, it seriously limited our options in defensive midfield.

And while Mattias Pacciarini returned from his illness, our hailed defender Rafaela suffered a set of fractures ribs after a collision. Looks like lady luck isn’t on our side at the moment. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though. Mario Mutsch added two more caps to his tally though Luxembourg lost both games without much of a struggle. And the Montechiari Under-20 side notched up two good wins, 3-1 over Monopoli in the U20 cup followed by a 3-0 over Legnano U20.