Rapalites 2 - 3 Grilled
636 spectators had found their way to Fisherman's Horizon, despite the heavy rain.
Domenic Lubig-Schlosser was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Radovan Kuzman and
Orhan Veli Serin. Rapalites decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. Starters: Tebbitt - Nanotti, Wilstra, Sauleda - Leaşcu, Bernhauer, Veremeenko, Caxaria, Frizzi - Peñarrubia, Crotti.
A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Grilled. The following players took the field: Stacey - 俊桂 (Jungui), 福泉 (Fuquan) , Madaini - bin Jantan, 尊文 (Zunwen) , Shun An, 长春 (Changchun), Djekshenkulov - bin Mohd Kassim, 勇航 (Yonghang).
Michele Nanotti, who often relies on his speed, had a rotten day on the drenched grass. Rapalites took the lead 25 minutes into the game by 1 to 0, as
Daniel Leaşcu elegantly received a long range pass through the middle, finishing off with a half-volley shot just below the bar. Rapalites's
Roelof Wilstra got himself booked for a foul.
林 (Lin) 俊桂 (Jungui) of Grilled had to be helped off the pitch as an injury meant he was unable to finish the game.
Walter Ross came in to finish the match. Rapalites put themselves up 2 - 0 when
Jesús Peñarrubia broke through on the right, leaving the entire defence trailing in his wake. The players of Rapalites now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. 32 minutes in, an amazing pass from the left side resulted in a goal for the visitors, as
凌 (Ling) 福泉 (Fuquan) anticipated the through ball and scored, reducing the deficit to 2 - 1. Some brilliant football from the visitors' right wing resulted in a levelling of the score as Grilled's
田 (Tian) 勇航 (Yonghang) put the ball in the onion bag after 38 minutes to make it 2 - 2. 2 - 2 was the halftime score. Possession was split evenly between the teams.
58 minutes into the game,
Natércio Caxaria had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came
Bruno Vandebon. 68 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
Harry Tebbitt saved the home team that time. The rain made it hard for players like
Walter Ross to show their technical control of the ball on this soggy day.
Harry Tebbitt looked great 80 minutes into the match after stopping a shot by the visitors'
田 (Tian) 勇航 (Yonghang) . The visiting
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim was booed thoroughly by the home crowd 81 minutes into the game, after he broke through the middle and scored, resulting in the visitors taking the lead. 2 - 3 was the score.
Abdul bin Jantan wanted to play on, but the Grilled coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 89 minutes into the game by
Alex Fonseca. Grilled enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 54 percent of possession.
Rapalites's top performer was clearly
Jesús Peñarrubia.
Bruno Vandebon was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Grilled player was without a doubt
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim.
Alex Fonseca turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 2 - 3.