It was Milano’s first official match for the year and with some new faces and a new look line-up, there was a lot of enthusiasm and excitement.
As the siren sounded to begin the match, the Eagles carried that excitement straight into play with two goals inside the first four minutes.
Dominating in the middle (De Giorgi, Bolognese and Wilkinson) and great play-making off the backline (Bernasconi) the Eagles held Oxford University scoreless in the first 10 minutes and goalless for the quarter.
When De Giorgi scored his second goal for the quarter, the Eagles had raced to an 18-point lead and by the end of the first quarter, the Eagles were leading by 16 points.
In the second quarter, after Oxford had finally broken through for their first major, it was all one-way traffic. The Eagles went on to kick five of the next six goals.
F. Alloisio was simply outstanding, kicking two goals to move his personal tally to three and Bolognese added his second in the quarter after blitzing through a pack and sending the 40-metre kick straight down the middle.
Clearly on top in the ruck, thanks to Wilkinson and ball magnets De Giorgi, Bolognese and Bernasconi, ensured the Eagles were having a great time. Displaying great movement from the backline with a chain of handballs (Carboncini, Macintosh and Gennara) through the middle, the Eagles were simply unstoppable. Good physical work around the ground (Cei, Imparato, Del Gaizo and Deny) saw the Eagles hold a 35-point lead at half-time.
The third quarter again saw the Eagles living up to their name sake and were off to a flying start. After yet another goal by F. Alloisio (his fourth), a third to De Giorgi and a great goal by Wilkinson,the Eagles found themselves 48 points in front.
With hard workers all over the ground (Bernasconi, Santangelo and Giancola) and great support in the backline by L. Arnulfo, the Eagles were looking like big winners. But after an inspired Bernasconi burst through a pack, took a bounce and bombed a ball that just missed, little did the Eagles know that would be their last score of the day. Oxford kicked the last two goals of the quarter to close the gap to 30 points at three-quarter-time.
Making several changes for the last term with big bodies Colombo and Cei playing in the goal square and Gaiz playing in the middle, proved to play no part as the Eagles were tired after a brilliant opening three quarters.
Oxford kicked two goals in a minute and the backline of the Eagles (Arnulfo, Deny and Imparato) were under huge pressure. A few chances to Colombo and Cei in the final minutes needed more luck, but the tide had turned.
After a great bump and tackle by Deny in the last line of defence, the final siren sounded.
Although scoreless in the final quarter the Eagles held their nerve to register a hard fought five-point win.
Milano 3.2 8.4 11.5 11.5 71
Oxford 0.4 2.5 5.5 10.6 66
Goalkickers: F Alloisio 4; De Giorgi 3; Bolognese 2; Wilkinson and Carboncini.
Best: Bernasconi, F Alloisio, Bolognese, Wilkinson, De Giorgi and Carboncini.
Coach: Armando Colombo
Assistant coach: Frank Cichello
Umpires: Armando Colombo & Luigi Trotti.
