Grilled 3 - 4 Rapalites
239 spectators had come to The Cooking Pot this cloudy day.
Jordi Eüler was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Octávio Fernandes and
Gert Kaalep. Grilled tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players took the field: Stacey - 力勇 (Liyong), 福泉 (Fuquan) , Madaini - bin Jantan, 尊文 (Zunwen) , Shun An, 长春 (Changchun), Djekshenkulov - bin Mohd Kassim, 勇航 (Yonghang).
Rapalites started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Tebbitt - Wilstra, Sauleda, Daire - Leaşcu, Caxaria, Veremeenko, Bernhauer, Frizzi - Huhtamäki, Nilo.
Rapalites's
Daniel Leaşcu refused to leave the field after injuring his achilles tendon after 23 minutes. Rapalites's
Natércio Caxaria managed to lose the defenders as he advanced down the right wing and scored, putting the visitors ahead after 25 minutes. 0 - 1. Grilled's
凌 (Ling) 福泉 (Fuquan) was shown a yellow card after 29 minutes for slicing down an opponent. After 31 minutes, Rapalites's
Joni Huhtamäki swiftly ran past
梁 (Liang) 力勇 (Liyong) and nutmegged the keeper! 0 - 2. By now, the players in Rapalites felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward.
卢 (lu) 尊文 (Zunwen) challenged the visitors' central defence eagerly, producing a good chance 35 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. With 37 minutes played, Rapalites put themselves up 0 - 3 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. The scorer was
Natércio Caxaria. Grilled's fans were urging them forward as they tried to get back into the game, and their vocal support was rewarded 38 minutes into the match as
朱 (Zhu) 长春 (Changchun) ran onto a beautiful ball played through the visitors' defence and slotted it past the keeper to reduce the deficit. 1 - 3. After 41 minutes,
José Alberto Nilo sprinted between the opposing defenders and squared the ball, but the keeper deflected
Joni Huhtamäki's shot. The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 3. Grilled claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 57 percent.
After 47 minutes
田 (Tian) 勇航 (Yonghang) could have reduced the lead with a blistering strike from the left wing, had it not been for an excellent block by the visitors' keeper. After 57 minutes, a mistake by the home side's left defence allowed
José Alberto Nilo to get through. He outclassed the home side's keeper, adding another goal for the visitors. 1 - 4. Grilled's
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim managed a superb strike from the left after 66 minutes that would have left goalkeeper
Harry Tebbitt without a chance, had it not hit the post. Grilled refused to be intimidated and, breaking through the middle,
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim managed to slip the ball home for 2 - 4.
Savva Veremeenko was ever so close to scoring after an excellent corner was met beautifully by
Sämi Bernhauer, but the ball bounced off the post to safety. The home crowd was given a certain amount of consolation when
朱 (Zhu) 长春 (Changchun) scored after a brilliant midfield combination through the centre, reducing the lead to 3 - 4.
Savva Veremeenko came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over
Dexter Stacey but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. The bench was restless, and with 85 minutes passed Grilled's coach gave
林 (Lin) 俊桂 (Jungui) the opportunity the player had been hoping for.
梁 (Liang) 力勇 (Liyong) reluctantly left the field. After 89 minutes, Grilled switched
Abdul bin Jantan with
Alex Fonseca, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. Grilled had most of the ball, with 55 percent of possession.
Grilled's top performer was clearly
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim. However,
Alex Fonseca made a disastrous appearance. Rapalites's best player was
José Alberto Nilo. On the other hand,
Tiberio Frizzi's play was disheartening. The match ends 3 - 4.