Joker 2 - 5 Grilled
47647 spectators arrived at
Singa Arena, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.
Thomas MacConachie was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Wilfried Greda and
Erich Dieterling. The match took place on neutral ground. Lineup:
van Boshuizen -
Hao Jun,
Puay Hui -
海翔 (Haixiang),
Wurzinger,
Kim,
Hołówka,
Bodde -
Ah Kian,
Anderson,
Woon Chun.
Starters:
Dob -
Webb,
Panigrahi -
Xin Lee,
Mudaliar,
Ze Han,
Xin Seng,
Muthyala -
Mohammad Harun,
Egan,
Parvathaneni.
2-5-3 was the choice of the day for both coaches. Joker took a extra-terrestrial creative approach on the field. Grilled used their divine (+4) ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the pitch, rather than on the wings. Grilled's
Bilal Mohammad Harun could have put the guests one up after 12 minutes after chasing a through ball from the right, but
Gert-Jan van Boshuizen was as fast as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose. A mistake by the home side's central defence after 24 minutes allowed
Chan Ze Han to score for Grilled. The scoreboard now read 0 - 1.
Kalki Parvathaneni of Grilled was able to make an impressive rush past the sluggish
Liew Hao Jun, which resulted in a goal making the score 0 - 2. After 31 minutes,
Dimitri Bodde had a good opportunity to reduce the scoreline for Joker with a chance created through the middle, but wasn't cool enough. The ball went miles over the bar. The referee showed Joker's
Chow Puay Hui the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. 0 - 2 was the score after the first half. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Grilled, with 58 percent of the ball.
Bilal Mohammad Harun rose like a salmon, and was very close to scoring with a header after a corner, but sent the ball just over the bar. Grilled were determined to attack in the middle, even their wing attacks ended up centrally. After 83 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave
Bernie Egan a chance to increase the lead for Grilled, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 0 - 3. The visitors'
Vikram Mudaliar took advantage of a misunderstanding between the home side's goalie and centre backs 84 minutes into the match. 0 - 4 for Grilled. With 87 minutes played,
Moey Xin Seng of Grilled fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. A marvellous Joker effort on the right-hand side resulted in a goal after 88 minutes by
Liew Hao Jun, making the score 1 - 4. Joker reduced the lead to 2 - 4 with 88 minutes on the clock when
Tay Woon Chun got the best of a ball floated in from the left. After 89 minutes, Grilled's
Bilal Mohammad Harun burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 2 - 5. The referee decided to let play continue for an additional 3 minutes beyond the regular 90 minutes. The match ends 2 - 5. Possession in this half belonged to Grilled, who controlled the ball 58 percent of the time.
Ho Ah Kian performed admirably for Joker. However,
Liew Hao Jun made a disastrous appearance. Most important Grilled player was
Kalki Parvathaneni. On the other hand,
Chu Xin Lee's play was disheartening.