Grilled 3 - 4 Storm
92 punters turned up at The Cooking Pot, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came.
Georges Declercq was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Hezi Rossman and
Stephen Dudley-Evans. Grilled had chosen a strategic 2-5-3 formation. The following players took the field: Seng - Bakhtiar, Ross - 福泉 (Fuquan) , 勇航 (Yonghang) , 力勇 (Liyong), Ying Lee, Djekshenkulov - Bellamoli, Wan Kang, Wee Li.
Storm tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Ariens - Ibn-Akil, Bentein, Ala - Rúnason, Martino, Lindow, Bouquet, Kammier - Ruszczyński, Barnabás.
Grilled decided to play creatively. Storm took a creative approach on the field. Storm's
Dominik Ruszczyński showed his experience after 13 minutes, as he expertly set himself up to take advantage of a rebound off the crossbar, but his shot was tipped harmlessly out of the way.
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Hilal Bakhtiar of Grilled received a yellow card after 20 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Almost all the way down to the corner flag, Storm's
Óla Jákup Rúnason somehow managed to get a perfect pass into the middle, impossible to miss for
Gergő Barnabás, who struck for 0 - 1.
Tim Lindow sailed high above the opponents as he headed in a corner kick from
Gergő Barnabás after 31 minutes of play. 0 - 2
田 (Tian) 勇航 (Yonghang) did everything he could to get one back for his Grilled, but keeper
Theunis Sjoerd Ariens denied him with a spectacular block. After 34 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave
Hussain Ala a chance to increase the lead for Storm, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 0 - 3. Confident in their lead, Storm's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. After 41 minutes, Storm's
Dominik Ruszczyński burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 0 - 4. Storm's
Alain Kammier got himself booked for a foul. 0 - 4 was the halftime score. Grilled claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 56 percent.
With 46 minutes played, the Grilled coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around.
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim came on,
梁 (Liang) 力勇 (Liyong) had to leave the fray.
Leong Wan Kang challenged the visitors' central defence eagerly, producing a good chance 47 minutes into the game as he went for a through ball. But, as so many times before, the guests' defensive efforts got the best of it. The home crowd were delighted when
Hung Wee Li scored with a header after an attack from the right, making the score 1 - 4. But did he use his hand? That'll be one for the pundits to talk about after the game, that's for sure! At 72 minutes into the game, Grilled's
Leong Wan Kang deftly knocked the ball home after an impressive run down the left, reducing the visitors' lead to 2 - 4. After 77 minutes, Grilled sent a free kick in high over the penalty box. In what looked like a well-rehearsed move, the ball was headed backwards and reached
Pompeo Bellamoli, who had plenty of space to place a well aimed shot - 3 - 4. Grilled had most of the ball, with 62 percent of possession.
Grilled's top performer was clearly
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim.
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Hilal Bakhtiar turned in a dismal performance, however.
Gergő Barnabás performed admirably for Storm.
Óla Jákup Rúnason was a disappointment, however. The match ends 3 - 4.