Gino 1 - 5 Milan (383922523)

15149 spectators had come to Gino Arena this cloudy day. Christian Hippele was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Luis Rouco and Jędrzej Siuta. Gino decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. The following players took the field: Lassas - Gurrea, Halldahl, Bouchart, Höijer - Storgaard, Renaudin, Jiménez Eneas, Ricaldi, Gutiérrez de Cossio - Läfvenell.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Milan. Starters: Jánský - Wicharn, Klarin, Marcu - de Villenfagne, Serfel, Varga, Mambelli, Kobs - Bocquet, Salling.

The wings were the focus of most of Gino's attacks today. Milan mostly ignored the flanks in favour of their ability to attack in the middle. Some quick footwork on the left side of the field 19 minutes into the match left Milan's L. de Villenfagne completely free to score. 0 - 1 for the visitors. Gino had a good opportunity to attack in the middle, but remembered their instructions to focus on wing attacks instead. 31 minutes in, and Gino were able to score the equalising goal to make it 1 - 1 when B. Halldahl picked up a pass coming in from the right and chipped it past the away team's keeper. Milan's P. Bocquet could have put the guests one up after 35 minutes after chasing a through ball from the right, but O. Lassas was as fast as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose. Some mind-boggling play by A. Höijer almost resulted in a goal for Milan, but R. Kobs's shot rebounded off the post. 41 minutes into the game, P. Bocquet had a great chance to put his team ahead, but his kick from the left went wide. Gino were determined to attack on the wing and their central attempts were constantly abandoned in favour of the wings. Slack defending gave Gino a chance to take the lead with 43 minutes played, but M. Gurrea's cross from the left flank was fumbled in front of the goal and easily dealt with by the opposition. A. Serfel of Milan was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. Milan took the lead 44 minutes into the game, making the score 1 - 2 after some elegant movement down the middle. G. Mambelli was the scorer. Milan were determined to attack in the middle, even their wing attacks ended up centrally. The visitors' B. Salling took advantage of a misunderstanding between the home side's goalie and centre backs 44 minutes into the match. 1 - 3 for Milan. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave A. Höijer from Gino a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 44 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Halftime score was 1 - 3. Possession in this half belonged to Milan, who controlled the ball 68 percent of the time.

After the ball was lifted in from the left, P. Bocquet was on his own in the home side's penalty area and should have scored after 50 minutes, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration. The home keeper was stunned 51 minutes into the match when he misjudged the free kick by I. Marcu and dived in the wrong direction. The visitors increased the lead to 1 - 4. Gino needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 69 minutes M. Gurrea made way for I. Ruponen. With 69 minutes played, the Gino coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. J. Guillin came on, E. Läfvenell had to leave the fray. A. Gutiérrez de Cossio was handed the Gino captain's armband. It was obvious that team Milan had instructions to attack in the middle instead of on the wings. A. Serfel came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over O. Lassas but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. Milan had a good opportunity to attack on the wing, but remembered their instructions to go for middle attacks. A. Serfel received a delicate pass through the home side's central defence after 80 minutes, and chipped it past the flailing keeper to score making it 1 - 5. The Milan fans went wild, whilst the home fans started to think about leaving early. The players of Milan now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. Milan had most of the ball, with 67 percent of possession.

A. Gutiérrez de Cossio performed admirably for Gino. P. Ricaldi was a disappointment, however. Milan's best player was A. Serfel. O. Jánský on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 1 - 5.