| 34th Challenge Cup/ Sambuca Trophy April 11, 2003 |
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With the storm finally behind, the Club met once
again compact and united in the new splendid
"Subbuteo Palace" at the Olde Oake Village in
Wallingford for the traditional weekly appointment.
The first great news was that Jim Taylor was with
us ..and he wasn't late! The ASA VP's last
appereance in club's meetings went back to
February 21st and his recent astonishing
performance at the St. Patrick's ASA Open surely
generated lots of curiosity around his skills.
The night begun with goodies and drinks gently
offered by Miguel's fiance, Jennifer, in their
renewed basement, which will be the official venue
for the 2nd Connecticut League starting in two
weeks. The room is huge, with 3 pitches, a
Subbuteo stadium and a foosball table: all you need
is there.
The tournament saw the 9 players drawed into 3
groups of 3. The Groups' winners and the best
second played the semifinals and the finals.
In Group A, the stranger Jim Taylor faced the two
Davidsons and it was almost upset in the first round,
when the young Jeff Davidson--13 years old, ranked
# 35 ASA--forced Jim on 1-1. Taylor tied with a
lucky shot with 5 seconds left!
In the Family Derby, Eddie won easy 2-0, then
battled the Stranger for the first place. Taylor
needed a win and he've got it with a splendid shot
from medium distance.
In Group B, Frank Silva had the unpleasant duty of
facing club's top players, Massimo Conturso and Migs
Marques. In the first round, the big match ended
scoreless with good chances on both sides. The
Portuguese had a smart game and erected a sort of
Chinese Wall absolutely unbeatable for the Italian.
The second round started with a surprise: Frank's
lead 1-0 over Massimo after 2 minutes. It could have
been a heavy goal for the GD, but Conturso stayed
calm and came back for the final 9-1. Then Migs
beat his cousin on a 2-0 decision and grabbed the
Wild Card as best second.
The Group C saw the interesting Sergio vs Rick
match in the first round: 0-0 and still plenty of
chances for all. A second tie followed, this time
between Rick and Luis: 1-1. This was the most
balanced group, until Luis Silva remebered to be the
title's holder and scored twice against Sergio for the
4th spot in the semifinals.
In Taylor vs Marques, another chapter of an old
rivalry was written ..and signed by Migs with two
great shots!
On the other pitch, Luis Silva faced Massimo in the
rematch of the 32nd Challenge Cup semifinal (3-2
Massimo). Luis started well and scored first with a
fast penetration on the left. Once again the Italian
had to run against an initial deficit and once again
he came back: 4-1 final score.
Luis had his satisfaction when he beat Jim Taylor 1-0
in the consolation final and claimed the 3rd place.
To describe what happened in the 34th Challenge,
we would probably need another web page.
Massimo and Miguel faced for the most traditional
final, both incredibly focused and determined to
achieve the victory. The result was a true battle in
the midfield with not many chances on both sides.
Migs sent a couple of nice shots on the outside net,
while
again compact and united in the new splendid
"Subbuteo Palace" at the Olde Oake Village in
Wallingford for the traditional weekly appointment.
The first great news was that Jim Taylor was with
us ..and he wasn't late! The ASA VP's last
appereance in club's meetings went back to
February 21st and his recent astonishing
performance at the St. Patrick's ASA Open surely
generated lots of curiosity around his skills.
The night begun with goodies and drinks gently
offered by Miguel's fiance, Jennifer, in their
renewed basement, which will be the official venue
for the 2nd Connecticut League starting in two
weeks. The room is huge, with 3 pitches, a
Subbuteo stadium and a foosball table: all you need
is there.
The tournament saw the 9 players drawed into 3
groups of 3. The Groups' winners and the best
second played the semifinals and the finals.
In Group A, the stranger Jim Taylor faced the two
Davidsons and it was almost upset in the first round,
when the young Jeff Davidson--13 years old, ranked
# 35 ASA--forced Jim on 1-1. Taylor tied with a
lucky shot with 5 seconds left!
In the Family Derby, Eddie won easy 2-0, then
battled the Stranger for the first place. Taylor
needed a win and he've got it with a splendid shot
from medium distance.
In Group B, Frank Silva had the unpleasant duty of
facing club's top players, Massimo Conturso and Migs
Marques. In the first round, the big match ended
scoreless with good chances on both sides. The
Portuguese had a smart game and erected a sort of
Chinese Wall absolutely unbeatable for the Italian.
The second round started with a surprise: Frank's
lead 1-0 over Massimo after 2 minutes. It could have
been a heavy goal for the GD, but Conturso stayed
calm and came back for the final 9-1. Then Migs
beat his cousin on a 2-0 decision and grabbed the
Wild Card as best second.
The Group C saw the interesting Sergio vs Rick
match in the first round: 0-0 and still plenty of
chances for all. A second tie followed, this time
between Rick and Luis: 1-1. This was the most
balanced group, until Luis Silva remebered to be the
title's holder and scored twice against Sergio for the
4th spot in the semifinals.
In Taylor vs Marques, another chapter of an old
rivalry was written ..and signed by Migs with two
great shots!
On the other pitch, Luis Silva faced Massimo in the
rematch of the 32nd Challenge Cup semifinal (3-2
Massimo). Luis started well and scored first with a
fast penetration on the left. Once again the Italian
had to run against an initial deficit and once again
he came back: 4-1 final score.
Luis had his satisfaction when he beat Jim Taylor 1-0
in the consolation final and claimed the 3rd place.
To describe what happened in the 34th Challenge,
we would probably need another web page.
Massimo and Miguel faced for the most traditional
final, both incredibly focused and determined to
achieve the victory. The result was a true battle in
the midfield with not many chances on both sides.
Migs sent a couple of nice shots on the outside net,
while
Massimo hit his daily dose of posts, one of them with 5 seconds
left in the regular time! The OT went thru scoreless and
pain-free for both the contenders and the shoot-outs arrived
as the most logical solution for such an intricate tactical puzzle.
Massimo started to shot, score early and kept the advantage
until the 5th serie, when his mistake from the far corner was
followed by a Portuguese Patriot that exploded right in the
upper corner. The balance continued until the 8th shot from
the center. Massimo went on the ball with confidence, but his
ball bounced incredibly on the crossbar! Migs had his chance,
the Italian keeper looked ready for the loss, but Miguel did like
Roberto Baggio and flicked the ball to the stars! Table Soccer
has jungle-like rules: eat or be eaten. This time, at the 9th
serie, Massimo scored first, then saved on Marques and claimed
his 28th Challenge Cup title.
At the end, Sambuca!
left in the regular time! The OT went thru scoreless and
pain-free for both the contenders and the shoot-outs arrived
as the most logical solution for such an intricate tactical puzzle.
Massimo started to shot, score early and kept the advantage
until the 5th serie, when his mistake from the far corner was
followed by a Portuguese Patriot that exploded right in the
upper corner. The balance continued until the 8th shot from
the center. Massimo went on the ball with confidence, but his
ball bounced incredibly on the crossbar! Migs had his chance,
the Italian keeper looked ready for the loss, but Miguel did like
Roberto Baggio and flicked the ball to the stars! Table Soccer
has jungle-like rules: eat or be eaten. This time, at the 9th
serie, Massimo scored first, then saved on Marques and claimed
his 28th Challenge Cup title.
At the end, Sambuca!
34th Challenge Cup/ Sambuca Trophy Final Rankings:
1. Massimo Conturso.....................4 (2-0-2); 13-2
2. Miguel Marques.........................4 (2-0-2); 4-0
3. Luis Silva.....................................4 (2-1-1); 5-5
4. Jim Taylor....................................4 (1-2-1); 2-4
5. Eddie Davidson..........................2 (1-1-0); 2-1
6. Rick Marques.............................2 (0-0-2); 1-1
7. Jeff Davidson.............................2 (0-1-1); 1-3
7. Sergio Sensini............................2 (0-1-1); 1-3
9. Frank Silva..................................2 (0-2-0); 1-11
1. Massimo Conturso.....................4 (2-0-2); 13-2
2. Miguel Marques.........................4 (2-0-2); 4-0
3. Luis Silva.....................................4 (2-1-1); 5-5
4. Jim Taylor....................................4 (1-2-1); 2-4
5. Eddie Davidson..........................2 (1-1-0); 2-1
6. Rick Marques.............................2 (0-0-2); 1-1
7. Jeff Davidson.............................2 (0-1-1); 1-3
7. Sergio Sensini............................2 (0-1-1); 1-3
9. Frank Silva..................................2 (0-2-0); 1-11
Challenge Cup Titles:
Massimo Conturso
28
Miguel Marques
4
Luis Silva
2
Massimo Conturso
28
Miguel Marques
4
Luis Silva
2
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