Joker 1 - 4 Grilled
ercast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 80000 at Aljunied Bridge today.
Krištof Handanagič was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Brad Douglas and
Sandi Turčinović. Joker had chosen a strategic 4-5-1 formation. They fielded: Andersson - Tsun-kuo, Sing, Gil-Hyung, Joon - O'Sullivan, Egan, Ting Chee, Faeldonea, Chi-kai - Chang-Lit.
Grilled started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Harlow - Bona, Kek-Tjiang, Liehner - van Liere, Stanton, Han Kok, Spirig, Borup - Langeland, Martinsson.
It was obvious that Joker were using their pressing skill as their primary tactic. With 3 minutes played, the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending.
Hidde van Liere put the ball away for 0 - 1. At this time in the match, Joker were using their skill at pressing to successfully put pressure on their opponents. 30 minutes into the game, Joker had difficulty finding their positions and their organization dropped to
inadequate. Grilled came close to extending their lead as
Ola Martinsson delivered a low effort on goal from the right after 35 minutes, but the angle was too narrow and the shot went harmlessly into the side netting. 40 minutes into the game, Joker seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a
poor level of organization.
Asher Stanton increased the visitors' lead by putting a volley shot away on a pass from the right. 0 - 2. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 2. The forty-five minutes were dominated by Grilled, with an impressive 71 percent possession of the ball.
During the break, Joker's coach went through the team's tactics yet again, getting them up to
passable organization.
Quah Han Kok came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle, but he lifted the ball over
Peter Andersson and it was a little too high and hit the bar. 67 minutes had been played and the home team was awarded a penalty. The guest's keeper dived the right way, but
Jiang Joon was still able to reduce the score to 1 - 2. 68 minutes into the game, Joker had difficulty finding their positions and their organization dropped to
weak. The game had been on for 79 minutes when
Ola Martinsson broke through on the right, upping the score for Grilled to 1 - 3, much to the home crowd's dismay. 82 minutes into the game, Grilled worked the left side industriously creating several opportunities to add to their lead, but just couldn't apply the finishing touch. With 87 minutes played, Grilled put themselves up 1 - 4 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. The scorer was
Shen Kek-Tjiang. By now, Grilled were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. 88 minutes in, Grilled's
Shen Kek-Tjiang received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Joker were forced to a substitution as
Sima Chi-kai couldn't continue playing due to the rough treatment, forcing
Denis Follain to come in from the sidelines. Grilled held the ball, with a clear 76 percent of possession.
The most dominating Joker player was without a doubt
Yao Tsun-kuo.
Denis Follain was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Grilled player was without a doubt
Asher Stanton. However,
Terkel Borup made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 1 - 4.