Due to an all-day shower, 36829 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at
The Cooking Pot.
Khaleel Ibrahim El-Abbadi was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Andreas Jüriado and
Claus Lengerer. While a boggy pitch like this was an advantage for physical players, it really didn't help those who relied on speed or technique.
Grilled's starters:
Bok -
Himadas,
Hutter -
Reddy,
Teck Fu,
Keng Chuan,
Chitre,
Trindade -
Kwang Tse,
Thach,
An Keng.
The following players had been chosen by
Singapore:
Ivić -
Ðông Nguyên,
M'Madi,
Grasser -
Vanović,
Espeleta,
Esener,
Eichstaedt,
Åkesson -
Cheţan,
Jourdan.
Grilled Birds fielded a 2-5-3 lineup. For
FC Barca Singapore, the formation of choice was 3-5-2.
Grilled clearly preferred using their
divine (+7) ability to attack in the middle. Using their counter-attacking abilities was the strategy of choice for
Singapore on this day, taking advantage of their
world class level with that tactic. After 2 minutes
Adin Åkesson made a speedy advance and dropped the ball to
Ajdin Vanović who shuffled it past the keeper. The score was now 0 - 1. The crowd roared in delight as
Hwang Teck Fu finished off a spectacular series of passes through the middle to even the score for
Grilled 20 minutes into the match. 1 - 1.
Singapore had to manage with a reduced squad after 26 minutes, as
Aadil M'Madi got sent off for a needless foul away from the game's action. 30 minutes into the match and the home team took a 2 - 1 lead after breaking through on the left. The scorer for
Grilled was
Chia Kwang Tse. The visiting team's
Cezar Cheţan was able to score the 2 - 2 equaliser with a header 31 minutes into the match, after some good work on the right. Central attacks were the recipe of the day for
Grilled, as they moved the ball from the wings to the middle with startling regularity. Making his way up the middle 39 minutes into the match,
Gandhik Chitre almost managed to squeeze a goal past the visitors' keeper, but the alert
Ivan Ivić blocked it to keep the score level. With the clock showing 40 minutes played, a great pass from the defensive line of
Singapore resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by
Chris Jourdan in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. 42 minutes in,
Singapore's
Claus-Dieter Eichstaedt received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. After 42 minutes,
Chad Thach was massaging his right knee with a worried look on his face, but managed to get up in the end. 2 - 2 was the halftime score. Possession in this half belonged to
Grilled, who controlled the ball 54 percent of the time.
60 minutes into the match,
Grilled's
Chad Thach popped up from nowhere, cheekily stole the ball off an opposition player and scored. 3 - 2.
Grilled solidified their lead at the 61 minute mark, as
Hwang Teck Fu dribbled the ball through the opposing central defence and scored to make it 4 - 2. Coming from the right,
Gandhik Chitre almost managed to score another goal for
Grilled, but his header was tipped over the bar by the visitors' keeper. 85 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a
Singapore substitution.
Abdelouadoud Bensouda came on for
Luis Esteban Espeleta.
Raúl Himadas would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise.
Mohsen El Khateeb entered the game for
Grilled as the match clock showed 89 minutes. With
Raúl Himadas no longer on the pitch,
Aw Keng Chuan took over free kick duty. 89 minutes into the game,
Grilled wanted to bring some new energy to their game.
Damian Hutter gave
冬馬 (Toma) 田宮 (Tamiya) a quick hug as he left the field. As the match nears its end, the referee has deemed it appropriate to add 4 minutes as stoppage time.
Singapore fought on and, after 90 minutes,
Chris Jourdan was able to reduce the deficit to 4 - 3 after some excellent moves on the right side were finished off with an incredibly clever chip. The match ends 4 - 3.
Grilled had most of the ball, with 53 percent of possession.
Most important
Grilled player was
Chia Kwang Tse. The most dominating
Singapore player was without a doubt
Chris Jourdan.