It was a scorching day at the stadium today. The weather was sunny, which meant perfect conditions for technical players in both teams. However, it was also quite warm, which meant quick or physically strong players were drained faster and couldn't play their best game.
maison's lineup was:
Marijanović -
Rauf,
Okiko,
Kuczmarski -
Moshir,
Salazar,
Van Doorslaar,
Milovac,
Dorow -
Borbón,
Mujčin.
The following players had been chosen by
Grilled:
Marcol -
Himadas,
其材 (Qicai) -
Reddy,
Kwang Tse,
長野 (Nagano),
Teck Fu,
Andrović -
Thach,
Chitre,
An Keng.
It was to be a contest between two different football philosophies, since the home team started the game with a 3-5-2 formation while the visitors instead opted for 2-5-3.
maison preferred to finish off their attacks from a distance, taking advantage of their
divine level with that tactic.
Grilled used their
divine (+5) ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the pitch, rather than on the wings.
Nayyar Rauf was very close to giving
maison the lead with an ingenious free kick routine 4 minutes into the match, but the ball just grazed the bar. It's a small letdown for
Nayyar Rauf that the
Grilled coach has decided not to select
Mohd Marzuki Khairul for the starting lineup. He had been instructed to neutralize him! It was obvious that team
Grilled had instructions to attack in the middle instead of on the wings.
Gordan Marijanović looked great 11 minutes into the match after stopping a shot from the middle of the penalty area from the visitors'
Gandhik Chitre. With 27 minutes played, the home side managed to get a 1 - 0 lead as
Branimir Milovac flipped the ball in after a cross from the right.
Dagmar Van Doorslaar pulled the strings in the build-up. In the lead,
maison adjusted their style of play with 37 minutes gone. With 39 minutes played, the excellent ball from the wing by
Grilled's
Brian 'Was Born' Reddy reached
Lim An Keng's head, and he is not one to miss such an opportunity - 1 - 1. The visiting
Gandhik Chitre was booed thoroughly by the home crowd 40 minutes into the game, after he broke through the middle and scored, resulting in the visitors taking the lead. 1 - 2 was the score.
Chia Kwang Tse 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
Gordan Marijanović but overcooked it and hit the bar instead.
Chad Thach of
Grilled received a yellow card after 43 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. After 44 minutes,
Branimir Milovac got through on the right and was very close to equalising for the home side, but didn't get the shot away. It was 1 - 2 at the break.
Grilled enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 52 percent of possession.
元気 (Genki) 長野 (Nagano) would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise.
Aw Keng Chuan entered the game for
Grilled as the match clock showed 46 minutes. Some fine passing in the middle of the pitch, carving open the away defence, should have led to a goal for
maison, but
Tim Dorow's shot went over the bar. After 59 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for
Aw Keng Chuan who increased
Grilled's lead to 1 - 3. A well-timed setup from
Chia Kwang Tse preceded the goal. Under heavy pressure after 71 minutes, the inexperienced
Grilled struggled to maintain their level of play. Central attacks were the recipe of the day for
Grilled, as they moved the ball from the wings to the middle with startling regularity. With 74 minutes played,
Gandhik Chitre nearly put the visitors another one up as he broke through in the middle and fired from just outside the box, but his shot passed just over the bar. 89 minutes into the game,
Grilled wanted to bring some new energy to their game.
Raúl Himadas gave
Damian Hutter a quick hug as he left the field. With
Raúl Himadas no longer on the pitch,
Aw Keng Chuan became the new set pieces taker. The referee announced 1 minute of stoppage time, giving fans a slim hope that their team could get one more attack in before this was all over.
maison's slick passing moves completely confused the defence after 89 minutes, but thanks to
Radomil Marcol's miraculous save from
Wojciech Kuczmarski's long shot the score remained unchanged. The match ends 1 - 3.
Grilled claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 52 percent.
maison's best player was
Gordan Marijanović. Most important
Grilled player was
Gandhik Chitre.