| 4th ASA New England Championship March 14, 2004 in Farmington, CT |
FARMINGTON, CONNECTICUT
"..and the Oscar goes to... Clean Sweep! THE LORD OF THE PITCH !!"
Steven Spielberg's words (in subbuteo-style) have been surely stirring
in Conturso's head before the New England Championship Match
against Miguel Marques. But, the achievement to win both
tournaments of the March Madness Weekend in Farmington, CT,
wouldn't have been Italian but Portuguese. In fact, The Shark arrived
to the ASA Open Final as the new Connecticut State Champion as he
defeated his brother Rick 4-3 on Saturday afternoon, after Rick
surprisly knocked-out both club's founders, Jim Taylor and title holder
Massimo Conturso.
Miguel followed the suggestion Jim Taylor made in his editorial of
March 12th and enriched his personal palmares with one of the most
prestigious titles in the US. Being the 3rd Connecticut State Champion
means finishing at perfection a long run that started on September
2003.
Marques Sr., despite some early blow-outs (0-3 Rick; 1-2 Luis; 0-1
Massimo), dominated his conference and arrived to the playoffs at the
top of his game. Many believe that even a better Conturso (0-0; 0-1
Rick Marques in the semifinals) wouldn't have survived to The Shark
Attack!
On Sunday, the music changed a little. Both Miguel and Massimo were
drawn in the Group of Death, which included Rick Marques, Luis Silva,
Sergio Sensini and Ostap Mishtal. Miguel didn't look as brilliant as in the
previous day, while Massimo won the Group with 13 goals-for (5 of
them to Rick Marques..) and 13 points.
In Group B, the ASA rookie Andrea Gasparini gave hard time to SCC
veterans Jim Taylor, Frank Silva and Eddie Davidson, while U-19 Jeff
Davidson and Pablo Lee qualified for the Mary Jane. Andrea--great
guy, excellent player and former president of the Subbuteo Club
"Salernitana"--may have looked a little rusty, but the feeling with the
pitch and his mysterious German bases grew match after match. By
the end of Group Stage, Andrea collected 11 points and won the
Group for better GD than Taylor.
The Quarterfinals saw Miguel and Massimo reaching the following stage
by defeating Frank 2-0 and Eddie 1-0. More interesting the remaining
matches between Jim Taylor and Luis Silva, and the Italian Derby,
Andrea vs. Sergio.
Lou won on a 1-0 decision, while Sergio, who notoriously doesn't like
slow opponents, suffered a 0-2 loss against Gasparini.
The semis were an Italy-Portugal affair, and it was no surprise to see
Massimo and Miguel qualifying for the Championship Match, as
everybody highly anticipated.
The game's plot was the usual: Massimo quite constantly in Miguel's
half, attacking with 4-5 figures at the time and carefully keeping
possession; Miguel fast like a Great White to exploit the spaces on the
wings. The Portuguese went very close to score in the iniital minutes
with a powerful shot on moving ball that Massimo's goalie miraculously
saved.
In the second half, the match-point Tigana-style. Just like in the
Summer 1984 in the game France-Scotland against Cecco Codraro,
Massimo shot on goal. The goalie saved, but the ball bounced back
right on the flicked figure's base and squeezed under Miguel's keeper's
rod!
The last minutes saw Miguel's constant but sterile siege to the Italian's
shooting area. But the final beep arrived in time to deliver Massimo his
4th straight New England Championship tile.
COMPLETE RESULTS CLICK HERE
"..and the Oscar goes to... Clean Sweep! THE LORD OF THE PITCH !!"
Steven Spielberg's words (in subbuteo-style) have been surely stirring
in Conturso's head before the New England Championship Match
against Miguel Marques. But, the achievement to win both
tournaments of the March Madness Weekend in Farmington, CT,
wouldn't have been Italian but Portuguese. In fact, The Shark arrived
to the ASA Open Final as the new Connecticut State Champion as he
defeated his brother Rick 4-3 on Saturday afternoon, after Rick
surprisly knocked-out both club's founders, Jim Taylor and title holder
Massimo Conturso.
Miguel followed the suggestion Jim Taylor made in his editorial of
March 12th and enriched his personal palmares with one of the most
prestigious titles in the US. Being the 3rd Connecticut State Champion
means finishing at perfection a long run that started on September
2003.
Marques Sr., despite some early blow-outs (0-3 Rick; 1-2 Luis; 0-1
Massimo), dominated his conference and arrived to the playoffs at the
top of his game. Many believe that even a better Conturso (0-0; 0-1
Rick Marques in the semifinals) wouldn't have survived to The Shark
Attack!
On Sunday, the music changed a little. Both Miguel and Massimo were
drawn in the Group of Death, which included Rick Marques, Luis Silva,
Sergio Sensini and Ostap Mishtal. Miguel didn't look as brilliant as in the
previous day, while Massimo won the Group with 13 goals-for (5 of
them to Rick Marques..) and 13 points.
In Group B, the ASA rookie Andrea Gasparini gave hard time to SCC
veterans Jim Taylor, Frank Silva and Eddie Davidson, while U-19 Jeff
Davidson and Pablo Lee qualified for the Mary Jane. Andrea--great
guy, excellent player and former president of the Subbuteo Club
"Salernitana"--may have looked a little rusty, but the feeling with the
pitch and his mysterious German bases grew match after match. By
the end of Group Stage, Andrea collected 11 points and won the
Group for better GD than Taylor.
The Quarterfinals saw Miguel and Massimo reaching the following stage
by defeating Frank 2-0 and Eddie 1-0. More interesting the remaining
matches between Jim Taylor and Luis Silva, and the Italian Derby,
Andrea vs. Sergio.
Lou won on a 1-0 decision, while Sergio, who notoriously doesn't like
slow opponents, suffered a 0-2 loss against Gasparini.
The semis were an Italy-Portugal affair, and it was no surprise to see
Massimo and Miguel qualifying for the Championship Match, as
everybody highly anticipated.
The game's plot was the usual: Massimo quite constantly in Miguel's
half, attacking with 4-5 figures at the time and carefully keeping
possession; Miguel fast like a Great White to exploit the spaces on the
wings. The Portuguese went very close to score in the iniital minutes
with a powerful shot on moving ball that Massimo's goalie miraculously
saved.
In the second half, the match-point Tigana-style. Just like in the
Summer 1984 in the game France-Scotland against Cecco Codraro,
Massimo shot on goal. The goalie saved, but the ball bounced back
right on the flicked figure's base and squeezed under Miguel's keeper's
rod!
The last minutes saw Miguel's constant but sterile siege to the Italian's
shooting area. But the final beep arrived in time to deliver Massimo his
4th straight New England Championship tile.
COMPLETE RESULTS CLICK HERE
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Group Photo at the FPD.
The Farmington PD.
The Draw.
