ESOX 0 - 7 Milan (384290425)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 17654 at ESOX 05 Arena today. Jarno Saarinen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Baltazar Janikowski and Gerimantas Baguševičius. ESOX decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. The following players had been chosen: Bechteler - Reger, Karstens, Krinke - Hahm, Lüdemann, Nachtmann, Welslau, Achhammer - Tommasi, Karlsson.

Milan tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Iacchetti - Dahlbruch, Fuchsbauer, Fuchsbauer - Gedik, Bertallo, Lowe, Weisswasser, Fica - Vandivielso, Rizzini.

7 minutes into the match, Milan nearly took the lead, as M. Dahlbruch broke through on the right. S. Bechteler made the save, however. Some quick footwork on the left side of the field 11 minutes into the match left Milan's E. Gedik completely free to score. 0 - 1 for the visitors. With 17 minutes played, Milan put themselves up 0 - 2 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. The scorer was R. Lowe. Confident in their lead, Milan's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. C. Karstens received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly 24 minutes into the match, probably out of lack of experience, and almost let an opponent score. After 25 minutes, Milan's B. Fica burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 0 - 3. It was 0 - 3 at the break. Milan claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 59 percent.

B. Fica knocked one home from a counterattack down the right wing, making the score 0 - 4 after 69 minutes. The Milan players could smell victory in the air. P. Rizzini wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for K. Karo after 70 minutes. A drive down the left side allowed M. Dahlbruch to get in close and score another goal for Milan after 76 minutes, taking the score to 0 - 5. After 80 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave M. Dahlbruch a chance to increase the lead for Milan, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 0 - 6. After 81 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for B. Fica who increased Milan's lead to 0 - 7. That was his third goal of the match - a hat trick for B. Fica. Milan had most of the ball, with 57 percent of possession.

Most important ESOX player was R. Lüdemann. However, M. Reger made a disastrous appearance. K. Karo performed admirably for Milan. T. Bertallo turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 0 - 7.