Saturday, November 17, 2007

Italy 2 - Scotland 1: Italy World Cup Qualifier !!!!! Game Better than Sex for Scots!!!

The ANNOTICO Report

 

Of course there is controversy about Referees' calls, whereby most fair minded persons will say that each side got "stiffed" once.  (A valid Italian goal disallowed, and an invalid allowed for Scotland) – CORRECTION: Italy got stiffed twice!!!

 

You can read about the games progression below. What I found interesting and amusing was an observation:

"This evening's this once-in-a-lifetime encounter with Italy will produce a feeling "better than sex", according to Dr McVey, one of the country's leading psychologists. Cynthia McVey says that most of the country's adult male population would turn down a romp with Claudia Schiffer tonight, rather than miss the big game.

"The lure of the match is so appealing, I believe most adult males would push Claudia Schiffer out of the way if she wandered near the telly."

And if the Scots won........she is convinced Scotland will see a population explosion in nine months' time. !!!!!!

SEE: Scotland expects: 50 things you need to know before 5pm  By Martyn McLaughlin    #35  "Scoring" http://sport.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1495&id=1816492007

Dream Over for Battling Scots after Defeat to Italy at Hampden

SCOTLAND 1-2 ITALY

The Scotsman

Scotland on Sunday

Tom English

November 18,2007 

Scotland 1
(Ferguson 65)

Italy 2
(Toni 2; Panucci 90)

IN THE end, the emotions were not so much mixed as scrambled to the four corners of Hampden. We had seen Italy score in 70 seconds, we had seen them dominate the early minutes with some chilling football that not only took the fire out of the home support but also shocked Alex McLeishs team to the core.

But in the final stages it was the world champions who had the heat coming on them, their lead wiped-out by a scrambling Barry Ferguson goal just after the hour, their assurance of before now stripped away.

With 10 minutes remaining Scotland drove forward once again, the substitute Kenny Miller piling down the right side and sending the most delicious ball across the Italian penalty area. The Azzurri were at sixes and sevens, Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluca Zambrotta, two of the games pre-eminent defenders from two of the worlds most glamorous clubs, were over-run. None of them had picked up James McFadden.

McFadden was running free, in line with Italys back post. As Millers cross came over he was the man all Scots would have wanted on the end of it. The hero of so many heros, this was not his hour. His shot went wide. Painfully, agonisingly wide.

Italy had been warned and Italy responded. With a minute of normal time remaining Christian Panucci missed a sitter from a close-range header. A minute later, Panucci knocked Scotland out of the European championships, climbing high and heading home from a corner. Game over. Dream over.

Omens. The week was full of them, most dreamed up by a tabloid press hungry for another spread to add to the spreads upon spreads theyd already thrown at this game. Andy Watson was going to wear his lucky socks, we were told. That was good. The match was being played on the 17th of the month at 17.00 hours. For Italy, this was apparently bad. A tall tale of a spy in the Scotland camp was interpreted, by the fantasy factory that produced it, as a positive for McLeish. Italy were worried. On and on went the theories.

Come the day and come the rain. How to read this development? Was this the footballing gods dampening the home parade? Or was it the heavens welcoming the Italians to Glasgow with a foul downpour to go with the cold and the vast noise of the Scottish fans? Have some of this, boys. You might be world champions but you can handle this?

As evidenced by their goal in 70 seconds and a second chance in the third minute that should have brought them another Italy werent inconvenienced much by the Hampden experience. The early goal was what McLeish would have lived in dread of and there it was, ugly as sin. A calamity in defensive terms, a kick in the stomach of the nations aspirations.

Gianluca Zambrotta took a throw on the left touchline and flung it to an unmarked Antonio Di Natale in the Scottish penalty area. The sucker blow was nigh. It seemed to happen in slow motion from there. Di Natale had time to stroke a ball across the six yard box and Toni had the freedom to knock it home, getting in ahead of Stephen McManus. Criminal.

What good were Watsons lucky socks now?

Toni is some operator. He is big and he is nimble but most of all he is one of the great finishers in the game at present. It was his two goals that did for the Scots in Bari in their first meeting in this group. Italy had loads of chances on the night but it was Toni who got the job done. Here hed done it again, no sooner had Scottish backsides settled into their seats for a night of drama.

Scotland had not yet recovered from the goal when they could have lost another, the relentless Toni setting up Mauro Camoranesi only for the Juventus midfielder to drive it over. These were awful moments for Scotland. In the 13th minute, Toni fired in a vicious shot and Gordon was forced to push it away for a corner.

By the time Scotland gained some composure and started chasing the game they were fortunate to have a game to chase. One goal, in the circumstances, was no disaster.

They had a period in the middle of the half when optimism began to grow. A Lee McCulloch shot from the edge of the box came off the upper arm of Zambrotta and a huge appeal went up for a penalty that was rightly not awarded. Barry Ferguson shot over under pressure just after, then Alan Hutton, who had been having a hard time of it dealing with Di Natale but who went on to have a thunderous game, got above Zambrotta and headed narrowly wide. There was a growing accuracy in their play when Italy reminded their hosts what a dangerous game they were playing by piling forward in such numbers.

Just after the half hour, Di Natale had the ball in Gordons net. Camoranesi got free down the right and put a cross in that caused some panic in the Scottish defence. Initially, Gordon made a stunning close-range save but then Di Natale stuck away the loose ball, untouched by a marker. It was ruled-out for offside but the goal was good. Hampden heaved a sigh of relief.

Next, they cried out with anguish for we werent done with the close shaves. The last act of the half was a David Weir header that looked a goal all over until Andrea Pirlo made a stunning goal-line clearance. With the ball in flight and seemingly heading for the top right hand corner of Gianluigi Buffons goal the television cameras picked out McLeishs excitement. Clearly the manager thought it was goal-bound but then up popped Pirlo and nutted it clear.

If Weirs near miss served as a reminder that Scotland were alive it also came as confirmation that Italy arent normally in the business of losing one goal, not to mind two. That was the way of it for the first 20 minutes of the second half; Scotland pressed and Italy soaked it up. Slowly the dream was fading away.

We have thought that way many times in this campaign, though. We have thrown negativity at McLeish and his players and amid so many moments of darkness they have worked their way towards the light. It was Huttons turn to lead last night. The Rangers full-back, a player really of the highest quality, scampered down down the right on one of those daring runs that are as natural to him as breathing. He ran and ran and was hauled down by Zambrotta, just outside the box, just slightly to the right.

Paul Hartley and James McFadden discussed their options as Italy constructed their wall. In the end, McFadden just hit. Putting it mildly, it was not his sweetest strike but it worked. Somehow, the thing panned-out. McFaddens shot was a low scuttery thing that went on an improbable journey, first off Fergusons heel and then into the path of McCulloch.

The midfielder stabbed weakly at Buffon but the Italy goalkeeper made a hash of holding on to the shot and spilled it slightly forward. As he moved to make amends Ferguson came sliding in like a train, sweeping the ball into the net. Mercy be, they were level.

They tried. How they tried to get the winner but Panucci was the man who provided it. A horrible moment at the end of a pulsating night. One of many on the road that brought us here in the first place.

 

 

The ANNOTICO Reports Can be Viewed (and are Archived) on:

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Annotico Email: annotico@earthlink.net