Lazio lose a point in the wind

Dag Jenkins
Jan 1, 2023
2 min read

Season 1943-44

Game 5, Roman War League

Saturday, January 1, 1944

Stadio PNF, Rome

Lazio Juventus Roma 1-1

Lazio trail after ten minutes and equalise after thirty but fail to get the two points

The war had interrupted football at a national level. There were only tournaments being played at regional level. Lazio took part in the first "Campionato romano di guerra" (Roman War League). It consisted of ten teams and ran from December to June. The league had started in December and so far, Lazio had won 4 out of 4. Lazio had scored 15 goals and conceded 1. Lazio were top of the table on 8 points, with Roma.

Juventus Roma were a multi-sports club founded in 1905. They had formerly been called S.S Juventus Roma (1905-1919), Juventus Audax (1919-1923), Libertas F.C (1923-25) and then Juventus Roma again (1925- ). They played in Piazza d'Armi (where Lazio trained and played from 1901 to 1905) in what is now the Prati area and their supporters came mainly from the popular Monti and Esquilino areas. Just before the war the Bianconeri had been promoted to Serie C.

Juventus Roma were on 4 points after two wins (Avia 3-2 and Alba 1-0) and two defeats (Roma 0-2 and Vigili del Fuoco 0-2).

The match

A freezing day with strong icy winds saw about 7,000 spectators present.

Lazio were favourites today, but the Juventini came out fighting. The wind was off putting but nevertheless the game was fast and entertaining with end-to-end action. The visitors surprisingly took the lead after ten minutes when Ranieri I beat Uber Gradella, 0-1.

The Bianconeri almost surprised Lazio again five minutes later when Marchionni went close to doubling the lead.

Lazio equalised on the half hour with their top scorer Umberto Lombardini, 1-1.

Despite the leveller Lazio were unable to get the upper hand and the game continued to be balanced.

It was only in the last fifteen minutes that Lazio really pegged the Bianconeri back constantly, but the determined defence and the windy conditions made sure there was no winner for Lazio.

A fair if surprising draw in the end. A point dropped by Lazio who had been expected to win today. Credit to the visitors who had given a good as they got for an hour and then defended valiantly.

Next up for Lazio was the biggest game of the tournament, the derby against A.S Roma. The table at the moment read: Lazio 9, Roma 9, Tirrenia 8, Mater 5, Juventus Roma 5 (Roma had drawn 2-2 at home with Mater).

Who played for Lazio

Gradella, Valenti, Ferrarese, Andreolo, Ramella, Manfrė I, Mancini, Longhi I, Lombardini, Capponi, D'Orazi