Milan~ 2 - 3 CASALE (382008212)

Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 7930 to San Siro. Jung-Woo Yun was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Juan Guillot and Tigo van Tuinen. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Milan~. Lineup: Scalone - Esteves, Westend, Dönhoff - Rigg, Hiser, Deniz, Bertaux, Zora - Pietragalla, Drogt.

CASALE started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Starters: Belan - Ward, Grębowiec, Tisiot - Spolitu, Lovato, Costanza, Kielemoes, Congedi - Barbani, Lotto.

Milan~ clearly preferred using their ability to attack in the middle. CASALE's S. Costanza got himself booked for a foul. Slack defending gave Milan~ a chance to take the lead with 12 minutes played, but M. Rigg's cross from the left flank was fumbled in front of the goal and easily dealt with by the opposition. Making his way up the middle 30 minutes into the match, M. Drogt almost managed to squeeze a goal past the visitors' keeper, but the alert A. Belan blocked it to keep the score level. J. Grębowiec of CASALE seemed to be floating in the air as he elegantly headed in to make the score 0 - 1 after a corner kick that was nicely executed by G. Lovato. With a shot curled in from just outside the middle of the penalty area after 40 minutes played, G. Hiser of Milan~ made the score 1 - 1. 1 - 1 was the score after the first half. Possession in this half belonged to Milan~, who controlled the ball 53 percent of the time.

The guests almost went up by a goal after 48 minutes when M. Kielemoes came through and shot from the right. The ball bounced harmlessly off the post, though. CASALE took the lead 67 minutes into the game, making the score 1 - 2 after some elegant movement down the middle. M. Kielemoes was the scorer. After 68 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave M. Spolitu a chance to increase the lead for CASALE, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 1 - 3. Confident in their lead, CASALE's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. In a rapid move 70 minutes into the match, G. Pietragalla of Milan~ lost his man and passed the ball to the unmarked M. Drogt who easily hit it home to make it 2 - 3. Luckily the ref didn't see him taunting the opposing fans in celebration - naughty boy! Milan~ had most of the ball, with 55 percent of possession.

Milan~'s best player was H. Deniz. L. Scalone on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important CASALE player was G. Congedi. On the other hand, M. Barbani's play was disheartening. The match ends 2 - 3.