Kang 2 - 0 Grilled
3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Kang. They fielded: Quintas - Stedt, Unterbusch, Noy - Aldro, Paškvalin, Lopez Soria, van Egters, Tucci - Martín, Khalil Zadeh.
Grilled decided to use a 2-5-3 set up. Starters: Stacey - Tzonkov, Madaini - Iten, bin Jantan, 尊文 (Zunwen), 长春 (Changchun), Djekshenkulov - bin Mohd Kassim, 勇航 (Yonghang), Ying Lee.
Today, Kang's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. Many thought
Adam Noy ought to have been awarded a penalty 2 minutes into the game, as he went down trying to dribble around
Dexter Stacey after a determined run through the middle. Making his way up the middle 14 minutes into the match,
Manny Aldro almost managed to squeeze a goal past the visitors' keeper, but the alert
Dexter Stacey blocked it to keep the score level. 17 minutes into the game,
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim was a hair's breadth away from giving Grilled the lead with a shot from over on the left. A prompt block by
Martiniano Quintas saved the home team that time. 25 minutes into the match, Grilled nearly took the lead, as
Qassem Madaini broke through on the right.
Martiniano Quintas made the save, however. Halftime score was 0 - 0. Grilled held the ball, with a clear 52 percent of possession.
Players in Kang heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. Some beautiful plays on the left side of the field resulted in a goal after 52 minutes by
Sorena Khalil Zadeh for Kang, putting them ahead 1 - 0. Kang managed to extend their lead to 2 - 0 when
Gherardo Tucci cut in neatly from the left side and struck a fine shot past the away team's goalkeeper. At this point, it was obvious that the players of Kang lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. 74 minutes into the game, Grilled's attack got through on the right, but
Chow Ying Lee couldn't handle the ball and his feeble kick wound up in the keeper's arms. After 77 minutes, Kang began to show their lack of experience and they threatened to wilt under the heavy pressure from their opposition. Grilled enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 54 percent of possession.
Kang's top performer was clearly
Gherardo Tucci.
André van Egters on the other hand, had a terrible day.
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim performed admirably for Grilled.
Paolo Iten was a disappointment, however. The match ends 2 - 0.