Melegnano 2 - 1 Rastafarian (381663849)

Clouds darkened the skies at Arena di Melegnano as 40000 spectators turned up for the match. Gerrit Sternburg was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Lars Paulsen and Vladimir Zaslavskiy. Melegnano decided to use a 2-5-3 set up. Starters: Rivera - Bhutia, Boutin - Hansson, Yunta, Pomar, Bertoldi, Maidl - Bogdanoff, Stilli, Ughetto.

Rastafarian had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. The following players took the field: D'Alberto - Bova, Floener, Ferreri, Arduini, Pettorossi - Michieli, Brotto, Grasset, Wied - Marbizza.

Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Rastafarian. Melegnano broke through on the left 41 minutes into the game, with K. Bhutia firing in from an acute angle to give the home side a 1 - 0 lead. Melegnano's opponents know to be wary of C. Hansson's speed, but it made little difference as he flew past the defence 42 minutes into the game. Only the keeper could stop him - and he did with a perfectly timed dive! 1 - 0 was the halftime score. Melegnano claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 58 percent.

48 minutes into the match, P. Boutin could have extended the lead, but his powerful free kick went just over the bar. 49 minutes into the game Rastafarian managed a counterattack, but F. Wied took a soft shot from the left flank that was easy prey for the alert keeper. After 58 minutes Melegnano's G. Bertoldi limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. A free kick just outside of the visitors' penalty area after 69 minutes could have resulted in another goal, but D. D'Alberto got a hand out and tipped the ball over the bar. A great save by keeper D. D'Alberto after 71 minutes kept the visitors in the game after C. Hansson struck from the left with a real cannonball. Rastafarian almost scored after a counterattack 72 minutes into the match, but B. Marbizza took a shot from the left that landed harmlessly in the side of the net. The visitors refused to give in and, after 78 minutes, F. Michieli evened things up as he finished off a perfect pass from the right. 1 - 1 After 84 minutes of play, T. Bogdanoff gave the home team a 2 - 1 lead after an attack coming in from the right. Melegnano had most of the ball, with 55 percent of possession.

Melegnano's best player was U. Ughetto. On the other hand, P. Boutin's play was disheartening. Most important Rastafarian player was F. Wied. C. Brotto turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 2 - 1.