USO GALAXY 4-4 GO S.Giovanni

The last day of the championship offers a tasty dessert to the palates of those present, although for neither of the two teams on the field it has any value other than symbolic. The Galaxy host G.O. S.Giovanni, mathematically crowned champions after their victory over Queen's on the previous day; with another outcome, the scheduled match would have had a completely different flavour.

The Galaxy, however, play to try and get another important scalp after that of PPZ 2014 and above all to reach the fourth place. The many absentees in the Giallorossi's ranks forced even the most depleted players to work overtime. The starting line-up saw the usual 1-4-1 Martinuz; Crea; Belotti, Magri, Mazzetti, Bregoli F.; Bergamaschi (a disp. Romeo, Gazzoli S.).

For the guests the occasion was a good one to baste the field with players who had found less space during the year, and the start of the match proved it: Bergamaschi found the way to the goal twice in the first three laps of the clock, served first by Belotti and then by Mazzetti. The 2-0 relaxes too much the Galaxy and, on the other hand, reconnects the antennas of the white-blue that little by little wakes up. At 6' a beautiful turn of the centre forward allowed his team to shorten the distances and four minutes later to reach the equaliser. The pace was very low and the chances did not multiply. The Giallorossi kept the ball firmly in their grasp but couldn't find a wave to ride. Belotti tried with a solitary foray towards the centre, his shot hitting the crossbar powerfully. A little later it was Magri who saw a well-placed shot rejected by the woodwork.

On the third shot, the guests took the lead, demonstrating a rare cynicism: Crea did what he could in marking, but the direct adversary was good at getting away and finding the overtaking goal. The lead, however, lasted just long enough to settle when Bergamaschi scored the third time past the visiting goalkeeper on 21 minutes.

Two minutes later the Galaxy also had the chance to go ahead thanks to a penalty kick whistled in favour of Bergamaschi. The forward left Crea in search of his first goal of the season, but the rock-solid central defender had his shot parried. We go to the rest on 3-3, a bit tight for the hosts. Gazzoli and Romeo entered in place of Belotti and Crea. The pace did not pick up and the match resumed on the same frequency as the first half.

It was again the guests who took the lead with a conclusion on which Martinuz could not arrive.

The Magica Armata remained the holders of the game, but made themselves scarcely dangerous. The match was emotionless until the last minutes, when the guests' weariness allowed the Galaxy to bring out their pride. Magri and Bergamaschi packed the tie thanks to a splendid turn by the number 2 on the captain's service. A minute later, Magri himself had a good ball for the lead, but his touch underneath the goalkeeper's net finished just a fingernail wide. Belotti came back in for the final minutes, but the Galaxy were unable to break through.

For the Giallorossi the draw meant they shared fourth place with Pol.Com.Ome on 32 points. A fair result for the way the championship developed. The Galaxy proved to be a tough and tenacious team, capable of making life difficult for everyone, but what was lacking was the consistency over the long term to keep up with the top three in the class.

But the season still has more to say... the UEFA Coppa Leonessa is at stake!