Grilled 5 - 1 Delafonte
33 spectators had found their way to The Cooking Pot, despite the heavy rain.
Mårten Nilsson was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Jayson Sutcliffe and
Dag Johanson. Grilled decided to use a 2-5-3 set up. Lineup: Noubaryan - Bakhtiar, Awyong - Yong Yau, Gudivada, Boon Boon, Adabala, Wee Li - Azhari, Da Teck, 恒才 (Hengcai).
Delafonte tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. They fielded: Umaga - Kiongo, Ngotho, Korir, Babla - Gichonga, Wakihuri, Chepkwony, Ibn-Omar - Bailey, Kirop.
Isaac Bailey was uncomfortable with the soggy pitch as he couldn't move the ball around with his usual grace. Grilled broke through on the left 11 minutes into the game, with
Neo Da Teck firing in from an acute angle to give the home side a 1 - 0 lead. With 20 minutes played, seemingly due to lack of experience,
Li Boon Boon needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed. There was concern in the stands when, at the 30 minute mark, Grilled's
Li Boon Boon hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. Grilled solidified their lead at the 38 minute mark, as
唐 (Tang) 恒才 (Hengcai) manoeuvered the ball through the opposing central defence and finished for 2 - 0. 38 minutes into the match, the visitors' central line of defence had to look on as
Neo Da Teck dashed through, knocking home 3 - 0 for Grilled. Halftime score was 3 - 0. Grilled held the ball, with a clear 65 percent of possession.
Grilled's
Li Boon Boon wanted to play on, but 46 minutes into the game the decision was made to substitute him for
Aden Abu-Abdel. As
Krishnan Adabala was substituted 46 minutes into the game, he could take comfort in the fact that his team was in the lead.
Paolo Iten was the replacement. The Grilled players could smell victory in the air.
Hung Wee Li wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for
Seytek Djekshenkulov after 46 minutes.
唐 (Tang) 恒才 (Hengcai) fired a shot from distance after 47 minutes, but the long shot couldn't find the net for Grilled. Delafonte earned themselves a free kick after a counterattack wasn't dealt with adequately by their opponents.
Matata Chepkwony powered the shot in for 3 - 1. Grilled put themselves up 4 - 1 when
Mayur Gudivada broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. A well placed corner kick from
Mayur Gudivada was followed by
唐 (Tang) 恒才 (Hengcai)'s hard but accurate header. The nice combination marked a goal for Grilled, the score now 5 - 1. Grilled's players now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. With 72 minutes played, Grilled's
Hilal Bakhtiar">
Hilal Bakhtiar fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee booked
Hilal Bakhtiar">
Hilal Bakhtiar for diving. After 77 minutes, a couple of quick and successful challenges followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area by
Aden Abu-Abdel might have resulted in another goal for Grilled. However,
Gordie Umaga made a spectacular save. Grilled claimed to be the more dominant force in the game, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 77 percent.
Most important Grilled player was
Paolo Iten.
Hovaness Noubaryan was a disappointment, however. Delafonte's best player was
Jahi Kiongo. However,
Jibril Ibn-Omar made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 5 - 1.