GBR Stumble
Wondrous Wilde
The collective sigh of relief from Gamma Stadium's packed VIP boxes was audible over the rain, and for good reason as Grilled squeezed past FC GBR to go some way towards ensuring their continued presence in Division Two. Grilled's fans were noticeably turned off by Grilled's consecutive losses against Shadow Chaser FC and Neo Toxicants, with only enough braving the torrential rainfall to half-fill the stadium. To be certain, those who stayed at home did not miss much as the players struggled on the sodden ground. FC GBR fielded much the same team that dominated Grilled Birds when they last met, while Grilled threw caution to the wind as they hand was forced by defender
Nui Pakpao failing a last-minute fitness test.
Chen Chiew-Yen was chosen over
Joe Stern to complete a 3-5-2 lineup, but he was singularly ineffective this day. No-one batted an eyelid when FC GBR won a routine free-kick quite a bit nearer the halfway line than the Grilled goalline. Ex-national playmaker Ma Zhong-Yan made a few eyeballs pop out with an outrageous whale of a shot. It is a testament to how far
Hang Bao-Tam has come that he flicked the ball away to foil what even at international level would probably have been a goal. Grilled did not sit back, and earned a free-kick on the edge of the box when Rahmgård caught Hjortlind with a trailing leg. Dewilde again stood in for the absent Stern, and released an absolute beauty that eluded the despairing leap of FC GBR's Mattias Vikwald.
The rest of the game was difficult to appreciate aesthetically, as the sides fought more on a strategic level with fast breaks and individual skills precluded by the worsening weather. Only one further attempt was mustered by both teams, with Dane Peter Hansen firing the first salvo for FC GBR, as the wily Örjan 'Pavan' Falkenstål took
Lan Tuan-Mu away from him. Bao-Tam did all he could, and in the end only the crossbar prevented FC GBR from levelling the game. This reminded Grilled of their shaky hold on the game, and defensive midfielder
Shen Kek-Tjiang tried to close the game off. The element of surprise favoured his lob, but too much force was put behind in. Jan Åhlsjö put in a Man-of-the-Match performance as he outlasted both Tellskär and Ju-Hau in the middle, but his perserverance could not will the ball through the Grilled half fast enough for the ever-threatening FC GBR to steal a point.
