06 August 2015
Vinovo played host to an intriguing encounter between Juventus' Primavera, managed by Fabio Grosso, and Juventus' reserve side, led on the evening by Claudio Gabetta.
Having put in an impressive showing at a pre-season tournament in Switzerland last weekend, in which they beat Real Madrid to reach the final, Grosso's young guns showed little sign of backing down to their more experienced opponents in Thursday's match.
Instead of being played over two halves, the fixture was broken down into three periods, lasting a total of 100 minutes.
FIRST PERIOD
After weathering a Primavera storm at the start of the match, the reserves opened the scoring through Cristian Pasquato. Buoyed by the goal, the striker came close to doubling his personal tally, prodding just wide of the target.
On 15 minutes, Gabetta's men would double their lead, Paolo De Ceglie sweeping home with an accurate finish, before Pasquato added a third and his second of the evening with a strike from outside the box. The reserves would face a pair of Primavera attacks towards the end of the first period, but neither Davide Arras nor Roman Macek could capitalise on their respective opportunities on goal.
SECOND PERIOD
It would only take a minute of the second period for Grosso's men to peg one back through Stefano Pellini. However, after Alessandro Vogliacco put the ball fortuitously into his own net, re-establishing the three-goal margin, the reserves would enjoy another spell of superiority. They extended their lead with Mbaye Diagne's brace either side of a Luca Clemenza srike for the Primavera. Sergio Buenacasa then added a seventh for Gabetta's outfit, all but sealing the victory before the third period had even begun.
THIRD PERIOD
Despite trailing by five goals, the Primavera did not lose heart, as Nicolò Pozzebon executed a sumptuous lob to make it 7-3. Goals from Francesco Margiotta and Michele Cavion would again extend the reserves' lead, before Macek responded with a delightful chip, gifting him a second of the evening. Buenacasa celebrated his own brace too moments later, bringing up the tenth goal for Gabetta's men, before Gabriele Bove pulled one back for the Primavera, with the match ending 10-5.
In today's other news from the JAcademy, the Allievi have kicked off their pre-season. Felice Tufano's young guns will prepare for the new campaign in Bardonecchia before returning to Vinovo on Wednesday 19 August.
